Local news

Riverside County residents who received their first COVID-19 vaccine at county run sites have a new way to check on the status of their invitation for their second dose appointment. KVCR’s Megan Jamerson has more from the county’s weekly public health update.

Residents can now go online to check on the status of second dose invitation at rivcoph.org/COVID-19-2nd-Dose-Information.

The rollout of San Bernardino County’s new mobile COVID-19 vaccination clinics this week, means seniors in rural and mountain communities have more direct access to the vaccine. 

Over the next several weeks, two county vans will exclusively serve seniors age 65 and older at several locations across the far-flung region.

These communities include San Bernardino, Chino Hills, Colton, Lucerne Valley, Twentynine Palms, Rancho Cucamonga, Chino, Hesperia, Montclair, Trona, Needles, and others. The vans held clinics this week in Crestline, Lytle Creek and Lake Arrowhead.

Riverside County announced Tuesday that COVID-19 case rates met the state’s threshold to allow for schools to restart in-person kindergarten through sixth grade education. Meanwhile in San Bernardino County, teachers can now sign up to receive the vaccine at county run sites.

In order to reopen, schools in Riverside County must have pre-approved plans. According to a release, currently four districts have approval including Corona-Norco, Palo Verde Valley, Desert Sands, and Murrieta Valley.

Spring visitors to Joshua Tree National Park can typically expect limited parking, full campgrounds and long lines to enter the park. KVCR’s Megan Jamerson reports, with visitation numbers up last year, rangers are expecting even bigger crowds during their historically busy season.

To avoid the crush of people, rangers suggest visitors follow these three tips during March and April. Plan mid-week trips, buy a digital pass ahead of time at recreation.gov, and arrive before 10 a.m. and avoid leaving around sunset.

Five San Bernardino County High School Academic Decathlon teams are advancing to the State Championship set to begin in March. Those high school teams include Chaffey, Chino, Rancho Cucamonga, Redlands and county champion Etiwanda.

They will compete against 78 other high school teams for the coveted state title from March 25 to 28. The top two teams will advance to the national championship.

Skeletal remains found in Twentynine Palms near Joshua Tree National Park have now been identified as a missing Northern California woman.

The San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department identified the deceased as 37-year-old Erika Llyod. She was last seen June 17, close to eight months ago, in the Bay Area city of Walnut Creek and was believed to have been on a road trip to Joshua Tree National Park.

A new poll out of U.C. Berkeley’s Othering & Belonging Institute (OBI) found that anti-mask protestors in the Inland Empire do not represent the majority. KVCR’s Megan Jamerson reports that instead, greater than 4 in 5 voters in Riverside and San Bernardino counties support a public mask mandate. This comes as U.S. health officials say mask wearing may be needed into 2022.

The results of a survey on the top educational priorities of Black families and students across the Inland Empire was released Thursday. KVCR’s Megan Jamerson reports that the goal was to raise up Black voices in the conversation around solving racial inequalities in education.

Academic success, Black History education, college and career access, effective teachers and graduation rates. These were the top five priorities as shared by the 955 survey participants who nearly all identified as African American or Black.

Scientists have found a new way to study hard to access animals in urban areas. KVCR’s Megan Jamerson spoke with a Cal State San Bernardino biology professor about using crowd sourced data to learn more about a common but secretive backyard lizard.

Bree Putman likes to study how animals are handling the challenges of humans invading their space due to increasing urbanization. Since most urban land is private, "As a scientist I can’t just go out and do a survey because I would be trespassing on someone’s land,” said Putman.

The Family Service Association (F.S.A.), a Moreno Valley non-profit, received a $120,000 grant to address COVID-19 disparities in San Bernardino County from the Oakland-based Public Health Institute.

They will use the money to roll out an outreach plan in early March to target vulnerable groups like seniors, essential workers, people living in poverty, communities of color and immigrants around behavioral changes to prevent disease spread and encourage vaccine adoption.

Over 11 percent of San Bernardino County residents have now been vaccinated. That’s according to a new portal launched by the county last week.  KVCR’s Megan Jamerson has more on what the first round of data looks like.

Of those vaccinated, over seven percent have received one dose and three percent are fully vaccinated with two doses. Patients age 75 to 79 have the highest vaccination rate followed by patients 80 and older.

San Bernardino National Forest officials are asking for public comments on a proposed wildfire prevention project for the Lytle Creek Area. 

Lytle Creek sits west of the Cajon Pass and north of the cities of Fontana and Rialto. Officials says the chaparral and grassland area has become overgrown since the catastrophic 2003 Grand Prix Fire. The proposal explains fuel reduction methods like thinning and prescribed burning are needed to prevent a future catastrophic fire event.

A tight vaccine supply means both Riverside and San Bernardino County will continue to prioritize residents age 65 and older in their vaccine push. KVCR’s Megan Jamerson has more on this and securing second dose appointments.

Riverside County opened up its public health vaccine clinics to people age 65 and older Monday, but University Health System Chief of Family Medicine Dr. Geoffry Leung warned that supply continues to be limited. Riverside County vaccine appointment information can be found here.

Vote-by-mail ballots are on their way to city of Eastvale voters for a March 2 special election. The Riverside County Registrar mailed 29,000 ballots to registered voters in Eastvale last week and began operation of early voting sites on February 1.

The measure up for consideration is the city’s “No-Tax Increase Gann Measure.” If approved by voters, it would allow Eastvale to keep more local tax dollars in the city for vital services like police and fire. It would not raise or impose new taxes on residents.

San Bernardino County Superbowl fans can catch Minnesota Vikings running back and San Bernardino High School graduate Alexander Mattison in an ad on ESPN Desportes during the Superbowl on February 7.

Mattison, speaking Spanish in the ad, serves as a county spokesperson encouraging residents to get the COVID-19 vaccine.

He appears in purple Vikings attire standing on San Bernardino High’s football field, where as a student he was a football, wrestling and track star.

Outdoor street dining in downtown Redlands is set to resume February 11. The city worked with local businesses to restart the program after the state stay-at-home order was lifted on January 25.

The popular State Street Promenade dining event closes portions of East State Street and Fifth Street to through-traffic allowing local restaurants to set up outdoor tables in the road adjacent to their properties. The event will take place weekly 6:30 p.m. to 11 p.m. on Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings and 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Sundays.

A petition circulating in the community of Bloomington is urging San Bernardino County officials to reject a rezoning proposal that would allow for a three million square foot warehouse district. Community members say it would worsen the diesel pollution already plaguing communities of color in the region. 

This Superbowl Sunday, Inland Empire public health officials are asking residents to consider virtual gatherings, and to take caution to avoid the further spread of COVID-19.

While the Inland Empire is beginning to recover from the December and January surge of infections linked to the holiday season, several local hospitals remain strained and available ICU beds are at zero percent capacity for the Southern California region.

The city of San Bernardino’s Cajon High School took first place in the 39th annual San Bernardino County Mock Trial Finals last week. 

This was the second time in school history that the Cajon High School Cowboys have taken the top county prize.

A pair of consumer groups would like Southern California Edison to refund customers $124 million for a mismanaged lightbulb program. An investigation found that SCE lost track of over one million lightbulbs paid for by customers over a three-year period. 

A mandatory evacuation order is now in effect for over 8,000 residents in the areas of Oak Glen, northeast Yucaipa, and Mountain Home Village due to mudslide risks. This is an upgrade from Wednesday’s evacuation warning.

The San Bernardino County Sherriff’s Department made the announcement at a press conference Thursday morning, January 28, amid growing concern that flooding and mudslides could be triggered by an incoming storm that could bring three to four inches of rain to the Inland region Thursday evening.

Riverside County announced Wednesday that it be closing the Beaumont vaccine clinic at San Gorgonio Middle School on Friday, January 29 due to severe weather predicted for the Inland region. 

In a press release, the county said residents with Friday appointments at the Beaumont clinic will receive a confirmation email to reschedule their vaccine for Monday, February 1 at the same appointment time.

All other vaccine clinics operated by the Riverside County Public Health Department will remain open, but the weather situation will continue to be monitored.

Newly elected Riverside City Mayor Patricia Lock Dawson will give her first State of the City address virtually on January 28. 

She is expected to review both the city’s accomplishments in 2020 and take a look ahead at the top issues facing the community in 2021.

According to a press release, the mayor will also announce the winner of the diversity and inclusion award, named after UC Riverside Professor Emeritus Dr. Carlos Cortés, and the Greater Riverside Chamber of Commerce will announce the winners of the Keep Riverside Clean and Beautiful campaign.

Residents and businesses with a landline 909 telephone number, will now need to dial '1' and the area code for all calls, effective immediately, while wireless customers will need to just dial the area code before phone numbers.

This is all to make way for the introduction of the 840 area code next month. Starting February 23, customers requesting new or additional telephone numbers may be assigned the 840 area code in order to address the shortage of available numbers in the region currently served by the 909 area code.

Pixar’s latest animated hit Soul, about the life-after-death adventures of a jazz musician, has an Inland Empire connection. Cal State University of San Bernardino biology professor, Dr. Stuart Sumida, worked with animators to help create one of the movie’s central characters, a very round cat named Mr. Mittens.

“He’s built a little bit more like a hamster, but he has to convince the audience he is a cat, that he is acting like a cat,” said Sumida.