Local election results still aren’t completely settled, but I take a look at the results we have, most of which aren’t going to change, and highlight the most interesting in Sunday’s column.
Sunday’s column talks about the local references in Charles Phoenix’s travelogue-style book “Addicted to Americana,” then updates you on the Montclair pedestrian law and more.
On May 20, 1968, Robert F. Kennedy campaigned in Pomona and Ontario. He visited Fontana on May 29. I delve into those visits for Wednesday’s history-drenched column. Above, Kennedy shakes hands on the Pomona Mall; photo taken from the Claremont Courier’s bound volumes.
For Wednesday’s column, I round up a few extra facts about Bob’s Big Boy, present a bunch of Culture Corner items and end with a Valley Vignette about an unusual art show by people with dementia. Above, an example of the art with the display card; click on it for a bigger view.
In an annual ritual, I clean my desk and get a column out of what I find. In this case, that meant finally dealing with a small bag of crumpled, dirty newspaper pages from 1935 that a reader had “helpfully” donated and which had been put on my desk. Read all about it in Wednesday’s column.
As an addendum, a few items were written or half-written but didn’t make the cut for the column, and most of the notes, etc., were simply tossed because nothing of interest came to mind to say about them. And I didn’t get my desk cleared before the column was due either. So there’s still a slight mess. But things look much better, and there’s a psychological and organizational boost from that. Onward to 2018!
In an annual tradition, I look back at the year’s strangest local news stories with a summary of my favorites. Count down along with me in Sunday’s column.
Before 2018, I decided to wrap up a few loose ends from 2017, starting with interviewing a 1950s Ontario Daily Report paperboy whom I met in March. That and more items that languished make up Friday’s column.
In a rare case of one columnist following up on the work of another, I present the happy ending to a story Steve Lopez wrote in September about musician Don Preston, who now has a nice, affordable place to live after weeks of uncertainty in L.A. The story of Preston and his wife is told in my Christmas Eve column.
A tip led me to the wine section at Trader Joe’s, where there’s an Australian wine inspired by the co-founder of Ontario and Upland. Also, our dining out reviewer is retiring. I report on both of those items in Friday’s column.
Based on this recruitment ad on a bus bench in Pomona, the Riverside Sheriff’s Department seems to be a previously unknown fourth branch of the armed forces. Is their mission to help the public or subdue it?
