Local news

Monday through Thursday at lunchtime, KVCR News has your daily news rundown. Stories highlighted today include:

1. The San Bernardino County Registrar of Voters says early voting numbers are up compared to the 2016 election.
2. Environmental leaders in California are meeting this week to brainstorm how to reach climate goals by the year 2045.

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. One in eight women will get breast cancer in their lifetime, yet fewer women are going in to get screened for the disease during the COVID-19 pandemic. KVCR’s Benjamin Purper spoke to Riverside University Health System radiologist Lisa Mahoney about the importance of early screening for breast cancer and some of the precautions RUHS is taking to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus during screenings. 

Monday, October 19 is the last day to register to vote, and the latest numbers show that Inland Empire voters have been registering at some of the highest rates in the state.

According to state data, as of September 4, San Bernardino County had the second highest percent increase in voter registrations in the state. Riverside County had the fifth largest. U.C. Riverside political science professor, Francisco Pedraza says this regional rise may be due to decades of work done by community organizations.  

Monday through Thursday at lunchtime, KVCR News has your daily news rundown. Stories highlighted today include:

1. California’s annual Great Shakeout earthquake drill is happening today, virtually.
2. DEA announces biggest meth bust in U.S. history in the southland.
3. Meteorologists expect dry, warm, and windy weather in Northern California, which present the perfect conditions for more wildfires.

Ontario International Airport’s freight and passenger numbers are growing, reflecting a “gradual recovery” for the airport amid the pandemic. 

Commercial freight volume at the airport increased more than 20% in September while the number of air travelers rose to almost 200,000.

According to a press release, Ontario Airport representatives say these numbers reflect a “gradual recovery” for the airport in recent months.

Passenger volume there reached a low point in April due to the coronavirus pandemic, but it’s grown every month between May and September.

San Bernardino County appears to be overtaking San Diego County in coronavirus hospitalizations, now ranking second in the state. 

San Bernardino County is now behind only Los Angeles County in terms of hospitalizations.

San Diego County now ranks third.

The confirmed case count in San Bernardino County since the public health documentation period began in early march is 58,125 cases with 986 deaths.

More than 690,000 people have been tested for the virus in the county.

Today on Inland Edition, KVCR’s Benjamin Purper speaks with Este Geraghty, the Chief Medical Officer and Health Solutions Director at ESRI, the Redlands-based geographic information systems company. Dr. Geraghty talks about the logistical and planning challenges involved in distributing a potential vaccine for COVID-19 and the role GIS mapping technology plays in doing so.

For more information about Dr. Geraghty and ESRI, visit https://www.esri.com/about/newsroom/author/estella-geraghty/

San Bernardino County continues to move away from moving into the less-restrictive red tier of coronavirus restrictions amid rising case and positivity rates. 

The county is still in the most-restrictive purple tier of restrictions set by the state, despite hoping to move to the red tier last week.

Under the red tier, counties can open churches, restaurants, gyms and movie theaters indoors, with limited capacity.

According to data released Tuesday, San Bernardino County had 9.6 cases per 100,000 residents, which is up from 7.7 last week.

Monday through Thursday at lunchtime, Empire KVCR News has your daily news rundown. Stories highlighted today include:

Today on Inland Edition, Lillian Vasquez has a conversation with Corey Jackson, CEO of SBX Youth and Family Services, a non-profit organization that provides mentoring and youth development services in the Inland Empire. Corey talks about the challenges of finding affordable child care services during the pandemic.

For more information about SBX Youth and Family Services, you can find them on Facebook or Twitter @SigmaBetaXiinc

Monday through Thursday at lunchtime, Empire KVCR News has your daily news rundown. Stories highlighted today include:

1. The bulk of Riverside County’s CARES Act funds are already spent or committed.
2. California voters will decide on Proposition 15 this fall, which would raise taxes on big businesses.
3. Proposition 22 would allow companies to classify gig company workers as contractors and that would require the companies to offer new benefits to drivers.

Monday through Thursday at lunchtime, Empire KVCR News has your daily news rundown. Stories highlighted today include:

1. A Big Bear firefighter who went missing September 20 may have been picked up by a car.
2. A local Red Flag warning has been declared until 7pm across the entire region, with various fires still burning.
3. Amidst wildfires, experts are looking for real fire solutions and calling for cultural change in California.

Monday through Thursday at lunchtime, Empire KVCR News has your daily news rundown. Stories highlighted today include:

1. Last week, San Bernardino’s School Board became the first in the Inland Empire to make student voter education a requirement.
2. To respond to the 2020 Census, fill out the paper questionnaire mailed out in April or go to my2020census.gov. You can also respond by phone by calling 844-330-2020 or visit the Census website for a phone number associated with your preferred language.

As part of KVCR’s series for Suicide Prevention Month called “Wellness for Times of Uncertainty,” we’re talking about youth suicide.

Suicide rates have been on the rise among young people. According to a report at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in 2018, suicide was the second leading cause of death among individuals between the ages of 10 and 24. And now during the pandemic, young people may not have access to the support system they once did and it’s taking a toll on their emotional and mental well-being.

Today on Inland Edition, Lillian Vasquez speaks with Beth Burt, the Executive Director for the Autism Society Inland Empire. Beth talks about special challenges families are facing during the pandemic and what teachers are facing with their special need students.

For more information, visit ieautism.org

Monday through Thursday at lunchtime, Empire KVCR News has your daily news rundown. Stories highlighted today include:

The race is on to develop a coronavirus vaccine, but once it’s created, how do we ensure it’s distributed equitably? Este Geraghty is the Chief Medical Officer and Health Solutions Director at Esri, a Redlands-based geographic information systems company. KVCR’s Benjamin Purper interviewed Geraghty about the logistical and planning challenges involved in distributing a potential vaccine and the role GIS mapping technology plays in doing so.

Monday through Thursday at lunchtime, Empire KVCR News has your daily news rundown. Stories highlighted today include:

1. Full containment is expected October 1 for the Snow Fire burning near Palm Springs.
2. On National Voter Registration Day, voters are urged to make a plan.
3. Governor Newsom announced $230 million to create homes for the homeless population to protect them from COVID-19.
4. Wildfires and hurricanes disrupt the final weeks of Census 2020.

Monday through Thursday at lunchtime, Empire KVCR News has your daily news rundown. Stories highlighted today include:

Today on Inland Edition, Lillian Vasquez speaks with Michael Osur, Assistant Director and Chief Health Strategist for Riverside County Public Health. He talks about contact tracing- what it is, who does it, and why it’s needed during the pandemic.

For more information, visit RivCoPH.org

Monday through Thursday at lunchtime, Empire KVCR News has your daily news rundown. Stories highlighted today include:

1. Affordable housing is not only an essential solution for fighting wildfires, but for addressing climate change.
2. A $1.2 billion program aimed at building housing for homeless people has been plagued by delays and soaring costs.

Monday through Thursday at lunchtime, Empire KVCR News has your daily news rundown. Stories highlighted today include:

Monday through Thursday at lunchtime, Empire KVCR News has your daily news rundown. Stories highlighted today include:

Today on Inland Edition, Lillian Vasquez speaks with travel expert, author, radio and television host Rick Steves. Rick shares how the coronavirus has impacted travel, how to remain an explorer in your own neighborhood, and how travelers might restart their adventures in the future.

For more information about Rick Steves, visit ricksteves.com

Monday through Thursday at lunchtime, Empire KVCR News has your daily news rundown. Stories highlighted today include:

1. COVID-19 hospitalizations and active cases continue to fall in Riverside County.
2. Firefighters are bracing for the challenge of Santa Ana wind conditions.
3. Governor Newsom says the PG&E Public Safety Power Shutoffs are  based on better protocols than last year.
4. Governor Newsom has relaxed coronavirus restrictions in five more counties, including San Diego, Orange, and Santa Clara.

Firefighters are continuing their work to contain the El Dorado fire above Yucaipa—which has burned 10,574 acres and is 16 percent contained as of Tuesday. KVCR’s Megan Jamerson reports crews are bracing for the challenge of Santa Ana wind conditions.

The combination of low humidity and gusty winds of over 40 miles per hour will make containment of the El Dorado fire more challenging for crews through Wednesday evening. The Santa Ana winds could potentially spread the fire further west into the neighborhoods of Yucaipa and Mentone.

Monday through Thursday at lunchtime, Empire KVCR News has your daily news rundown. Stories highlighted today include:

Monday through Thursday at lunchtime, Empire KVCR News has your daily news rundown. Stories highlighted today include: