Mountain communities in both San Bernardino and Riverside counties are bearing the brunt of the latest storm rolling into Southern California, but some people opted to use the cold Valentine’s Day weather to hit Mountain High Resort in Wrightwood.

“We wanted to do something different because I checked the restaurants and everything is booked and really hard to reserve,” said Los Angeles resident Brandon Burgos, who headed up to Wrightwood with Mari Raya for the day. “I didn’t want to look anymore, so I said, ‘Let’s just go to the snow.’”

The couple were not the only ones opting for a different type of Valentine’s Day.

“It’s actually my first time snowboarding and I’m not going to lie, I fell at least 100 times up there, but ultimately it was a really fun experience,” Los Angeles resident Ashli West told KTLA.

While it was a spectacular day at the resort, the sunny skies are not expected to last long.

“It’s been closer to spring conditions, but with this cold front coming in, we do expect to make some snow,” Zach Longacre, with Mountain High Resort, said.

A bitter cold front is moving through the local mountain communities, bringing fresh snow that visitors to the area can enjoy for the President’s Day weekend ahead.

“The storm is coming down directly from the north,” Alex Tardy, with the National Weather Service, told KTLA. “So, it’s a cold storm, probably the coldest one we’ve seen all year.”

Parts of the Inland Empire, like Riverside Fontana and Corona are expected to see freezing temperatures by midnight.

Tardy said the storm will be fast, but it’s expected to pack a punch in a span of about two hours in areas like Wrightwood, Lake Arrowhead and Big Bear, which may see get about two inches of snow.

Most areas impacted by the storm, according to Tardy, are going to see winds as high as 50-60 miles an hour, which will have the potential to blow down trees and power lines.

Many people in the mountains say they’ll make sure to get out before the storm rolls in, so they can avoid dangerous road conditions.

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Clouds were thickening Tuesday with partly and mostly cloudy skies expected to blanket the Southland, growing denser as the frontal system over the eastern Pacific approaches the area. In general, most areas will see a half inch to an inch of rain Tuesday, according to the NWS.

Snow is likely for the higher elevations.

SoCal remains on track for a powerful storm system to affect the area starting Wednesday and continuing through Friday, forecasters said. Up to 6 inches of rain are expected in some areas, with snow at higher elevations. The heaviest rainfall is expected to occur late Wednesday through Thursday morning.

Wind advisories and warnings are likely Wednesday into Thursday, according to the NWS.

The NWS issued a flood watch from 2 a.m. to 4 p.m. Thursday for Southwest Riverside County, the Riverside metropolitan region, and the San Gorgonio Pass Area. While rain is forecast in the Coachella Valley, the area is not under a flood watch.

Health officials are warning people to avoid entering ocean water near discharging storm drains or rivers due to possible bacterial infection. The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health issued an ocean water quality rain advisory that was in effect until 7 a.m. Tuesday.

Health officials noted that stormwater runoff that reaches the ocean can carry bacteria, chemicals, debris trash and other health hazards. People who come in contact with impacted water in the ocean could become ill, health officials said.

Temperatures are expected to be cool throughout the week, with highs in the 50s and 60s in most areas.

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“Our bottom line is ensuring people stay safe as possible from this virus” said Allied Restoration’s Co-Founder and President O.P. Almaraz. “We at Allied Restoration want take people from crisis mode to proactive competency. With a clear plan, fear shifts to empowerment which yields more compliance and prevention. We aim to provide any necessary resources and education that will help Southern California fight the second wave.”

With more than 26 years of experience in restoration, decontamination and disinfection of bio-hazards, Allied Restoration has expanded its service to assist in cleaning, planning and deploying rapid response for COVID-19, becoming the preeminent expert in virus-related mitigation in Southern California, including Los Angeles, Ventura, San Bernardino, Riverside and Orange Counties. 

While continuing to avoid any gatherings and non-essential outings, here are Allied Restoration’s tips that can further minimize the risk of potential exposure and reduce the spread of the virus.

• Tip #1: Try your best to change out the air in your home at least 3-6 times per hour. 
  In a closed home with no windows open, the entire air in a room swaps out less than once per hour (which greatly increases the chances of infection if someone else infected is in the space). Compare this to a subway car that offers 18 exchanges per hour and a plane that offers 20, a home can actually be one of the most dangerous places to gather. Residents living with multiple people in their household can improve ventilation in their homes and minimize viral spread by opening windows at least 6 inches which increases ventilation by 30%. Opening a minimum of 6-10 windows in a home should reach the recommended air changes per hour. In rooms and homes that cannot be properly ventilated, purchase or rent air purification devices. Allied Restoration experts can make a variety of recommendations based on each room or environment.
• Tip #2: Disinfect actively before, during and after potential exposure
  For many, trips to the grocery store hosting repair experts all present an element of risk. Be sure to actively disinfect your hands before, during and after any interaction with people outside of your household. One of the best things you can do to keep your home sanitized and mitigate spread is to make sure your space is being consistently disinfected using cleaning products listed on EPA List N (Disinfectants for Coronavirus / COVID-19) found here: https://cfpub.epa.gov/giwiz/disinfectants/index.cfm
• Tip #3: Control your CO₂ and humidity levels
  Many Smart A/C and other smart home devices are now tracking one or both Relative Humidity and CO₂ levels in a home. As a rule of thumb, it’s best to be in an area that has a CO₂ level of 600 or less (cars have 1000 and outside has 400) which can indicate how much expelled air is present versus clean, fresh air that is more likely to be free of viruses. The higher the CO₂ levels, the higher the risk of breathing air that may be contaminated with the virus. Additionally, avoid dryer rooms as this allows COVID-19 to travel further while aerosolized. It may not feel like it would make a big difference, but humidity can slow the virus’s travel time and decrease the potential range in which the virus can travel.
• Tip #4: Let science be your guide
  The Allied Restoration team is a huge fan of this COVID-19 Indoor Safety Guideline created by some brilliant folks over at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). When evaluating the risk of exposure in a home or work environment, simply plug in the room’s conditions (including whether or not inhabitants are wearing masks) and an algorithm calculates how long you would be advised to quarantine and how long the occupants would be unsafe.

O.P. Almaraz recently published Your Safe & Healthy Home: How To Protect Your Family & Get Peace of Mind in the New Normal – a guide to mitigating disasters including wildfires and earthquakes and creating a healthier, eco-friendly, efficient space. Interested readers can find Your Safe & Healthy Home on Amazon in print and eBook formats.

For more information, go to: AlliedRestore.com or check out this YouTube video. 

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As expected, a regional stay-at-home order in effect across Southern California due to surging COVID-19 hospitalizations was formally extended Tuesday, continuing a ban on all gatherings of people from different households and in-person dining and setting strict capacity limits at many businesses.

The state’s regional order, which covers Riverside County and 10 other Southern California counties, took effect at 11:59 p.m. Dec. 6 and was set to expire Monday. But with the region’s intensive-care unit capacity at hospitals still officially listed at 0 percent, Gov. Gavin Newsom said Monday the order was all but certain to be extended. The state’s Health and Human Services Secretary, Dr. Mark Ghaly, made it official Tuesday, saying incoming COVID-19 patients are expected to continue exceeding ICU capacity in the region over the next four weeks.

The order was not extended for any specific timeframe. Ghaly said the four-week projections are evaluated daily, and the region can emerge from the stay-at-home order whenever the projection indicates a region’s ICU capacity will rise above 15 percent.

The four-week projections are based on four factors: current ICU capacity, the region’s seven-day average daily new case rate, the transmission rate and the rate of ICU admissions.

With the Southern California region’s current ICU capacity is still listed at 0 percent — and health officials anticipating case numbers and hospitalizations to rise throughout January based on gatherings that likely occurred for Christmas and will again for New Year’s Eve despite warnings — the region is expected to remain under the order for weeks to come.

“We should expect that the hospitals that are under duress, that are in crisis already, will continue to see a high number of patients knocking on the door asking for care. Ambulances that still need to find a place to drop off a patient so they can get back in the field to support other patients who need care,” Ghaly said. “… All of those trends tell me and give me continued concern that we need to continue to work to prepare for (the) next holiday surge of cases into the early part of next year, and that likely … in the middle of January we will see a significant higher number of cases than we have today of individuals with COVID who need hospital-level care.”

In anticipation of the state’s action, Los Angeles County on Sunday night extended its local stay-at-home order, which essentially mirrors the state’s restrictions.

The state also extended the stay-at-home order for the San Joaquin Valley. Four of the five regions carved out by the state are under stay-at-home orders, covering 98 percent of the state’s population. Only far northern California is not under a stay-at-home order.

The Southern California region covers Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Diego, Imperial, Inyo, Mono, San Bernardino, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara and Ventura counties. Most broadly, the order bars gatherings of people from different households.

Under the order, the following businesses/recreational facilities were forced to close:

— indoor recreational facilities;

— hair salons and barbershops;

— personal care services;

— museums, zoos, and aquariums;

— movie theaters;

— wineries;

— bars, breweries and distilleries;

— family entertainment centers;

— cardrooms and satellite wagering;

— limited services;

— live audience sports; and

— amusement parks.

Schools with waivers can remain open, along with “critical infrastructure” and retail stores, which are limited to 20 percent of capacity. Restaurants are restricted to takeout and delivery service only. Hotels are allowed to open “for critical infrastructure support only,” while churches are restricted to outdoor only services. Entertainment production — including professional sports — can continue without live audiences.

The order was triggered in each area when the region’s ICU bed availability dropped below 15 percent.

Newsom noted Monday that COVID-19 hospital admissions have begun to plateau across much of the state — except in Southern California, with Los Angeles, Riverside and San Bernardino counties continuing to be the hardest hit.

Los Angeles County has rapidly become the epicenter of the pandemic in the state, with the state reporting more than 7,400 COVID-19 patients in L.A. County hospitals as of Tuesday, including nearly 1,500 in intensive-care unit beds. Newsom said 96 percent of Los Angeles County hospitals diverted ambulances to other facilities at some point over the weekend due to overcrowding in emergency rooms — up from a normal average of 33 percent of hospitals going on diversion.

According to Newsom, L.A. County hospitals on average spent 16 hours on diversion over the weekend, unable to find space for emergency patients.

Ghaly said hospitals are doing the best they can under trying circumstances, and while some Southern California medical centers have begun taking steps that might be considered part of “crisis care,” none have fully entered that mode and been forced to make decisions such as rationing equipment like ventilators.

Ghaly again preached compliance with health orders such as staying at home as much as possible, wearing a face covering and practicing social distancing.

“Much of what we’re dealing with is avoidable,” he said. “Much of what we’re seeing can be stopped if we collectively make decisions to stop it.”

Newsom on Monday had harsh words for counties and county officials who continue to “thumb your nose” at health orders. He singled out Riverside County, where Sheriff Chad Bianco has publicly criticized Newsom and said his agency would not be “blackmailed” into becoming an enforcement arm of state health officials.

Newsom has said repeatedly that counties that don’t adhere to health restrictions would lose state funding.

“We’re in the midst of a pandemic,” Newsom said. “I don’t know what more evidence you need, particularly, as highlighted, Riverside County is experiencing what they’re experiencing in ICUs and hospitals and lives lost. I mean, what more evidence do you need that trying to enforce good behavior will actually save lives? It’s a noble and right thing to do.

“To dismiss as many have in the past and some of the same folks … some still holding onto this as a hoax or face coverings don’t matter. … They’re not helping. They’re not advancing that cause, and so we will be assertive as we have been, we will be aggressive, as we have been.”

Bianco, in a video message posted online earlier this month, called state health mandates “flat-out ridiculous,” while calling Newsom’s stances hypocritical in light of his criticism of the federal government for withholding funds from states, and following Newsom’s well-publicized attendance at a dinner party in spite of his own regulations against such gatherings.

Bianco told residents in his message to wear a mask and practice social distancing, but said, “While the governor’s office and the state has threatened action against violators, the Riverside County Sheriff‘s Department will not be blackmailed, bullied or used as muscle against Riverside County residents in the enforcement of the governor’s orders.”

-City News Service

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In Riverside, the shelves of a Stater Bros. store that normally hold paper towels and toilet paper were looking fairly bare.

“I’ve heard customers saying is there something I don’t know going on, like what’s going on, and it had me thinking, am I supposed to be buying stuff again?” said Marlene Walker of Moreno Valley.

Not all stores appear to be having issues. Outside a nearby Albertsons, there was no obvious sign of people loading up their carts with paper products.

Some customers who spoke to Eyewitness News say the situation seems more apparent at big-box stores like Costco or Sam’s Club.

“At Costco, people were taking more than one big package, and at the register they were telling them they weren’t allowed to, they’re only allowed to buy one big package of toilet paper,” said Margarita Garcia of Riverside.

The reasons for the shortages weren’t entirely clear. Stores aren’t reporting any problems with manufacturing and distribution, but say demand for the products is up.

Some stores say they’re seeing customers make less frequent shopping trips, but when they do they buy in bulk.

Some also think there was some hoarding being done in preparation for sheltering at home during possible unrest linked to the election.

Smart and Final officials said: “We’ve seen an increase in demand for paper products, but it’s important to note that there aren’t any supplier issues related to raw materials. We continue to encourage people to buy only what they need….”

Albertsons said: “Just as we’ve seen for the last several months, customers are shopping less frequently, but buying more in their trips to the store or their ecommerce orders…”

Other customers noted that many of the other goods that were in short supply at the start of the pandemic now appear to be plentiful, such as hand sanitizer, soap and other cleaning products.

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During a news conference on Monday, supervisors from Riverside, Orange and San Diego counties demanded that the state do more to help individuals and businesses struggling with the economic effects of COVID-19.

“The local elected leaders of Southern California recognize what the governor seems to fail to understand, and that is we know our communities best, we know best how to help our communities, we know how to keep our communities safe,” said Orange County Supervisor Donald Wagner.

In the city of Banning, 29 people out of more than 31,000 residents have died with COVID-19. But the mayor says the economic damage to small businesses is also devastating.

“We have empty storefronts, some to never be reopened again,” said Mayor Daniell Andrade.

In the city of Riverside, Councilman Chuck Condor says services like street and sidewalk repair, tree trimming and parks maintenance, among other things, could see cuts.

Although he hopes to spare public safety, Condor had this message for struggling businesses:

“Go back to work if you need to. Do it by industry standards, be careful, do everything you can. Do what you need to do, there’s safety in numbers. Go back to work, open your businesses,” he said.

Riverside County Supervisor Jeff Hewitt ended the news conference with a message about masks.

“Everybody listen, if you don’t feel this is important, still carry one around and show respect, because we have to start treating each other as though we’re neighbors and not enemies,” he said.

In that county, the Board of Supervisors is considering a plan to potentially reopen businesses much more quickly than the state’s guidance currently allows. They could vote on that plan at their meeting next week.

by (KABC)

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ARE Animal Rescue, Hemet, CA, announced that the all-volunteer nonprofit organization has teamed up with the PetSmart stores in Glendora and Corona, CA, to showcase in the stores’ catteries kittens and adult cats that ARE has available for adoption. These agreements bring to five the number of in-store catteries ARE occupies in Southern California. The others are in PetSmart on College Blvd. in Oceanside and PetSmart and Petco in Hemet.

ARE Animal Rescue’s headquarters and main adoption center are in a 5,300-square-foot storefront at 101 East Florida Ave. in Hemet.

As of September 14, ARE had 1127 cats and dogs in its care and so far in 2020 had rescued 1893 animals and found homes for 1460. Since its founding, ARE has rescued 3961 animals and found homes for 2834.

ARE has grown exponentially in the two years since its founding in June 2108. In addition to the five catteries and adoption center, ARE has 272 foster homes spread across four counties: Riverside, San Bernardino, Orange and San Diego. Foster volunteers care for the animals – from pregnant moms and bottle babies to the sick, injured and those needing socialization – until they’re old enough, healthy and ready for adoption.

In April 2020, ARE stepped up its intakes to help the local communities when Riverside County Dept. of Animal Services closed to the public its animal shelter in San Jacinto.

In announcing the latest store relationships, ARE’s founder/executive director Amber Schlieder noted that with the increased number of rescues resulting in part from the COVID-19 pandemic, there’s a greater burden on the organization for funding and volunteer support. ARE has operated solely on donations, adoption fees, and minimal sales of pet supplies at the adoption center. Schlieder said ARE is actively applying for grants with the hope of obtaining additional funds.

Animals available for adoption can be seen at the catteries during store hours, on ARE’s website (www.arerescue.org), and on the “ARE Animal Rescue” Facebook page. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, the adoption center is open to the public by appointment only until further notice.

Interested adopters may apply at the store catteries or can save time by completing an application on ARE’s website. If approved, adopters will then receive further instructions and can set up appointments.

As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit rescue organization serving Southern California, ARE Animal Rescue’s goal is to attain a no-kill community by reducing euthanasia in high-kill shelters. ARE Animal Rescue is dedicated to rescuing at-risk cats/kittens and dogs/puppies from high-kill shelters and from situations of immediate danger in order to give them a chance at life.

For more information on ARE Animal Rescue, visit www.arerescue.org, call 951-708-1280, email to info@arerescue.org, or follow ARE on Facebook and Instagram.

Put the below in a colored box and incorporate it after the article.

ARE Animal Rescue’s Adoption Locations

PetSmart, 1301 East Gladstone St., Glendora

PetSmart, 573 North McKinley St., Corona

PetSmart, 471-2 College Blvd., Oceanside

PetSmart, 2771 West Florida Ave., Hemet

Petco, 2545 West Florida Ave., Hemet

ARE Pet Adoption Center, 101 East Florida Ave., Hemet (currently by appointment only)

Amber Schlieder – ARE Animal Rescue

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Sex offender Cary Jay Smith

Mr. Smith has left the City of Lake Elsinore. He is still being monitored by Riverside County Sheriff’s Department; however, his final destination has not been released at this time. We will continue to provide updates as they become available.

Sex Offender Released from State Mental Hospital currently in Lake Elsinore, CA.

Cary Jay Smith, 59, was sent to Patton State Hospital in San Bernardino in 1999 on a 72-hour psychiatric hold after his wife provided a psychiatrist with a letter in which Smith described sex acts he wanted to perform on a 7-year-old boy who lived in his Costa Mesa neighborhood.

Since 1999, Smith has continued to be held by the state under a section of the state’s Welfare and Institutions Code (WIC) as a result of a series of civil trials which have determined that he presents a “demonstrated danger of inflicting substantial physical harm” to children. Under WIC 5300, Smith is allowed a new trial every six months to demonstrate that he is no longer a danger to society.

During those hearings, Smith has repeatedly testified that he fantasizes about raping and then killing young boys in order to avoid being identified. He claims that he has killed three boys and molested 200. He prefers to go by the name Mr. RTK, which stands for rape, torture, kill.

Psychologists have testified over the years that Smith posed an imminent danger. The state hospital did not renew the 5300 hold against Smith, allowing it to expire on Saturday, July 11, 2020. The Orange County District Attorney urged Governor Newsom to intervene and reinstate the requirement that Smith register as a sex offender. Smith is not on probation or parole and his requirement to register as a sex offender for life was removed by the State in 2005 for reasons that remain unclear.

Following his release from Coalinga State Hospital, Smith returned to the Orange County area, then to Corona, relocating to local motels on a daily basis. The Orange Police Department and Corona Police Department have monitored Smith while he temporarily resided in their cities since his release and have been sharing information to maintain community safety. Deputies from the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department are currently monitoring Smith to ensure the safety of our communities. We will continue to do so as long as he is within the County of Riverside. Mr. Smith is not on any form of supervised release or required to register as a sex offender. Smith can move around without restrictions. We will update the community when he leaves.

Over the course of the last year, an unprecedented number of inmates have been released by the State of California. Upwards of 10,000 have already been released, with plans to release 8,000 more by the end of August, according to a July 10th press release by California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. Law enforcement officials have appealed to the State and the Governor to prevent the mass release of violent inmates and sexual predators, however they have continuously failed to do so.

Please note: the purpose of the release of this information is to allow members of the public to protect themselves and their children from sex offenders. (Penal Code section 290.45 (a)(2)) Any use of this information other than for the stated purpose is unlawful.

Do not contact, confront, or attempt to apprehend Mr. Smith if seen.

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Search: multiple moves around SoCal

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