2013 Local Archive Stories

BARSTOW • By recommendation of Caltrans and city management, the City Council voted to remove the 15-ton weight restriction on the First Street Bridge on Monday. The weight limit was put in place in 2010 after city officials realized that a 2003 Caltrans recommendation to repair the bridge had never been rectified, according to

BARSTOW • A Barstow man was arrested after allegedly pulling a handgun on a 14-year-old and his father during an argument over the whereabouts of his then-missing 5-year-old son, authorities said. Pete Quintana, 41, is due at Victorville Superior Court on Wednesday, facing a possible charge of assault with a deadly weapon, booking r

BARSTOW • For John Lee, a medically retired veteran of the National Guard, one early morning last November began as any other. At about 7 a.m. he was on his third cup of coffee and reading the newspaper in his garage when he saw a column of smoke rising 250 feet in the air from a nearby home. “There were two things I n

BARSTOW • Local firefighters took to a P Street desert hilltop Tuesday for Low Angle Rope Rescue Operations training — the first such effort to expand department-wide in at least six years, according to Barstow Fire Protection District Capt. Jamie Williams. In its basic form, LARRO training equips first responders with techniq

Cyclists (from left to right) Kevin Jiang, Branden Harron and Adam Cooper from the non-profit organization Push America ride through the desert on their way to Barstow on Monday. The Journey of Hope ride is an annual 12,000 mile cross-country bicycle trek beginning in Los Angeles and ending in Washington D.C. that seeks to raise awareness and fu

BARSTOW • Medicare eligible, senior-aged military veterans may disproportionately be making costly Medicare mistakes, according to initial results of a study conducted by the company 65 Incorporated. About 75 percent of survey respondents said they did not know military veterans late to enroll in Medicare would incur a late enrollme

BARSTOW • A Barstow woman is due in court Tuesday after she was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder, alleged by police to have bludgeoned her elderly boyfriend with a baseball bat during an argument. Carolyn McElroy, 45, is suspected of striking Fermin Aragon, 75, with a bat several times Sunday afternoon in front of a residen

HINKLEY • Fireworks were blamed for a weekend fire in Hinkley which burned a quarter of an acre field adjacent to a dairy farm, according to San Bernardino County Fire Department Spokeswoman Tracey Martinez. A vegetation fire on the 25700 block of Community Boulevard along tree and fence lines was reported Saturday at 8:20 p.m., Mar

BARSTOW • A two-agency probation sweep resulted in the arrest of a Barstow man wanted in a knifepoint robbery at an apartment last month, authorities said. Demetrius “Panic” Porter, 23, is due in court next Monday, court records show, after he was picked up Thursday during law enforcement compliance checks conducted by t

CIMA • A man pulled by authorities out of a burning vehicle following a solo crash Friday night on Interstate 15 near Cima Road later died from his injuries, according to a California Highway Patrol news release. A fellow motorist had earlier reported the man to be driving recklessly and CHP officers near Primm were en route to atte

BARSTOW • The Barstow Senior Citizen Center began serving leftovers on Friday as a direct result of automatic federal budget cuts, according to one center official. The Senior Center provides a daily weekday lunch meal to 85-115 adults through its nutrition program, which has recently sustained significant losses to its funding due

BARSTOW • The Arts and Industrial Women’s and Men’s Club held their 12th Annual Juneteenth Celebration on Saturday at Sturnacle Park. Juneteenth is a worldwide celebration commemorating the ending of slavery in the United States on June 19th, 1865, according to Lucille West, MC of the event and overseer of the club&rsquo

Third District Supervisor James Ramos is optimistic that a 45-day San Bernardino County moratorium on solar projects gives adequate time to develop “some balance” between the expanding renewable energy industry and affected local communities. A temporary halt to new commercial solar projects in unincorporated areas of the cou

WASHINGTON • Paul Cook scored another victory Friday in his quest to save a popular off-roading area from a military takeover. Cook, R-Yucca Valley, announced in a news release that his plan to create the Johnson Valley National Off-Highway Vehicle Area passed the U.S. House of Representatives as part of the National Defense Authori

YERMO • Two people were airlifted and four more injured following a two-car crash on northbound Interstate 15 near Ghost Town Road on Friday afternoon, resulting in hours-long congestion for I-15 commuters. California Highway Patrol received report of the crash at 12:26 p.m., according to CHP incident logs. A solo-occupied s

BARSTOW • Since City Treasurer Michael Lewis took office in December the city of Barstow has held $24 million in investments, he said on Thursday. In accordance with government law, the city is heavily invested in both bonds from various federal agencies and federally insured bank certificates of deposit. “Because we&r

BARSTOW • Barstow High School’s 2013 valedictorian and two salutatorians are a group the school’s principal said he is proud of for more than their academic achievements. “I think it was kind of cool this year — an African-American valedictorian, Hispanic salutatorian and a Caucasian salutatorian,” said

The group behind the failed venture to repurpose a 1960’s military bunker north of Barstow into an apocalyptic shelter is now marketing a much larger underground property for similar use in Kansas. Del Mar-based company The Vivos Group had an option to buy the 8,120 square-foot bunker near Interstate 15 and southwest of Rasor Road

VICTORVILLE • The case against an Apple Valley man accused of sexual assault has been suspended as officials seek to determine his mental competency, according to court records. Doubt into Elijah Miller’s mental competence was declared by the court in Victorville on Tuesday while Miller appeared for a pre-trial conference, cou

BARSTOW • Two local schools outside city limits will be under the watch of Barstow Police School Resource Officers beginning this fall after the City Council approved to amend a memorandum early this month. Lenwood and Skyline elementaries were added to the list of schools within the Barstow Unified School District to be serviced by

BARSTOW • In a ceremony evoking both tears and laughter, about 285 people gathered to honor Barstow Veterans Home longtime employee Maria King. King, who stood a little shy of 5 feet tall, was nicknamed “Little Bit,” by some of her close colleagues and was known for her infectious smile and contagious positive attitude,

BARSTOW• An agave plant that is more than 18 years old and located at the corner of Grandview Drive and 2nd Street recently sprouted from a height of 4-feet to a 25-foot stalk. Neighbor John Lee said the plant grew suddenly in one month’s time beginning in early April. According to the neighbors, the perennial plant will only blossom

BARSTOW • The Barstow Area Chamber of Commerce wants to fill seven spots in its newly formed tourism committee by the end of the week, according to Chamber spokesman Joseph Hisquierdo. “We at one time had a very active tourism committee,” Hisquierdo said. “Back in the 90s they had these themed street festivals on M

BARSTOW • The city of Barstow’s spending plan for fiscal year 2013-2014 was approved by the City Council, said city spokesman Anthony Riley. “The city is in excellent financial health,” said Assistant City Manager Oliver Chi. “The fiscal year 2013-2014 adopted budget for the city of Barstow continues to fund

A state budget deal reached Tuesday between Gov. Jerry Brown and top lawmakers is expected to add $60 million to trial courts, according to San Bernardino County Presiding Judge Marsha G. Slough. The budget is pending approval by the full legislature and then would need to be signed into law by the governor before taking effect July 1.