Column: Asistencia gets assist from Redlands Conservancy

Are you aware of the Asistencia in Redlands? It was a distant outpost of Mission San Gabriel in the early 19th century but came and went in the wink of an eye. The site was rebuilt in 1937 and, after nearly a century in the county’s hands, was given to a nonprofit in 2018. I visit, learn the slightly comical history of the site and share the results in my Wednesday column.

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Column: Festival of Lights returns and so do crowds

I attend my first Festival of Lights in downtown Riverside, in which the Mission Inn is emblazoned with lights, animatronic figures move and fireworks go off, and write about it for my Sunday column. Have you ever been? The lights continue through Jan. 6 and the festival through New Year’s Eve.

This was a rare column written in the evening after an event rather than in a morning or afternoon. But it’s a big event and something I thought I ought to cover. Here was how my schedule worked.

In downtown Riverside Friday, I ate lunch, walked around downtown for color and spoke to some people camping out to watch, then went to my go-to coffeehouse to write a draft of the top portion of the column before it was time to head back to the event. When it was over, about 5:45, I ate dinner, then returned to my coffeehouse to finish the column just before closing time at 9 p.m. Drove home and uploaded two photos of my own, wrote captions and added them to the column before turning in. Saturday morning early, I made a couple of changes to the column, the main one being rewriting the last paragraph, then headed out for the day. Hope the effort of turning a column around on deadline was worth it!

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Column: Cucamonga winery was once shot by ‘Cannon’ for TV episode

“Shot by ‘Cannon,'” get it? If you do or if you don’t, the column will explain to you or remind you about “Cannon,” the 1970s detective show, which once filmed scenes at this column’s old friend, the Virginia Dare Winery. Also: some lighter news from a Moreno Valley council meeting involving seniors and a clutch of brIEfly items from Pomona and Perris, most of which have been on hold for a while. I threw together this column last Friday before leaving for a short vacation — which ends today!

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Column: A closer look at local election outcomes so far

As per tradition, with Election Day past, I take a look at the results (somewhat preliminary though they are) of local elections for city council and such, and note the ones that seem significant or amusing. These are mostly in the Inland Valley, where I have more knowledge, but with some eastern contests thrown in as well. I offer my observations in Friday’s column, which I hope will get your vote of approval.

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