“You’re insecure, don’t know what for / You’re turning heads when you walk through the door,” he sings, in a few words assuring a cross-section of generations that he’s got your back, girl, and you should like yourself a little bit more.

Payne, who died Wednesday after falling from a hotel balcony in Buenos Aires, Argentina, at just 31, was also the last solo voice on the band’s final single, “History” — effectively opening and closing the monolithic run of one of the biggest boy bands of all time.

While the exact circumstances of his death remain unclear — Buenos Aires police said in a statement that Payne “had jumped from the balcony of his room,” although they didn’t offer details on how they established that or whether it was intentional — in life, Payne was a critical part of the internet’s first boy band, one that secured an indelible place in the hearts of millennial and Gen Z fans.

How One Direction became the internet’s first boy band

Before One Direction became One Direction, its members auditioned for the U.K.’s “The X Factor” separately. The judges decided to put five promising, but not yet excellent, boys into a group. They were Harry Styles, Niall Horan, Louis Tomlinson, Zayn Malik and Payne, who together finished third in the 2010 competition.

As Rolling Stone contributing editor Rob Sheffield points out, it was an “unprecedented” way for a boy band to get their start.

“They were sort of assigned to be together. And you don’t expect longevity out of that situation. Honestly, you don’t even expect one good pop record to come out of that situation,” he says. And yet, not only did it work, but One Direction essentially created “a new template for pop stardom, really.”

The show allowed Day 1 fans to follow their career before their official 2011 launch with “What Makes You Beautiful.” Nascent fans could use rising social media platforms like Twitter and Tumblr to find community, draw attention to the group and, in the earliest days, speak directly to the members.

“I honestly made a Twitter so that I could keep up with One Direction, and that’s how I made so many different friends,” says Gabrielle Kopera, 28, a fan from California who remembers the band hosting livestreams and chats. “Sometimes they would say something back and it was so much fun. I feel like that fan interaction doesn’t even happen anymore.”

That feeling of accessibility reinforced the group’s personality and relationship with fans, says Maura Johnston, a freelance music writer and Boston College adjunct instructor.

“The fact that they came up on this British TV show and they became this worldwide phenomenon, I don’t think that would have happened as acutely and as quickly and as immersive without social media, without Twitter or without people being able to mobilize around the globe,” she says.

One Direction and their fans

Millennial and Gen Z audiences practically grew up with One Direction, but the band was truly ubiquitous. That, Johnston says, is at least partially attributable to arriving in a very different media environment from today’s.

“It was a lot more focused,” she says of the early 2010s. “Algorithmic sorting of stuff hadn’t really taken hold. So, there was this broader, mass approach. … They were one of the last gasps of that mass phenomenon, that anyone of any age, even if they weren’t a fan, had to take notice to.”

But it takes more than omnipresence to cultivate a loyal fanbase. And there were myriad reasons why listeners were attracted to One Direction.

“They were five very different musical personalities, along with five very different personalities,” says Sheffield.

They broke the rules associated with traditional boy bands, too: “They co-wrote many of their songs. They didn’t do, you know, corny, choreographed steps on stage,” he said.

After the news of Payne’s death, Kopera says she “got so many messages from people I haven’t talked to in years reaching out because I think everyone kind of realized that it does feel like we just lost a family member.”

That sentiment was mirrored in the masses of fans who gathered Wednesday outside Buenos Aires’ Casa Sur Hotel, feeding a burgeoning makeshift memorial of flowers, candles and notes as police stood guard.

“I’ve always loved One Direction since I was little,” said Juana Relh, 18, outside Payne’s hotel. “To see that he died and that there will never be another reunion of the boys is unbelievable, it kills me.”

Liam Payne’s place in the band, and its legacy

Payne was a “brooding” older brother-type in One Direction, says Johnston. He also co-wrote many songs, especially in their later career — like the Fleetwood Mac-channeling “What A Feeling” and “Fireproof.”

“He was this grounding force in the band,” Johnston says.

In an Instagram tribute, Tomlinson called Payne “the most vital part of One Direction.”

“His experience from a young age, his perfect pitch, his stage presence, his gift for writing. The list goes on. Thank you for shaping us Liam,” he wrote.

“I always remember that he was the responsible and the sensible one of the group, and I feel like he wore his heart on his sleeve,” Kopera says.

Payne had recently been vocal about struggling with alcoholism, posting a YouTube video in July 2023 where he said he had been sober for six months after receiving treatment. Buenos Aires police said they found clonazepam — a central nervous system depressant — and other over-the-counter drugs in Payne’s hotel room, along with a whiskey bottle in the courtyard where he was found.

“Looking at what happened to Liam, it just makes you feel even more sad, that it just feels like he needed help,” Kopera says. “And it’s so scary to think about how the entertainment industry can just, like, eat up artists.”

After One Direction disbanded in 2016, Payne’s solo career — a single R&B-pop album in 2019, “LP1,” and a number of singles here and there — never took off the same way as some of his bandmates. He was “the least successful,” Sheffield says. “It’s safe to say that on the terms that he was going for, he didn’t really find what he wanted to do.”

“It’s hard, transitioning from being a boy bander to be a pop star,” Johnston says.

At Payne’s solo shows, Sheffield explains, “He would show a little montage of One Direction performing, which is the kind of thing you don’t do when you’re starting out as a solo artist. But fans took that in the spirit it was offered, which is a very generous statement that he’s like, ‘Yep, you’re here because of this history that we share, and I’m here because of that same history.’”

Despite Payne’s struggles and the tragedy of his death, Kopera is confident “his legacy is going to always point back to One Direction.”

For fans, the same is true.

“When I look back on One Direction, I’m like, that was my girlhood. One Direction was the soundtrack to growing up, and I’m so thankful for it,” she says. “They really were just a group of normal boys.”

The post One Direction were the internet’s first boy band, and Liam Payne its grounding force appeared first on The Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle.

“Sultan saved my life and several other officers’ lives that day,” an emotional Deputy Mark Wallace said.

Sultan was killed when he went into a crawlspace on Jan. 21 after an armed and wanted felon.

That felon was 36-year-old Todd Hodge, who shot Sultan in the neck when he entered the crawlspace after him. Hodge was killed by sheriff’s deputies after a 9-hour standoff when he emerged from a home with a gun.

The K-9 died on the way to the animal hospital. Before the Riverside, California, memorial, Deputy Mark Wallace, Sultan’s former handler, was escorted across San Jacinto with Sultan’s ashes.

Thousands of students from eight San Jacinto Unified School District campuses lined the fences as they drove by.

“What happened to him was a true tragedy,” one student told KESQ.

Sultan began his K-9 patrol in November 2013.

“Four-legged, two-legged, they’re all here for service for us,” resident Debra Harvey said.

During Wallace’s speech at the memorial, he tearfully said Sultan wasn’t mankind’s best friend, but his.

The post Thousands mourn loss of California police dog appeared first on The Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle.

She may have been more known for high heels, but Suzanne Somers was laid to rest in a pair of Timberland boots. Said a pal of the significance of the footwear, customized with loving messages from her devoted hubby of more than 45 years: “They loved to go hiking all the time, they loved the mountains.

He at some point, he gave those to her and personalized them for her.” Husband Alan Hamel had written on the boots colorful messages including “In Love Forever,” “We Are One” and even “Twice a Day,” seemingly referring to the couple’s legendary lovemaking habits .

The “Three’s Company” icon, who died Oct. 15 at age 76 after battling cancer , was lovingly remembered at a Palm Springs, Calif., celebration of her life. The program proclaimed Somers “Our brightest star” and included an illustration of her made by daughter Leslie Hamel. It also quoted Somers: “It’s not who you are. It’s not what you have.

It’s not what you do. It’s only about who you love and who loves you . . . and I love you.” Guests included friends, family and area resident and billionaire Charles Koch. Hamel, 87, told us, “Suzanne loved cocktail parties, and we threw her a great one at Stone Eagle club in Palm Desert.” Guests were asked to dress in “colorful cocktail attire with sparkles and feathers in true Suzanne fashion.”

The theme was Tequila & Tributes, and there was an “hourlong program with videos of Suzanne singing, toasts from her family, montages of her career, a beautiful performance by her granddaughter Daisy, and family photos and memories.” We hear Somers’ son, Bruce, emceed, and tables were “covered in Suzanne’s signature pink roses.” Guests were given holiday candles in Somers’ fave scent, Floating Gardenia, as well as bracelets with a quote from the star. Said a friend, “Alan was upbeat and happy and only broke town in tears when he read the last love letter he wrote to Suzanne that closed the evening.”

Also speaking at the memorial were family members including Caroline, Camelia and Violet Somers, as well as Ziane Hamel, and Somers’ siblings Daniel Mahoney and Maureen Gilmartin. We hear that Bruce said of his mom, “When my mother talked to you, she made you feel like a million bucks.

Her secret power was the ability to make you feel loved.” Somers was diagnosed with breast cancer in her 50s after battling skin cancer in her 30s, along with “severe hyperplasia” in her uterus, we previously reported. “Even when I was Chrissy on ‘Three’s Company,’ I had had cancer three times,” Somers told CBS News in 2020 .

She had said her longevity was thanks to a healthy lifestyle . She passed just one day before her 77th birthday . “Thank you for the out-pouring of love and affection for Suzanne,” the family captioned the sweet video shared to Suzanne’s Instagram when they gathered to celebrate her birthday after she had passed peacefully at home.

Find your latest news here at the Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle

The post Suzanne Somers laid to rest in custom Timberland boots, celebrated at ‘Tequila & Tributes’ memorial appeared first on The Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle.

File # N/A

Details:

The Department is saddened to announce the death of Deputy Isaiah Cordero, most recently assigned to the Jurupa Valley Station. Deputy Cordero was shot and killed in the line of duty on Thursday, December 29, 2022.

On May 5, 2014, Deputy Cordero began his service with our Department as a Correctional Deputy and graduated from the 73rd Core Academy. During his time as a Correctional Deputy, he worked assignments at the Larry D. Smith Correctional Facility and the Indio Jail. In February 2018, he began the 204th Basic Academy and was promoted to Deputy Sheriff. As a Deputy, he worked at the Robert Presley Detention Center and the Larry D. Smith Correctional Facility before transferring to his current assignment at the Jurupa Valley Station. Deputy Cordero completed Motor School in September of 2022 and was working traffic enforcement as a motor deputy at the time of his death.

On behalf of the entire Department, we extend our deepest sympathy to the family of Deputy Isaiah Cordero.

Funeral services for Deputy Cordero have been scheduled as follows:

Friday, January 6, 2023 – 11:00 AM at Harvest Christian Fellowship Church, 6115 Arlington Avenue Riverside, CA 92504

Find your latest news here at the Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle

The post Line of Duty Death of Deputy Isaiah Cordero appeared first on The Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle.

The program operates at three levels:

1. Pee Wees – ages 5 to 6 (summer program)

2. Beginners – ages 7 (learning to put, chip and drive)

3. Intermediates – play the game Each child is provided his or her personal golf bag, clubs, uniform and free lessons.

Some students who have completed this program with Grandfathers have continued on and received university golf scholarships.

Echo Hills, Golden Era, Hemet and Soboba Golf Courses make their courses available to provide the youngsters their lessons.

This 501 © (3)) program is operated entirely by volunteers. The current Board is comprised of the following members:

Tony Viola – President

Bob Wadlow – Vice President,

Intermediate Head Coach Norm Kyriss – Vice President,

Intermediate Coach Jim Crandall – Secretary,

WebMaster Arnie Gianotta – Treasurer,

Beginners Coach Linda Greilich – Board Member,

Coordinator for the Golden Era Golf Course Danny Crosser – Board Member,

Beginners Coach Ivan Johnson – Board Member,

Special Projects Coach Brad Haskell – Board Member,

Beginners Coach Jim Sullivan- Board Member

David Jimenez – Board Member

This year’s Grandfathers for Golf Memorial Tournament fund-raiser, held at Soboba Springs Golf Course, received overwhelming support from golfers and sponsors. Community interest was so high that the event sold out well before game day with 160 golfers in attendance.

The Grandfathers program is always looking for volunteers, both golfers and non-golfers, to assist in running the program and working with the kids. Applications are available online at grandfathersforgolf.com or by calling President Tony Viola at (909)754-4148.

If you are aware of any youngsters who want to learn the game of golf go to website and sign them up. It’s FREE.

Rusty Strait | Senior Reporter

Find your latest news here at the Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle

The post GRANDFATHERS FOR GOLF MEMORIAL TOURNAMENT appeared first on The Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Bob Saget, the actor-comedian known for his role as beloved single dad Danny Tanner on the sitcom “Full House” and as the wisecracking host of “America’s Funniest Home Videos,” died while on a stand-up tour. He was 65.

Deputies in Orange County, Florida, were called Sunday about an “unresponsive man” in a hotel room at the Ritz-Carlton in Orlando and found Saget dead, according to a sheriff’s statement on Twitter. Detectives found “no signs of foul play or drug use in this case.”

Saget was in Florida as part of his “I Don’t Do Negative Comedy Tour.” After warm audience receptions to his gigs Friday in Orlando and Saturday in the Ponte Vedra Beach resort area, he celebrated online.

“I’m back in comedy like I was when I was 26. I guess I’m finding my new voice and loving every moment of it,” he posted Saturday on Instagram.

Fellow comedians and friends praised Saget not only for his wit, but his kindness.

“I am broken. I am gutted. I am in complete and utter shock. I will never ever have another friend like him,” wrote John Stamos, who co-starred with Saget on “Full House.” “I love you so much Bobby.”

“I have no words. Bob was one of the best humans beings I’ve ever known in my life. I loved him so much,” said Candace Cameron Bure, who played Saget’s daughter on “Full House.”

“In often a ruthless business he was historically not just hilarious but more importantly one of the kindest human beings I ever met in my career,” actor Richard Lewis wrote on Twitter.

In a statement Sunday, Saget’s family members said they are “devastated to confirm that our beloved Bob passed away today…. Though we ask for privacy at this time, we invite you to join us in remembering the love and laughter that Bob brought to the world.”

Saget the stand-up showed his flip side with what become a much-talked-about cameo in the 2005 documentary “The Aristocrats” — in which 100 comics riffed on the world’s dirtiest joke — that revealed his notoriously filthy sense of humor.

Raunchy comedy wasn’t part of his long-running network TV shows. He hosted the family friendly “America’s Funniest Home Videos” and played the squeaky clean widower and dad to three young girls on “Full House,” the ABC sitcom that also brought fame to Olsen twins Mary-Kate and Ashley when it debuted in 1987.

“Bob was the most loving, compassionate and generous man. We are deeply saddened that he is no longer with us but know that he will continue to be by our side to guide us as gracefully as he always has,” the Olsens said in a joint statement.

The show’s popularity didn’t deter critics, some calling it cheesy and others deeming it unreal. Saget, as amiable and droll in an interview as he was on TV screens, took the brickbats in stride.

“‘Full House’ was a loving kind of show but obviously over the top. It had its heightened reality, a glossy Willy Wonka quality to it,” he told The Associated Press in a 2001 interview.

That year, Saget took another pass at playing a widowed dad with winsome kids on the short-lived sitcom “Raising Dad.”

He said he found himself repeatedly fielding questions about his habit of playing sitcom widowers, and had a ready response: “(Kevin) Costner does three, four baseball movies and that’s OK. There’s my rationale.”

Saget was born in Philadelphia on May 17, 1956, to Benjamin, a supermarket executive, and Rosalyn, who worked in hospital administration. He graduated Temple University and enrolled briefly in the University of Southern California to study film.

He left the college but stayed in Los Angeles and shifted to stand-up comedy, which led to small roles in TV and film before he found success with “Full House.” He also appeared in some episodes of the sitcom’s “Fuller House” 2016-20 sequel and was heard as the narrator on “How I Met Your Mother,” which ran for nine seasons on CBS.

“Bob Saget was the older wiser ‘me’ for nine years on How I Met Your Mother,” tweeted cast member Josh Radnor. “He was the kindest, loveliest, funniest, most supportive man. The easiest person to be around. A mensch among mensches.”

In guest appearances on the Hollywood-set dark comedy “Entourage,” Saget played a warped character named Bob Saget who was foul-mouthed but, unlike the man himself, was a misogynist and worse.

In early 2020, Saget was preparing for the start of his comedy tour when the pandemic put it on hold. He turned his energies to a podcast, “Bob Saget’s Here For You,” which gave fans an open mic to comment and ask him questions.

He focused occasionally on directing over the years, including on HBO’s “The Mind of the Married Man,” and the Norm Macdonald film “Dirty Work,” and appeared on Broadway in “Hand to God” and in “The Drowsy Chaperone.”

He drew praise as producer-director of the 1996 TV film “For Hope,” loosely based on the battle of his late sister, Gay, with the tissue disease scleroderma, and appealed for increased federal support for research funds.

He remembered his sister in a January 2020 post, noting that she died when she was 47 and would have been 73 that month.

Saget had daughters Aubrey, Lara and Jennifer with first wife Sherri Kramer before divorcing in 1997. He married Kelly Rizzo in 2018.

Find your latest news here at the Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle

The post Bob Saget, beloved TV dad of ‘Full House,’ dead at 65 appeared first on The Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle.

As 2020 came to a close, health officials remember the lives lost during the pandemic and remind residents that, collectively, everyone contributes to slowing the spread of the virus. Coronavirus caused or contributed to the deaths of hundreds of Riverside County residents, including two children under the age of 18.

The first coronavirus-related death in Riverside County was reported March 15 – an Indio resident in his late 70s. The two youngest deaths include a 12-year-old from Western Riverside County and a 15-year-old from Central Riverside County. The oldest deaths were found in three 104-year-old Riverside County residents, including a man from Corona, a man from Riverside and a female from Mecca.

Four county employees have died from the virus, including two deputies, one probation officer and one engineer.

“This disease doesn’t discriminate. We’ve seen deaths in the young and old. We’ve seen couples, family members and healthcare workers die from this disease,” said Kim Saruwatari, director of the Riverside University Health System-Public Health. “These deaths, combined with mental health impacts and economic losses, are painful reminders of how this disease has cost all of us.”

After nine months of the pandemic, the county is reporting a total of 1,985 deaths related to coronavirus. Deaths among racial and ethnic minorities are disproportionately higher, including among Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander, Latino, Black and African American residents.

“Our hearts are with families, friends and neighbors who are grieving the loss of an important and special person in their lives,” said Riverside County Board Chair and Fourth District Supervisor V. Manuel Perez. “After a year of tragedy and hardship, we have hope for a better 2021. We remember and honor all Riverside County residents who have passed away from coronavirus this year, and thank all the front line workers and all who are doing their part to help overcome this pandemic.”

In addition to COVID-19 deaths, the number of fatal overdoses is up by 26.6 percent compared to last year. The unemployment rate has also risen to nine percent, representing approximately 107,000 job losses.

Taking simple actions like wearing a mask, stop gathering with others outside the household and getting the vaccine will protect yourself and others from the virus. The number of confirmed coronavirus cases is more than 180,550 in Riverside County and more than 118,800 have recovered from the virus.

Riverside County is also experiencing a surge of cases requiring hospitalization and intensive care unit treatment (ICU). COVID-19 patients requiring hospitalization is at 1,464, of which 296 are in an ICU. The positivity rate in Riverside County is 22.6 percent and the daily case rate is 140.5 new cases per 100,000 residents.

Jose Arballo Jr. • Contributed

Find your latest news here at the Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle

The post Remembering the COVID-19 victims appeared first on The Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle.

For 36 years, the “Jeopardy!” host was a figure of consensus in an era that increasingly lacked it, and he died at the end of an election week when those divisions were in full force.

At a time when emotions, opinions and personal details feel like they’re at the center of every broadcast, post and podcast, the exceedingly Canadian Trebek held them all in check, instead valuing formality and factuality, dignity and decorum.

He was surprisingly frank with fans about his nearly two-year struggle with pancreatic cancer before his death Sunday at his home in Los Angeles at age 80. But he gave health updates in a series of polite and formal videos that were typically Trebek, speaking calmly, directly and frankly about the disease and his gratitude for the support he was getting.

Six nights a week for 36 years, after the evening news and before the firebrands of primetime cable opinion shows, Trebek brought together liberals and conservatives, city dwellers and rural folk, grandparents and grandchildren for a half-hour of brainy exercise.

His style was all facts with a touch of fun, and no politics, religion or opinion, unless they came in the form of a question in the course of the quiz show.

“I have a family with a, let’s say, wildly diverse set of political beliefs,” NBC News reporter Ben Collins said on Twitter after Trebek’s death. “Everybody in my life loves Alex Trebek. Everybody. What a life.”

With his flawless delivery of clues about Shakespeare, chemistry and world capitals, he allowed families to geek out with him, and each other.

“Growing up, he made me feel like my nerdiness was valuable and I loved learning from watching jeopardy,” TV personality and author Padma Lakshmi said on Twitter, one of scores of people paying tribute to Trebek. “It was our family’s nightly pleasure.”

Trebek himself came in the form of a question.

He revealed next-to-nothing about his private life, emotions or opinions.

That sense of mystery surrounding him was part of his appeal. He was the composed college professor whose students endlessly speculated about what he was like when class was over.

There were beloved game show hosts before Trebek, but the job for decades had cultural connotations of a smarmy talking head or a clownish emcee.

Trebek gave the role a gravitas, and a virtuosity, that didn’t seem possible before him.

“Alex was the Sinatra of our business,” Wink Martindale, a longtime host of several games shows, said in a statement. “The word class defined him. In my view, there will never be another with such multiple talents.”

Trebek was more a maestro than an emcee, conducting the high-tempo symphony of “Jeopardy!,” elegantly squeezing a world’s worth of trivia into the 13 minutes of game time in each episode.

He was a more typical figure earlier in his career, a swinging, mustachioed man’s man who owned race horses, rolled on TV’s “Celebrity Bowling” and hosted several game shows including “High Rollers” and “Battlestars.”

But when he settled into the sole role of hosting “Jeopardy!,” the most serious, intellectual and highbrow of game shows, it helped forge him into the high-class figure of class he became. He would win five Emmys and a prestigious Peabody Award, a prize usually reserved for serious TV news personalities.

He shaved his signature mustache in 2001, and increasingly became a warm, grandfatherly figure for viewers.

He wasn’t all warmth, though. Viewers loved it when he showed his sharper edges.

Some thought he showed a bit of funny condescension when he explained the correct answer to a wrong contestant — though he insisted he never knew all the answers — or when he gave a “good for you!” to contestants who shared especially banal personal stories during the mid-show chat break.

And his formality made him fodder for comedy.

Will Ferrell on “Saturday Night Live” played Trebek as a composed man who was constantly having his patience driven to the limit by impossible contestants, especially Sean Connery, on “Celebrity Jeopardy!” (The real Connery died just over a week before Trebek.)

In the social media era, Trebek became the subject of many a viral video.

One compiled his stiff attempts at showing a bit of rhythm and soul when reading the rap lyrics that came in “Jeopardy!” clues.

Another was a supercut of him saying the word “genre,” with impeccable French pronunciation. (Trebek’s mother was French-Canadian.)

When the word came up in a subsequent show, Trebek added a “yes, I said it,” as if to tell viewers, “I know what you’re all saying about me when you think I’m not listening.”

He usually was savvy enough to be in on the joke.

In a famous exchange during the original run of the show’s greatest champion, Ken Jennings, Trebek delivered a clue:

“This term for a long-handled gardening tool can also mean an immoral pleasure seeker.”

Jennings responded, “What is a hoe?”

As the audience began to titter, Trebek told Jennings, “Whoa. Whoa. Whoa. They teach you that in school in Utah, huh?”

Trebek immediately snapped back into the show’s rhythm, as he always did, as another contestant gave the correct response, “What is a rake?”

Everyone agrees Trebek is irreplaceable. The show has given no indication of any host plans, and has not used guest hosts during Trebek’s illness. Viewers will get a good bit more Trebek through episodes he has already taped, and through well over three decades of reruns.

Some have speculated that Jennings, who became a consulting producer on the show this season, would be the most suitable replacement.

But on Sunday, Jennings was just another of Trebek’s countless admirers.

“Alex wasn’t just the best ever at what he did,” he said on Twitter. “He was also a lovely and deeply decent man, and I’m grateful for every minute I got to spend with him.”

Follow AP Entertainment Writer Andrew Dalton on Twitter: https://twitter.com/andyjamesdalton

Find your latest news here at the Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle

The post Trebek brought consensus, class to a nation in need of both appeared first on The Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle.

Bryan was responsible for the theatre’s popular Tribute Mania Concert Series that has hosted over 100 top tribute bands and 30,000 patrons in the last 5 years. Most locals will remember Bryan as the face of the theatre, his friendly face and quick wit leaving a lasting impression with anyone visiting the Ticket Office.

In 2014, Bryan and his wife, Susan, lead the Foundation’s effort to purchase and renovate Hemet’s vintage movie house. The couple has coordinated a team of over 100 dedicated volunteers to create the successful community arts center in Hemet’s Historic Downtown District. Prior to the Covid-19 shutdown, the venue’s popular Tribute Mania Concert Series had hosted over 100 tribute bands and more than 30,000 patrons. During the quarantine, Bryan was coordinating the theatre’s ongoing renovations and planning shows for 2021, when the theatre will celebrate its 100th anniversary year.

Before his retirement, Bryan had spent 30 years as a Produce Manager and 5 years teaching Social Studies at Hemet’s Alessandro Continuation High School. Bryan’s obituary is available on the theatre’s website, Facebook page and the website of Miller-Jones Mortuary.

A Celebration of Life will be held at the theatre next year when quarantine restrictions have been lifted. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to the Historic Hemet Theatre Building Fund. Notes of condolence and remembrance can be sent to the Historic Hemet Theatre, 216 E Florida Ave, Hemet 92544. A link for donations can be found on the theatre’s website, www.HistoricHemetTheatre.com.

Please read more about him, his obituary can be found on page A4 on this weeks edition.

Find your latest news here at the Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle

The post HHT PROGRAM DIRECTOR DIES AT AGE 72 appeared first on The Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle.

Students of West Valley High organized and held a candlelight vigil in front of the high school on Wednesday, Feb. 25, from 5:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. Approximately one-hundred friends, family, and community members convened to remember the ways in which the two young women, Trinity Clyde, and Genesis Lopez-Araiza touched their lives.

Trinity and Genesis were two of the three victims of the Feb. 19 homicide that claimed their lives, along with Genesis’s mother, Wendy Lopez-Araiza, leaving the community in shock.

“You never know what you’re taking for granted until you don’t have it anymore,” were the words of a young man who spoke of Trinity, whom he considered a dear friend, and remembers her as someone who was always willing to help others.

Staff of West Valley High remember her as a selfless person who didn’t see cliques or lines dividing peers into social groups; she saw her peers as equals.

“It was an honor to know her,” says another friend as he related feelings of shared camaraderie in the struggles of going through high school, saying, Trinity reminded him, “we’re in this together, she’d say; boredom, stress, the anxiety of being in school…she was there to lighten things up.”

Genesis was remembered for being a fun and loving person. A friend describes her as the “most fun person to be around. She had great energy and would always try to make us laugh if we were sad.”

A friend of Genesis remembers her as a friend with a nurturing soul, saying, “She acted like a mom a lot, and was very sweet. I just hope that everyone can get through this-especially the families.”

A student of West Valley High shared his condolences to the family of the victims, reminding us of the importance of family and that we are all connected. “Send love to your family, no matter who they are, today could be our last day. No matter where you are, your connection with them is always going to be forever.”

Find your latest news here at the Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle

Search: Community gathers

The post Community gathers to remember Trinity Clyde and Genesis Lopez-Araiza appeared first on The Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle.