7:45 AM CHINO HILLS FIRE: Aggressive use of backfires
Much of the smoke you might be seeing toward Chino Hills is the result of backfires by firefighters to burn off brush and eliminate wildfire fuel.
November 16, 2008
7:30 AM CHINO HILLS FIRE: Calm winds help firefighters
Improving weather conditions, including calmer winds, are helping firefighters in Chino Hills battle the approaching fires. Winds are now blowing west, away from homes.
November 10, 2008
Home invasions: Urban legends or true facts?
Rumors have been spreading like wildfire of increases in home invasions as the economy heads south. One reader wondered why we hadn't reported an uptick in robberies in Rancho Cucamonga, when emails to that effect supposedly are burning up cyberspace.
Officially, there appears to be little truth to the rumors. Police agencies tell us they haven't noticed an increase.
Skeptics would say there's a cover-up in play to protect certain cities from bad publicity. I don't buy that anymore than I believed Sarah Palin was actually her son's grandmother.
What I do believe is that crimes of desperation are a very real possibility in times like this, and that vigilance, not hysteria, is the best defense.
November 4, 2008
Early leaders: MSNBC, ABC
At least when it comes to aggressively counting electoral votes. At 5:11 p.m. Pacific time, MSNBC had Barack Obama with 103 electoral votes (out of 270 needed for victory), McCain with 34. ABC had Obama up 102-34. Both gave him the key state of Pennsylvania.
CBS had Obama up 88-39. CNN and Fox News had Obama, 77-34.
What morning will bring
Some thoughts, while working a column for tomorrow's paper:
When did we become so tolerant of intolerance? Is it a backlash against political correctness, or something far more deeply rooted - and troubling?
Consider the cries of racism toward any black man who admits voting the color of his skin, as if the historical plight of African Americans in this country should suddenly not matter anymore. As if discrimination doesn't exist anymore.
In California, the debate over Proposition 8 challenged that idea head on. Arguing the merits of gay marriage is one thing, and both sides had legitimate points to raise. Where it turned ugly was when it became a referendum on homosexuality, exposing an intolerance that even conservatives claimed we'd gotten beyond.
Voices from the left were no less divisive, ignoring Sarah Palin's own march toward history and allowing flagrant sexism to become part of mainstream discussion.
November 3, 2008
It's time ...
The most important Election Day in my lifetime is a mere 12 hours away, and even as we continue to debate who's best and what's worst, it's amazing, and somewhat daunting, to think how little we'll control come Wednesday. Tomorrow we decide who leads the free world. The next day, we're at the mercy of that decision.
Some would argue it doesn't matter - that the political process drives what comes out of Washington far more than any one individual.
And yet, you wonder how history would have changed had Richard Nixon defeated John F. Kennedy in 1960. A mere 112,000 votes - one tenth of one percent of those who voted - separated the two. What would have happened with the space race, Cuba, civil rights and Vietnam?
What if Ford had beaten Carter, or Gore defeated Bush?
What if, what if, what if?
In a little over 24 hours, we'll know what "is." Make the most of it.
And if you need help finding a polling place, here's a link.