Riverside County

Lightning in a Bottle 2013 Lineup Announced

The lineup for Lightning in a Bottle 2013 is out! This year's electronic-heavy festival will feature headliners Nicholas Jaar, Rusko, Tycho, Emancipator, Griz and Paper Diamond. Ten GIFs of Ultra Ravers Shaking Their Shit As exclusively reported by West Coast Sound in January, the fest is going ... More >>

Lightning in a Bottle 2013: New Location, New Dates Announced

Annual music and arts festival Lightning in a Bottle is relocating to Riverside County this summer, West Coast Sound can exclusively report. In a vote yesterday, the Riverside County board of supervisors approved the application to hold Lightning in a Bottle 2013 at Lake Skinner County Park. The fou ... More >>

Huell Howser Dies At 67

Updated at the bottom with confirmation from the Riverside County Sheriff-Coroner. KCET will honor him on-air tonight. First posted around 12:17 p.m. See also: Huell Howser Videos: A Top 5 Huell Howser, longtime host of the public television show California's Gold, has died, our sister publication ... More >>

Baby Elephant Headed to SoCal Movie-Animal Company Accused of Abuse? VIDEO

Animal rights activists are concerned that a baby elephant born at the Portland zoo could end up in the hands of Hollywood animal trainers accused of past abuse (video after the jump). The Seattle Times reported this week that the Riverside County company Have Trunk Will Travel has rights to the 30 ... More >>

Bad Dogs Die in L.A.'s Pound

Will a 6-minute screen test save the worthy?

Why the F is LA County Taking So Long to Report Election Returns?

By Hillel Aron It's just after 10 PM, and the entire state of California is waiting with bated breath for Los Angeles County's millions of votes to start being counted. While 57% of Sacramento County precincts, 25% of San Diego County precincts and 25% of Riverside County precincts have all been ... More >>

L.A. FBI Agents Ready To Investigate Allegations Of Voter Fraud in Southern California

Voter fraud is rarer than a global-warming denier in New York City right now. Republican efforts to scare away the poor, dark and Democratic vote in states like Pennsylvania and Florida have made this non-issue a hot topic nonetheless. Ironically, some of the biggest headlines about voter fraud th ... More >>

LaQuron Lacy: Child Abuse, Molestation in House That Had Strip Club Inside -- Cops

Southern California's LaQuron and Gregory Lacy are some bad parents, authorities allege. Both have been accused of horrific child abuse aimed at adopted kids who lived in a virtual strip club. Yep. Riverside County authorities said this month that when cops raided their Perris home over summer fol ... More >>

Has Your License Plate Been Tracked by SoCal Cops?

If you were surprised to learn from LA Weekly's report in June that police agencies across Southern California -- including the LAPD and the L.A. County Sheriff's Department -- were using license plate readers to track your moves, you weren't alone. The Wall Street Journal used the piece as "one of ... More >>

Marijuana Activists Infiltrate Democratic Party in SoCal

So the figurehead of the Democratic Party, President Barack Obama, hasn't exactly been kind to the medical marijuana nation, what with all the federal raids on dispensaries and all. While Obama's flip-flopping on pot has some weed activists burning mad, one group of cannabis supporters in Californi ... More >>

Marijuana Cookies Made by Grandma Send 3-Year-Old to Hospital, Say Murrieta Cops

Everybody knows grandma makes some mean cookies. But this particular grandma apparently makes the best ones of all. In fact, the Murrieta's woman's baked goods (and we emphasize the word "baked") are too potent for any adult without a doctor's recommendation. Grandmother, in this case, laces her c ... More >>

Hemet High School Accident: Car Plows Into Students, Critically Injures Three

Eight people were injured, three critically, after a car apparently plowed into students after class let out for the day at Hemet High School in Riverside County, according to the Riverside County Fire Department. The accident at 41701 Stetson Avenue in East Hemet was reported at 2:44 p.m., accordi ... More >>

Worst Heist Ever: Mike Belton Arrested at Bellagio After Craigslist Accomplice Pepper-Sprays Blackjack Dealer

In the history of retarded Vegas heists, this one takes the special gold star. Michael Belton, a 24-year-old Riverside County resident whose MySpace is riddled with online poker and mobster apps, tells Las Vegas Metropolitan police that some guy named Carlos Rodriguez recruited him via Craigslist t ... More >>

Coachella Explosion Rocks McDonald's in 100-Plus Degree Heat

It got so hot at Coachella over the weekend there was an explosion. No, not the kind seen on-stage at the Coachella festival when holographic Tupac was on the mic: This was a real, honest-to-goodness blast of fire at an Indio McDonald's. Riverside County Sheriff's officials say this is what happen ... More >>

Rock-y Road: Street Closures for LACMA's Levitated Mass

The Los Angeles Department of Transportation announced Monday it will be implementing rolling (get it?) street closures to accommodate LACMA's Levitated Mass as it crawls through the the busiest corridor of its route at speeds of 5 to 8 miles per hour. The 340-ton rock is about halfway through an ... More >>

Benjamin Colton Barnes, Suspected Mount Rainier Murderer, Represented Southern California With Riverside Raincross Tattoo

As if SoCal needs more creepy people to its credit following the arrest of a man alleged to be the L.A. arsonist, it turns out that the weekend's Mount Rainier murderer is believed to by authorities to be a Riverside County native. Not only that, but suspect Benjamin Colton Barnes was so down with ... More >>

Halloween Limits on Riverside County Sex Offenders Unconstitutional, Says L.A. Group

Terry Tyson​Nobody loves a sex offender (except maybe his mom). As such, moves by California and, more recently, Riverside County to limit their participation in Halloween have been met mostly with support if not yawns. But a new, L.A.-based organization, California Reform Sex Offender Laws, ... More >>

Robbery Inmates Escape on Mulholland Drive: LAPD on The Lookout in Laurel Canyon Area

​Updated at the bottom: California prison officials say the pair has been caught. First posted at 4:38 p.m. on Aug. 5. Cops in the Laurel Canyon area were on the lookout for two jail inmates who escaped while on brush-clearance work detail, according to the LAPD. Officer Sara Faden told the W ... More >>

'Rooster Subcommittee' Formed to Combat Overrun Bird Farms in Riverside County

Roosters!​Norco, a blossoming desert town (to put it nicely) in the northwest corner of Riverside County, used to be just the kind of no-man's-land where 25 to 50 early-rising roosters would go unheard by everyone but the farmer's wife and the tumbleweeds. Not anymore! Just call it desert ge ... More >>

SoCal Should Secede From NorCal, Says Riverside County Supervisor Jeff Stone

Jeff Stone hates NorCal. And Los Angeles. ​God, Riverside County is so weird. It's the kind of place where Bachelorette contestants turn up dead in the desert and reclusive old women hoard $2 million moon rocks from the feds. And the kind of place where crazy Republican politicians think they' ... More >>

Chang Qui, Teen BMW Driver, Cited When Three-Hour Mall Trip Ends in Death of Dog Who Remained in Hot Car, Authorities Say

mioi​A teenage driver was cited for suspicion of animal cruelty after her 1-year-old dog, left in a closed car while she went to a mall for three hours, died from apparent heat exposure, authorities say. It happened in the Ontario Mills Mall parking lot in Ontario Monday evening when security ... More >>

Garrie Aspengren Jr., Hallucinating, Purposely Hit Car Head-On, Stabbed Driver, Then Injured Self With a Drill, Riverside Authorities Say

Jack Nicholson in 'The Shining.'​A man who was hallucinating drove head-on into a car, stabbed the driver, attempted to stab the passenger and then stabbed himself, Riverside County sheriff's officials said. It happened Sunday about 11:55 a.m. in the 32200 block of Safflower St. in French Val ... More >>

Boxer Ronald Hurley Jr., Wife, Father Accused of Molesting Four SoCal Children, Sometimes Together

Riverside County SheriffMonica Silva, 29, Ronald Hurley Sr., 47, Ronald Hurley Jr., 22.​ Molestation was a family affair in the I.E., authorities allege. A father, son and the son's wife were arrested in Southern California this week on suspicion of molesting four children who range in age fr ... More >>

Andy Dick Is (Allegedly) a Drunk A-Hole

Riverside County Sheriff's DepartmentNot exactly a look of regret​Our worst fears, confirmed again: Impossibly irritating "comedian" Andy Dick is also a drunk A-hole! Dick was arrested by Temecula police at a Marie Calender's restaurant in Riverside County last night, where officials say he w ... More >>

Coachella Festival Sees Only 49 Arrests, 48 Medical Transports Over Three Days

Wendy GilmartinNo emergencies here.​Updated after the jump with the promoter's official crowd estimate. See the rest of our Coachella coverage, including eye-opening photos, here. Supporters of ecstasy-fueled mega-raves at publicly owned venues in L.A. have used comparisons to other mainstrea ... More >>

Save The Dates: The Riverside County Fair and Date Festival

Dancing With Ghosts/FlickrDate Festival​ In some dim corner of the country, every food has a festival. For three days each April, the World Grits Festival engulfs St. George, South Carolina. Waikiki holds the Spam Jam. In Clinton, Montana, there is the Rocky Mountain Oyster Festival, or "Te ... More >>

Mary Belinda Bartolo, Missing 15-Year-Old From SoCal, Might be With 35-Year-Old Man

Riverside County SheriffMary Belinda Bartolo and Danny Ramirez.​These missing-girl stories rarely involve a slightly older boyfriend, innocent, old-school eloping, or a Thelma & Louise scenario. No, the other person involved is always a dad's worst nightmare. Take Danny Ramirez. He's 35. He h ... More >>

R&B Legend Etta James Has Dementia, Reveals Sordid Riverside County Money Lawsuit

​A sad, sordid saga is unveiling right now in Riverside County: papers filed in court concerning the administration of her fortune and the care-taking of R&B legend Etta James reveal a family feud over money and allegations that the "At Last" singer's health has been wrecked by leukemia and de ... More >>

California Citizens Redistricting Commission: The Eight Lucky Winners, Feat. Two From L.A.!

Congressional District 23, otherwise known as the Ribbon of Shame, can finally stop sucking in​Here they are -- the eight delightfully commonplace members of the new California Citizens Redistricting Commission, tasked with what used to be the dirty-incumbent job of drawing up election boundar ... More >>

SoCal's 'Geezer Bandit' Struck A Bank In Bakersfield, FBI Says

10 NewsThe notorious Geezer Bandit.​The so-called "Geezer Bandit" has been on a record bank-heist spree across Southern California. He's been so prolific that we really have to wonder if he's a true senior citizen. After all, earlier this month a young Asian man flew from Hong Kong to Canada w ... More >>

Los Angeles Has A New Serial Murderer On The Loose: Authorities Connect Three Victims Killed Within 20-Year Span

Christine Pelisek helped to bring the 'Grim Sleeper' serial murder case to light in 2008.​Leave it to Christine Pelisek, the killer reporter who used work at the Weekly, to uncover a new serial murderer who's on-the-loose in Southern California. From her new base at the Daily Beast, Pelisek ... More >>

Earl Ellis Green, Man Accused Of Killing Riverside Officer, Could Have Been Kept Behind Bars Until 2012

Riverside Press-EnterpriseEarl Ellis Green could have been behind bars. Instead he was allegedly shooting a cop.​Updated after the jump with a response to Green's arrest from the Los Angeles police union. First posted at 3:09 p.m. The man suspected of killing a Riverside police officer with h ... More >>

Bachelorette Contestant Julien Hug Found Dead In Riverside County

Julien Hug's body was found in Riverside County.​Onetime Bachelorette contestant Julen Hug was found dead in Riverside County, 10News in San Diego is reporting. The body of the 35-year-old San Diego man was found in a remote, desert area of Riverside County on Wednesday, according to the stat ... More >>

Food Stamp Use Bigger Than Bacon Chocolate

NCReedplayerFood stamps​ Piggy chocolate. House-made pickles. New Nordic Cuisine. Food stamps. No, it's not as sexy as reindeer tartare with a lichen gastrique or a bar of fair-trade dark studded with smoked bacon bits, but the humble food stamp is really catching on. According to a Sept. ... More >>

Pot Arrests For African-Americans In L.A. County More Than Four Times That Of Whites

These numbers are too high.​A look at booking stats for California's 25 most-populated areas finds that in Los Angeles County African-Americans have a marijuana-possession arrest rate that's 332 percent higher than that for whites. The report, "Targeting Blacks For Marijuana," was released th ... More >>

RV Pot Shop Skips Town In Inland Empire, But Still Finds Shaky Legal Ground

​It looks like the RV-based pot shop that got so much attention in the Inland Empire recently, and which ultimately faced a possible restraining order in the town where it parked, has moved on to a location in unincorporated Riverside County. But the rolling pot shop, a 1985 Pace Arrow, is sti ... More >>

'They Sell Marijuana Out Of A Van'

Lakeview Collective​It certainly sounded like a good idea: While many doctor-pot-shop relationships are of a longer distance than customers would like (get a doctor's note here, get your weed there), a couple in Riverside County came up with a solution. Partnering up with a doctor's referral b ... More >>

White Gang Investigated In Attacks On SoCal Police

Hemet Police training.​Thirty-five houses were searched and 23 people, mostly connected to a white gang, were arrested this week in a probe of attempted attacks against Hemet police in Riverside County, according to Fox 11 News. The operation against the gang, which went unnamed (there are b ... More >>

Gang Targets SoCal Cops With Bombing Attempts, Arson

Hemet police training.​WTF is happening in the small Riverside County community of Hemet? By the looks of things, a brazen set of criminals has been terrorizing Hemet police, specifically the city's gang officers. The latest incident was reported Tuesday night: Four city pickups with with amb ... More >>

Today In WTF: Man Steals Dog At Site Of Car Crash

Rizzo.​The illustrious and quick-thinking criminals of Southern California never cease to amaze us. In this edition of WTF, we take a look at the suspect who walked up to children who had just chased down a family pet involved in a pretty bad accident and stole it. That's the right. Authoriti ... More >>

Today In WTF: L.A. Tornado Warning Issued (UPDATED

​A tornado warning for south central Los Angeles County has been canceled Tuesday afternoon, but another was issued for southeastern Orange County, southwester Riverside County and northwestern San Diego County. This as the second of three successive winter storms hit the Southland Tuesday. T ... More >>

A Cruel, Cruel World: Chihuahua Drowns In Apparent Act Of Abuse

​A Riverside County Animal Services officer on Monday plucked two chihuahuas who had their snouts taped closed from a canal, saving the life of one of the pooches.The dogs were discovered about 11 a.m. as they drifted against a metal grate that prevented them from going further, according to Anima ... More >>

Sticker Shock Treatment: Fake Governor to Pay Real Sales Tax

At the stroke of midnight Angelenos will get hit by a double dose of sales-tax increases that will bring our county's up to 9.75 percent -- tying us with Alameda County for having the state's highest countywide tax. (Some individual cities, such as Pico Rivera and South Gate, will be even higher -- ... More >>

Morning Sixpack: A News Roundup

The Last Roundup Kevin Kachikian, the final defendant in the Anthony Pellicano RICO trial to be sentenced, is scheduled in federal court Monday morning. See story here later today.Mini-Madoff Fallout A $10 million contribution to the ailing Children's Museum may turn out to be a financial mirage, th ... More >>

Astroturf Wars

The fight is on to halt a subdivision near Joshua Tree

The Fight for Eagle Mountain

The Science of Making Belmont Safe

How to Make a Methane Burrito

A peek at the installation of a methane-mitigation system

Them

California takes on the Fire Ant