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Police arrest 2 teens in shooting of Fontana man outside his home -

PE.com - Fontana California News

FONTANA - Two self-proclaimed gang members who police said tracked down and shot a father who earlier had confronted them were arrested early Thursday. Angel Valencia, 19, and Andrew Valdivia, 18, both of Fontana, were booked into jail on suspicion of attempted murder after being taken into custody just after midnight. Police served search warrants at their homes shortly before the arre... read more

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Police arrest 2 teens in shooting of Fontana man outside his home -

Thu September 04 2008

FONTANA - Two self-proclaimed gang members who police said tracked down and shot a father who earlier had confronted them were arrested early Thurs... read more

Fontana father shot in confrontation with men suspected of being gang members -

Wed September 03 2008

FONTANA - Gang members angry that a 41-year-old father had confronted them with a baseball bat tracked him to his Fontana home Tuesday night and op... read more

FONTANA - Gang members angry that a 41-year-old father had confronted them with a baseball bat tracked him to his Fontana home Tuesday night and opened fire, wounding him in the back and neck as he ran for cover, police said. The victim, whose name was withheld by police out of concern for his safety, was in serious but stable condition in a hospital Wednesday, Fontana police said in a written statement. He was shot shortly after 9:30 p.m. in front of his home in the 11600 block of Oakwood Drive in Fontana's Southridge development. Earlier that evening, the man had sent his teenage sons to a nearby store, but they returned home saying two young male gang members had challenged them on their block, said Fontana police Sgt. Jeff Decker. The gang members then walked around the corner to Driftwood Drive and tagged a block wall. Residents were reporting the vandalism to police just as the father got into his car with one of his sons, both armed with baseball bats, to search for the suspects, Decker said. They encountered the taggers on nearby Banana Avenue, Decker said. The taggers ran away when they saw the bats. The victim and his 18-year-old son then returned home, but were tracked down a short time later by the men they had confronted, he said. "This time they have a gun, so now they're brave," Decker said. One of the suspects fired seven rounds at the father and son, striking the father in the neck and back as he fled toward his house, Decker said. The son was uninjured. The suspects fled in a dark-colored Nissan Altima with chrome 20-inch rims. One suspect was at least 18 years old, 5 feet 7 inches tall and 250 pounds with a bald head. The other, also about 18, was 5 feet 6 inches tall and 150 pounds with spiked black hair, police said. Anyone with information about the shooting is asked to call Fontana police at 909-350-7700. Reach Paul LaRocco at 909-806-3064 or plarocco@PE.com read less

San Bernardino County OKs funds for railroad bridge retrofit over Highway 210 -

Wed September 03 2008

More than a year after Highway 210 was completed, San Bernardino County transportation officials are going back to tie up some loose ends. San B... read more

More than a year after Highway 210 was completed, San Bernardino County transportation officials are going back to tie up some loose ends. San Bernardino Associated Governments, the county transportation planning agency, approved a $1.1 million contract Wednesday to seismically retrofit a 40-year-old Union Pacific Railroad bridge over the new freeway in Muscoy. The bridgework was supposed to be completed as part of the last segment of the freeway between Rialto and San Bernardino that opened last summer. But Union Pacific rejected SANBAG's initial plans, resulting in a delay, said Gary Cohoe, the agency's director of freeway construction. To avoid delaying the opening of the freeway, SANBAG split the retrofit work off into a separate project. Construction could begin in a few months and will take another couple months to complete, Cohoe said. Some lane closures probably will be required, he said. Some SANBAG board members criticized Union Pacific for delaying the project, which led to a cost increase of $350,000. "It would have cost less if the railroad had not delayed their response to us," Fontana Mayor Mark Nuaimi said. Board members also questioned why the railroad company isn't contributing any funds to the project. Union Pacific spokeswoman Zoe Richmond said the railroad could not approve a design until it was satisfied that rail traffic would not be hindered by construction. The railroad company is not contributing to the retrofit costs because the work was a Caltrans requirement prompted by the freeway expansion, not a project it planned to do on its own, Richmond said. SANBAG agreed to do the work as part of its agreement with the state agency, Cohoe said. Another major incomplete part of the Highway 210 project remains a year away from construction. Work is scheduled to begin next summer on flyover ramps connecting the highway to Interstate 215. of that work is not expected until 2013. Reach Imran Ghori at 909-806-3061 or ighori@PE.com read less

Redlands MS patient plans 100-mile ride from Irvine to San Diego -

Tue September 02 2008

Darren Martin's inability to move without the assistance of a cane doesn't stop him from pursuing his goal -- mobilizing people into helping cure Mu... read more

Darren Martin's inability to move without the assistance of a cane doesn't stop him from pursuing his goal -- mobilizing people into helping cure Multiple Sclerosis. Although the Redlands resident struggles to walk, he can sit down without any problem, which makes riding a bicycle one of the few things he can still do, said Martin, who was diagnosed with MS in 1999. Martin, 36, plans to ride his bike 100 miles from Irvine to San Diego as part of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society's 2008 Land Rover Miramar MS Bay-to-Bay Bike Tour on Oct. 11-12. "I am passionate about finding a cure," he said. "I am raising donations not only for education and programs, but ultimately to find a cure to this condition." MS is a chronic, and often disabling, disease that attacks the central nervous system that comprises the spinal cord, optic nerves and brain. "It's basically like your own immune system is attacking your body," Martin said in a telephone interview. Last year, he raised $1,410, and the event raised $2.8 million. All the money went toward research and helping people who have this disease, Martin said. Martin's goal is to raise $2,000 this year. So far, he has raised $1,210. He said people can also join the bike ride and can choose from different route options -- 30-mile, 100-mile or 150-mile routes. Riders pay a $60 registration fee and are challenged to raise $400 for the society. Folks can also join his riding squad, Team Copaxone. For companies that want to donate, Martin plans to be a "mobile billboard" for any business that's willing to give for this cause, he said. Martin said he knew something was wrong with his body when his short-term memory began to fail. His wife would send him to the store for milk and when he would get there, he would forget why he went to the store, he said. As the disease progressed, Martin said he was depressed, miserable and unable to work. He was confined to his home. "The riding began when I was just sitting around the house doing nothing and I knew I needed some kind of exercise," he said. He started riding his bike to a gym where he would work out. "Everyday I ride from my home in Redlands to the Powerhouse Gym in Yucaipa ... it's about 20 miles per day," he said. Since he started cycling in 2005, Martin has participated in several benefit bike rides for the society's Pacific South Coast Chapter. He was voted the Most Inspirational Rider in the society's Irvine to San Diego benefit ride last year. "I am trying to do all I can to raise awareness and funds," he said. Martin said he's in the process of getting a wheelchair. "Cycling has changed my outlook," he said. "I have this disease, but it's not going to hold me back." For more information, call 909-363-5450, send an e-mail to innoretaildesign@yahoo.com or visit www.biketofinishms.com/darrenmartin. Reach Juan Saucedo at 909-806-3070 or jsaucedo@PE.com read less

Opportunity for Redlands -

Thu August 28 2008

The retirement of Redlands Treasurer Mike Reynolds and his guilty plea to a felony count of falsifying an accounting record give the City Council a ... read more

The retirement of Redlands Treasurer Mike Reynolds and his guilty plea to a felony count of falsifying an accounting record give the City Council a golden opportunity to rethink whether the post should be an elected office. Anyone who is registered to vote in Redlands can run for treasurer. No accounting or investment background is required. There's no guarantee qualified candidates will run. Making it an appointed position, as Mayor Pro Tem Pat Gilbreath suggested after Reynolds' arrest last October, would enable the city to set job requirements, recruit qualified applicants and select the best. Reynolds retired Aug. 20 after 28 years as city treasurer. On Wednesday, he pled guilty to one of the three felonies with which he was charged after a $38,000 discrepancy was discovered in the petty cash fund. Until the missing money came to light, everyone thought Reynolds was doing a bang-up job. But bookkeepers could never make the fund balance, and the discrepancies were swept under the rug for 13 years. Reynolds got in trouble when he wrote a check from a trust account to make up the difference. (He told an investigator he feared his reputation would be damaged if the shoddy accounting came to light.) After his arrest, the council stripped Reynolds of many duties, farming them out to Finance Department workers. But it didn't reduce his $174,000 salary and benefits. The council can correct that error now, too. On Tuesday, it will discuss whether to appoint someone to fill out Reynolds' term through November 2011 or hold a special election to fill the vacancy. There's a short window in which to decide. A replacement must be appointed by Sept. 19. The earliest a special election could be held is March 3, 2009. The council would be wise to make it an appointed post. The treasurer oversees the city's investments. A qualified person should be doing that. Last year, the county Flood Control District marked 13 stately eucalyptus trees along the Zanja in Redlands for destruction. County Supervisor Dennis Hansberger and Mayor Jon Harrison stepped in and saved them. On Tuesday night I discovered tree-trimmers had lopped off all the branches of a couple of the trees, denuding them to 20 or 25 feet from the ground. I called Hansberger, who found out Flood Control was up to its old tricks. But they told him only one tree was being trimmed, and that was because it was deceased. As of Thursday morning, 10 eucalyptus and two willow trees were under the chain saw. An arborist said one tree was full of beetles and should be pruned or removed, and three others should be "monitored." Flood Control used that as permission to drastically prune 12. Official Annesley Ignatius couldn't explain how the work got expanded. And he blamed "miscommunication" for Hansberger being told only four trees were being trimmed. In January 2007, city and county officials agreed the city should be consulted before trees are cut along the Zanja, which is on the National Register of Historic Places. That agreement fell by the wayside. That's a shame, since a hiking and biking trail is planned there. The shade of mature trees would have made it that much nicer. Cassie MacDuff can be reached at 909-806-3068 or cmacduff@PE.com read less