Every spring, the state Finance Department releases population estimates for California’s cities and counties. I always find the numbers of interest to see where our cities stand on their own and in relation to each other. Usually one or two numbers surprise me because I’ve forgotten how large one city or another is.

Having given up on writing an item for my column on the population numbers, as I’ve done some years, I’m putting ’em here on my blog. In descending order:

Fontana 212,786
Rancho Cucamonga 177,324
Ontario 174,283
Pomona 155,306
Chino 88,026
Chino Hills 80,676
Upland 76,790
Montclair 39,122
Claremont 36,225
La Verne 33,174

Chino’s population increased 2.7 percent, highest in the valley, over the previous year. And note the big spread between Pomona and Chino.

You can look at all the numbers starting from the department website and downloading the spreadsheet.

Caltrans’ Yessica Jovel emailed June 1 to say: “We noticed your recent blog post regarding the ‘Corona na’ Freeway panel, and wanted to let you know that the issue has been fixed.” She sent along photographic proof for any naysayers who might otherwise say “nah.” Thanks for reading, Caltrans!

In an annual tradition, I count down the 10 most unusual local news stories of the year. My roundup appears in Friday’s column. Hope nothing really strange happens Dec. 30 or 31…

A list of the top 40 prettiest high school campuses in California includes three in the Inland Valley. Also: an astrologer apologizes for a bad election prediction, my Culture Corner includes the local screening of a Beatles documentary, and an overseas encounter turns into a Valley Vignette. All this in Wednesday’s column.

In Sunday’s column, I take a look at the local election results and note the elements that jump out at me. As always, your own reactions are welcome.

San Bernardino County government recently compiled and released a list of veterans from the county who were killed in action during the Vietnam era, arranged by hometown. That was a worthy effort that struck me as valuable to share here in part.

I’ve pulled names, hometowns and branches of service for those who lived in our core Inland Valley cities. You’ll find them below. Bear in mind the list stops at the county line and thus doesn’t include Pomona, Claremont or La Verne. I can’t vouch for the accuracy or completeness of the county’s list; see Alta Loma entry for an example.

Alta Loma: Gilles David Adams, Army; Stephen Wesley Bowman, Army; Dennis Franklin Fisher, Marines

• A plaque at Alta Loma High lists Steve Bowman, Dan Carrasco, Jesse Loebach, Jim McGuire, Lenny Nyberg, Tom Teal and Chuck Thomas. Carrasco, McGuire, Nyberg, Teal and Thomas are listed below under Cucamonga; Loebach is not otherwise listed and Adams and Fisher are on the county’s list only.

Chino: Arthur Diaz Esqueda, Navy; Patrick Shawn Hederman, Army; Larry Herrera, Army; Robert Adam Kaneski, Army; Charlie Lopez Partida, Army; David Gerald Weber, Army

Cucamonga: Daniel Carrasco, Army; David Glenn Kellison, Army; James William McGuire, Army; Leonard Eric Nyberg, Marines; Ronald W. Penn, Army; Fred Thomas Teal, Army; Charles Blake Thomas, Marines

Etiwanda: Allan Lynn Harris, Army

Guasti: Barry Richard Franks, Marines

Montclair: Johnnie Lloyd Daniel, Army; Amedee George Granelle Jr., Army; Ernest Joseph Halvorson, Air Force; James Randall Hottenroth, Air Force; Robert Wayne King, Marines; Donald Lee Kipp, Army; William Frederick Lease, Army; Ronald Paul Petrick, Marines; Frank David Pina, Army; Lavern Leo Salzman, Army; Timothy Patrick Weaver, Army

Ontario: Bruce Wayne Collins, Army; Gilbert Ferrante, Marines; Larry Charles Hopper, Marines; David Jay Huffman, Army; Ervin Lovel, Marines; William Earl McDavid, Army; Antonino Ruggeri, Army; Charles Dudley Short, Army; Michael Joseph Soth, Army; Robert Joseph Staten, Navy; Gridley Barstow Strong, Marines; Kenneth Ben Thomas, Army; Carl Dee Wootten, Navy; Daryel Joe Young, Army

Upland: Wayne Joseph Benes, Army; Arthur Jack Carl, Army; David Andrew Denton, Army; Frederick Lee Dyer, Marine; Apimenio Lara, Army; John Pio Rogone, Marines; Richard Henry Vokes, Army.

My colleague Imani Tate is retiring Tuesday. She’s been writing for us since before I was born. The milestone is the occasion for a farewell piece. I wrote one a year ago for Joe Blackstock and now it’s Imani’s turn, in my Sunday column.

We had a small party for her Thursday. Above is the cake and below, she cuts it.

I take a look at the local races on the Nov. 8 ballot and note the most interesting, starting with Ontario, where an awful lot of people want to be elected to something, including three members of the same family. That’s my Wednesday column.

Friday’s column is shorter than usual, for good or bad: I wrote up a bunch of items but had to go home sick before I could come up with a topper. But, since they mostly couldn’t wait, and the show must go on, you get eight brief items and nothing else.

I’m writing this Friday morning from my desk, a sign I’ve recovered enough to get back to work. Onward to Sunday’s column!

In our office’s move last fall, I found a 1998 Daily Bulletin and was entranced by the movie ads. Like supermarket and help wanted ads, movie ads have migrated away from newspapers in whole or in part. These 18-year-old ads are of interest because many of the theaters don’t exist anymore. I don’t know the fate or status of them all, but the Mountain Green 4, for instance, is a Michael’s craft store. Click on the images for a more readable view.