Free Republic

The vehicles are westbound on the 10 Freeway in Banning when the rocket’s plume begins to cut through the darkening sky. The driver in the vehicle with the camera and his children can be heard talking about the rocket in amazement while he slows for the wall of brake lights forming in front of them as other drivers take notice. Moments after they drive under the South San Gorgonio Avenue overpass, a thud is heard and then a white four-door vehicle in the next lane is shoved into the car in front of it by a van that rear-ended it....

Watch the video of a man near the fire saving one of God's helpless creatures. Man is capable of so much evil and of so much kindness and humanity.

Tom Petty died Monday morning after life support was terminated, reports TMZ. The singer was found unconscious Sunday night after a massive cardiac arrest. Paramedics were able to restore a pulse, says TMZ, but his family accepted the inevitability of the singers death, and support was terminated this morning. The Rock and Roller was known for his rhythmic Florida style. He was famous as early at 19. He transplanted himself to Southern California, where he was known for songs that celebrated Southern California living, such as "Free Falling."

The trees that shade, cool and feed people from Ventura County to the Mexican border are dying so fast that within a few years it’s possible the region will look, feel, sound and smell much less pleasant than it does now.“We’re witnessing a transition to a post-oasis landscape in Southern California,” says Greg McPherson, a supervisory research forester with the U.S. Forest Service who has been studying what he and others call an unprecedented die-off of the trees greening Southern California’s parks, campuses and yards. Botanists in recent years have documented insect and disease infestations as they’ve hop-scotched about the...

Location: Ronald Reagan Presidential Library 40 Presidential Drive Simi Valley, CA 93065 Google Map805-522-2977

HUNTINGTON BEACH, Calif. (AP) — A scuffle broke out on a Southern California beach where supporters of President Donald Trump were marching when counter-protesters doused organizers with pepper spray, authorities said Saturday.

During the exercises, scheduled for between 1:30 to 3:30 p.m., the public may see low-flying NORAD-controlled fighter jets near civilian aircraft, the agency said. The fighter pilots will be practicing intercept and identification procedures with the civilians, who are helping with the training. “In order to test responses, systems and equipment, NORAD continuously conducts exercises with a variety of scenarios, including airspace-restriction violations, hijackings and responding to unknown aircraft,” the agency said.

State officials warn that Southern California could face as many as 14 days of scheduled blackouts this summer because of depleted reserves of natural gas caused by the massive leak in Aliso Canyon. The canyon in the hills above Porter Ranch is a crucial gas storage facility, supplying 17 power plants in the Los Angeles Basin. But the four-month leak that began in October left the facility at one-fifth of its capacity and new injections of gas have been prohibited until all of its wells have passed comprehensive tests. Officials estimate the storage facility won’t be back on line...

The average price of a gallon of self-serve regular gasoline in Los Angeles County recorded its largest daily increase since May 1 Friday, rising 11.1 cents to $3.656. The Orange County average price recorded its largest daily increase since Feb. 27, rising 12.8 cents to $3.625, according to figures from the AAA and Oil Price Information Service. The average price in Los Angeles County had dropped 48 of the previous 52 days. It is 10.3 cents more than one week ago but 6.5 cents less than a month ago and 50.8 cents lower than one year ago. The Orange County...

Rick Blankenship was tired of an insatiable lawn he couldn’t keep green, no matter how he watered it, so he decided to tear it out. […] As California faces an historic drought, more residents are following in Blankenship’s footsteps and tearing out thirsty lawns to cut down on water use. Water agencies across the state have been encouraging the change by offering thousands of dollars in rebates to help homeowners make the switch to a drought-friendly landscape with better odds of surviving dry spells common to the local climate. The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, which covers 19 million...

We felt that one. House moving side to side. I'm sure someone will have more detail. USGS reports 5.4 near La Habra (Los Angeles area).

Just had a very large violent quake here in So Cal. Scary.

Felt big

The magnitude 4.4 earthquake that struck near Westwood is the most significant shake in Southern California since a 5.5 earthquake hit Chino Hills in 2008, a U.S. Geological Survey seismologist told reporters at a news conference Monday morning. Robert Graves said there have been at least six aftershocks since the 6:25 a.m. earthquake. The largest so far has been a magnitude 2.7 earthquake that struck five miles northwest of Westwood.

Seems like a pretty good one felt here in South Bay

Arson investigators were at the scene of a wildfire near Los Angeles that exploded in size Thursday to more than 1,700 acres and destroyed at least two homes, authorities said. Three people had been arrested in connection with the fast-moving Colby fire, but Glendora police declined to provide further information. L.A. County fire Inspector Scott Miller said the cause of the fire, reported shortly before 6 a.m., was still under investigation, but said arson investigators were on hand and working with Glendora police. […] Nathan Judy, a spokesman for the U.S. Forest Service, said at about 10 a.m. that more...

GLENDORA, Calif. -- Structures are burning in a wildfire threatening dozens of homes in dangerously dry foothills of Southern California's San Gabriel Mountains. Television images showed several structures engulfed in flames fanned by gusty Santa Ana winds that spit embers across neighborhoods Thursday morning. Evacuations are ordered for houses at the edge of the fire.

Hours before they were to perform at a free outdoor concert Sunday in Woodland Hills, the '80s band A Flock of Seagulls had up to $70,000 worth of equipment -- including the sound files for a pending solo album by their lead singer -- stolen at a Downey hotel. The band played a gig in Bellflower Saturday night and then parked their 15-passenger Ford E-350 van near the reception area of a Comfort Inn in Downey around 1:45 a.m., said frontman Mike Score. When they awoke, it was gone. Score said they noticed the van was missing at about 9...

In Upland, a baby daddy has been busy. At a baby shower recently in the City of Gracious Living (Upland, Ca.), the expectant mother's husband showed up to claim the presents himself. Why? According to the city's police blotter, he "took the gifts to give to his girlfriend who just gave birth to his child." Yes. He burst into his wife's baby shower and grabbed the gifts to give to his second family with his mistress. I'm no etiquette expert, but that seems wrong, doesn't it? Needless to say, "she became upset and they argued." He hit her and fled,...

LOS ANGELES — Rainy weather in Central and Southern California is making roads slick and proving a mixed blessing for crews fighting a huge wildfire.A storm dumped less than a tenth of an inch of rain to around a quarter-inch overnight in most areas.