Corona, CA: Boy, mother pepper-sprayed by burglar

Corona police on Wednesday night were looking for a man who broke into a home with a second intruder and pepper-sprayed a 12-year-old boy and his mother.

The mother and her son arrived at their home in the 600 block of Azure Lane about 6:30 p.m. on Feb. 8 and found one of the men inside during an attempted burglary, the Corona Police Department said.

BREAKING NEWS: EuroInn at Dos Lagos Approved by City of Corona: High-Tech Hotel Redefines Business Travel

Corona, CA: Today EuroInns celebrates the approval of their inaugural property in Corona, California. The hotel, built on the lakes of the award winning mixed-use Dos Lagos community, will open doors by the end of 2009.

The four-story, 133-room EuroInn will feature private, luxurious accommodations enhanced with the latest in technology and in-room entertainment ideal for the traveling professional.

“This milestone marks a new beginning in the lodging industry,” says Donald Sodaro, President and CEO of Hanford Hotels. “Unlike competitive brands that will be attempting to retrofit older, existing hotels, these features are at the core of our brand’s new physical plant.”

The EuroInn, located lakeside in the new Dos Lagos community, is situated a heartbeat away from residential, business and retail locations, exclusive restaurants, a 15-screen movie theater, and an 18-hole championship golf course, making it the most convenient, all-inclusive destination in the area.

“The concept of a EuroInn is ultimately about efficiency. By creating an optimal environment of comfort and connectivity, we are eliminating barriers to productivity,” Sodaro notes. “Using the multimedia interface and flat panel HD-TV included in every room, it’s just as easy for an executive to practice tomorrow’s big presentation as it is for a young filmmaker to relax and review the day’s footage or order a movie.”

And the efficiency doesn’t stop at the full-body shower spas and I-pod docking stations. The EuroInns concept will strive to lead the industry in environmental sensitivity and energy efficiency. Ergonomically sensitive heating and air conditioning units provide the guest with complete environmental control, while a centralized energy management system affords hotel management the control of each individual guest room’s HVAC units and lighting systems when rooms are not in use.

“Environmental sensitivity has played a large role in this project,” said Sodaro. “From the start we have felt a natural synergy with the conscientiously ‘green’ Dos Lagos community.”

Dos Lagos is the 2007 recipient of the California Governor's Environmental and Economic Leadership Award for Sustainable Communities – considered the state’s highest environmental honor.

The goal of EuroInns is to ensure that the comfort and enjoyment of each guest is of such quality and consistency that it remains transparent and unobtrusive. By combining these traits with the most cutting edge technologies, EuroInns guests are assured to be as productive and connected as today’s sophisticated clientele demands.

About EuroInns
EuroInns is affiliated with Hanford Hotels, Inc. – both headquartered in Orange County, Calif. Both companies share ownership, but are distinct operations specializing in different niche markets.

Hanford Hotels manages and operates five hotel properties totaling almost 1,000 rooms in five separate cities. All leaders in their markets, these properties are distinguished by their respective brands for product quality and guest satisfaction on a national scale. Deeply grounded in the local communities, Hanford Hotels constantly strives to create awareness and initiate improvements in the environment, education, health, and the arts.

Hanford Hotels has enjoyed tremendous financial and developmental success, its heartbeat stemming from its core founding principal: We are people caring for people.

EuroInns is dedicated to its own brand of high-tech, high-comfort revolutionary properties. An innovator in the hospitality industry, EuroInns, Inc. is focused on the design and development of its own technologically advanced brand of select service properties. Founded in 2003 by lodging industry veteran and renowned entrepreneur Donald E. Sodaro, the company draws upon the significant talents and experience of his Hanford Hotels, Inc. management team as well as key players in the fields of Design and Information Technology.

Bank Robbery Suspect Arrested

Riverside, CA – On Tuesday, September 16, 2008, Detectives from the Riverside Police Department responded to an anonymous tip and arrested a suspect believed to be responsible for two bank robberies of the Provident Bank located in the 3300 block of La Sierra Avenue.

The suspect was identified as David Wayne DUKE, 55; it is unknown at this time where he resides. The suspect was alone at the time of his arrest, which occurred in the area of Pierce Street and Indiana Avenue in the city of Riverside.

On Tuesday, September 2, 2008, David Duke entered the bank and handed the teller a note demanding cash; the teller provided Duke with an unknown amount of cash. After receiving the cash, Duke exited the bank and fled in a green vehicle.

On Monday, September 11, 2008, David Duke entered the same bank and committed the second robbery.

The Riverside Police Department’s Robbery/Homicide Detectives were assisted by personnel from the Inland Regional Apprehension Team. Duke will be booked into Riverside County Jail on two counts of robbery, and one count of being in possession of a stolen vehicle.

SNEAK PEEK at Miguel's Restaurant (The Promenade Shops at Dos Lagos) Opening 1st Week October 2008.

Conference: IE Shadowed by Dark Economy

ONTARIO, CA-If you’re looking for the bottom of the economic downturn, you may find it here in the Inland Empire--it’s just that the “when” is another matter. Experts voiced some bleak near-term outlooks Wednesday at the third annual RealShare Inland Empire conference at the Ontario Convention Center, where more than 250 owners, investors, developers, brokers, lenders, service providers and others connected with the commercial real estate industry came to share their views and network.

“There’s no nice way to spin it,” keynote speaker Richard Green, director of the USC Lusk Center for Real Estate, said of the local economy. “The jobs picture in San Bernardino-Riverside County right now is not particularly good. People want to know when are things going to bottom. Will we have a 'V' or 'U' in terms of the recovery?”

Green was one of a host of speakers and panelists who tackled issues ranging from how the changes in the economy, the credit markets and commercial real estate have affected the Inland Empire to what industry leaders see for the immediate and long-term future. His remarks, and those of some others, stood in contrast to the upbeat news that emanated from the Inland Empire for years before the nation's subprime excesses, soaring energy costs and general economic malaise clamped down on every part of the country, even high-flying regions lining the Inland Empire.

The Inland Empire chalked up some of the nation's biggest growth numbers before the downturn. Powered by one of the country's biggest home-building booms, the Inland economy provided a fertile ground for developers to launch scores of retail, office, industrial and multifamily projects.

Now that the economy has slowed and the capital markets are in turmoil, industry leaders and other professionals in the commercial real estate industry are facing a host of questions regarding the near and long-term future of this two-county region east of Los Angeles. Chief among the questions is “When do we hit bottom?” both nationally and in the Inland Empire.

There has never been, until now, a decline in the median home prices nationally since the Great Depression, Green pointed out. The median income is falling and “financial institutions are in an environment of fear,” he added.

In the Inland Empire, existing home sales rose from a year ago, but a lot of that was foreclosure sales, he noted. The good news is “prices have come down so fast and rents have gone up enough that house prices in this region are sensible.”

Green also said educational attainment in the area is lacking. “The Inland Empire lags Southern California, it lags the state of California, it lags the United States as a whole,” he added. According to Green, the percentage of high school students taking college prep classes in Los Angeles County is 37%, slightly above California’s 35.3%, while in Riverside the number is 31.8% and in San Bernardino it’s is 25.5%.

That’s a bad sign for the Inland Empire because educational attainment is a good measure of future incomes, Green said. “This is a good projection of how incomes grow,” he said.

Following Green, a Town Hall Meeting tackled the question, "How Will the Inland Empire Fare in 2009?" The topics covered ranged from the impact of high fuel prices, the credit crisis, the housing slump, flat job growth--and how real estate professionals find and capitalize on opportunities in a confused market.

Job losses for 2008, diminished tenant demand and a generally rugged economy, “have pushed class A office vacancy to its highest level in more than two decades,” said panelist Doug McCauley, regional manager for Marcus & Millichap. He added that Marcus & Millichap anticipates vacancy to reach 15.2% by the end of the year.

Panelist Kim Snyder, senior vice president of the southwest region for AMB Property Corp., says the pinch at the pump is impacting industrial. “Fuel costs are definitely having a major impact on the industrial business in the Inland Empire,” Snyder said.

Panelist Mary Jane Olhasso, economic development director for Ontario, defended the region. “We also have a lot of industrial manufacturing, engineering related to the manufacturing process…medical manufacturing,” she said, noting that “The office sector along the I-10 corridor, that’s the future in our opinion” and that the general development plan from Vineyard to the Interstate 15 Freeway is “just phenomenal.”

She acknowledged the area is “in this bubble of negativity that’s not shared by everyone,” but that the long-term outlook for the Inland Empire is positive, she said, noting that “he who has the work force wins. And guess what? We have the work force. At the end of the day this is where people are going to live in the next two decades.”

Snyder also added his confidence in the long-term outlook for the Inland Empire: “Not only is it a good value, but it’s the best real estate product in the business.”

A new session at this year's RealShare event was a corporate perspectives panel, which included commercial real estate end users and those who represent them talking about the market from their standpoint, why they are in the market, where they are expanding as well as why and where they think the economy is headed.

Another new panel this year addressed how to improve return on investment and save money by going green. Aside from the panels above, RealShare Inland Empire's panels throughout the day included sessions on the capital markets and how investors are getting deals done in today's climate, how the cities and municipalities of the Inland Empire are catering to the diverse needs of its end-users, what it takes and costs to finance deals.

G. Ryan Smith, a senior vice president with Newport Beach-based Buchanan Street Partners, said that “It used to be if you had a heartbeat, you could get a loan. It’s a different world than it used to be.”

Harold Rose, managing director for Greystone, summed things up: “We’re back to the basics,” Rose said.

Following the final session, the event concluded with a networking cocktail hour. RealShare Inland Empire and other RealShare events are produced by Real Estate Media, the publisher of GlobeSt.com, Real Estate Forum magazine, Real Estate Southern California magazine and other publications devoted to commercial real estate.

UPDATE: Off-Duty Officer Involved in Shooting

Los Angeles: An off-duty LAPD officer was involved in a shooting in an unincorporated area of Lake Elsinore.

According to the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department, on Monday, August 25, 2008, at around 3:45 p.m., Police Officer Antonio Mendez, 2 years with the Department, was involved in a traffic collision with a man driving a gray Toyota Tundra. The traffic collision took place on the northbound I-15 freeway near Indian Truck Trail. After the impact, the Toyota Tundra continued to accelerate at a high rate of speed as Mendez followed. The Toyota exited the freeway at Dos Lagos Drive and pulled into a parking lot at Temescal Canyon Road. Both drivers exited their vehicle and a verbal confrontation ensued. Mendez attempted to detain the suspect and there was an officer involved shooting. A single round was fired striking the Toyota’s driver in the upper body.

Officer Mendez is currently assigned to the Office of Operations.

The Riverside County Sheriff’s Department is handling the investigation. The Los Angeles Police Department, Force Investigation Division is handling the Administrative Investigation and the California Highway Patrol is handling all traffic related investigations.

BREAKING NEWS: L.A. officer shoots man dead in Corona, CA near Dos Lagos

The officer and another motorist were involved in a traffic accident on Temescal Canyon Road in the Dos Lagos area. As they were exchanging information, the officer fired at the man.

An off-duty Los Angeles police officer fatally shot a man after a traffic accident in Corona on Monday.

Initial police reports said the man had tried to snatch the officer's 1-year-old child from the officer's vehicle, but Riverside County Sheriff's spokesman Jerry Franchville said later there was no evidence that the man had attempted to take the child, who was unhurt.

The officer was involved in a minor traffic accident about 3:45 p.m. with an unidentified driver on Temescal Canyon Road in the Dos Lagos area, authorities said. The two were exchanging information when the officer fired at the motorist. The man was later pronounced dead, authorities said.

BREAKING NEWS: Police seek help identifying suspect in Riverside, CA

Armed June 6 liquor store robbery captured on surveillance video images

Riverside, CA -- Riverside Police are seeking public assistance to identify the suspect in an armed robbery that occurred in the city on June 6, 2008.

The suspect, described as a black male adult, 6 ft tall and 175 pounds, with a possible scar under his right eye. The suspect is right-handed, was wearing dark clothing and carried a dark-colored handgun.

The suspect entered the Circle 1 Liquor store at 2371 University Ave., at 1 a.m., Friday, June 6, 2008. The suspect displayed a handgun and demanded money from two employees. Cash was taken and the suspect fled on foot.

Any witnesses to the incident, or anyone who can help identify the suspect, is asked to call Riverside Police Detective Rick Wheeler at (951) 353-7134.

Earthquake and After-shocks...a rolling detail.

MAP 1.4 2008/07/29 18:56:36 33.947 -117.778 9.5 6 km ( 4 mi) WSW of Chino Hills, CA
MAP 2.2 2008/07/29 18:54:12 33.948 -117.791 14.0 7 km ( 4 mi) SSE of Diamond Bar, CA
MAP 2.2 2008/07/29 18:54:03 33.952 -117.770 15.5 5 km ( 3 mi) WSW of Chino Hills, CA
MAP 3.8 2008/07/29 18:51:52 33.959 -117.809 15.3 5 km ( 3 mi) SSE of Diamond Bar, CA
MAP 3.8 2008/07/29 18:51:46 33.965 -117.788 17.6 5 km ( 3 mi) SE of Diamond Bar, CA
MAP 3.8 2008/07/29 18:51:29 33.941 -117.790 16.8 6 km ( 4 mi) N of Yorba Linda, CA
MAP 2.4 2008/07/29 18:50:34 33.961 -117.766 14.9 4 km ( 3 mi) WSW of Chino Hills, CA
MAP 2.4 2008/07/29 18:49:45 33.921 -117.807 15.3 4 km ( 3 mi) NNW of Yorba Linda, CA
MAP 2.7 2008/07/29 18:48:27 33.946 -117.822 16.4 6 km ( 4 mi) S of Diamond Bar, CA
MAP 2.8 2008/07/29 18:47:48 33.969 -117.752 16.1 3 km ( 2 mi) WSW of Chino Hills, CA
MAP 5.8 2008/07/29 18:42:15 33.959 -117.752 12.3 3 km ( 2 mi) SW of Chino Hills, CA

BREAKING NEWS: Magnitude-5.8 Earthquake Strikes Los Angeles; Epicenter Chino Hills, CA

SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY, Calif. -- A strong earthquake has shaken Southern California. The late Tuesday morning jolt was felt from Los Angeles to San Diego, and slightly in Las Vegas. It struck shortly after 11:30 a.m.

Preliminary information from the U.S. Geological Survey estimated the quake at magnitude 5.8, centered 29 miles east-southeast of downtown Los Angeles near Chino Hills.

BREAKING NEWS: The House passed the Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac bailout, a bill that will help 400,000 homeowners facing foreclosure.

The House passed the Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac bailout, a bill that will help 400,000 homeowners facing foreclosure.

BREAKING NEWS: Thank you for being a friend: Estelle Getty dies.

Emmy and Golden Globe award-winning actress Estelle Getty, a member of the "Golden Girls" cast, has died at the age of 84, according to her son.

BREAKING NEWS: 2 Corona, CA Starbuck's Casualties: Dos Lagos and Magnolia/McKinley!

R.I.P.

Confirmed today, the Dos Lagos and Magnolia/McKinley Starbucks will be apart of the consolidated US closing! Closing will take place by March 2009.

BREAKING NEWS: Comedian Andy Dick Arrested in Murrieta, CA!

Actor and habitual bad boy Andy Dick was arrested at 2 am this morning in Murrieta, CA on drug possession and sexual battery.

He was popped at the Buffalo Wild Wings restaurant. The bisexual comedian was taken into custody.

The Press Enterprise reports that Andy is still in jail and his bail has been set at $5,000.

Past Dick behaviors include a December 4, 2004 arrest for indecent exposure when he "mooned" friends at a local McDonald's.

Then in 2005, Dick dropped toruser in Edmonton, Alberta, at Yuk Yuk's comedy club - exposing his genitals to the audience.

On December 2, 2006, he angered an LA Improv (Melrose Ave.) audience by shouting "You're all a bunch of n*****s!" following an improvised set with comedian Ian Bagg. This was a direct reference to Michael Richards' use of the same epithet to insult hecklers two weeks earlier, He later apologized through his publicist.

He was jettisoned off TV's Kimmel February 2, 2007, after repeatedly touching guest Ivanka Trump without her permission.

In August 2007, we reported that Dick was cited by Ohio police for urinating on a building.

Lately, last August 29, 2007, Dick also was written up for slapping a reporter outside a Los Angeles nightclub.

BREAKING NEWS: Corona, CA No compassion for "compassionate release".

Corona, CA: California parole board rejects "compassionate release" request of Susan Atkins, a terminally ill former Charles Manson family member.

BREAKING NEWS: Mercedes crashes through storefront at The Promenade Shops at Dos Lagos: No Drive-Thru? No Problem

After barbecuing dinner (delicious buffalo burgers for me, cow carcass for the rest of my unadverturous family), we went down to Dos Lagos a few miles across town to walk around the lakes and look at the shops.

We were in Gymboree looking for a pair of kahki pants that Natalie could wear her school shirt with when suddenly I heard this big crash, like someone dropped a tray of plates...and then the tray, and then all of the other trays. I stepped outside (because I was right by the door) in time to hear a random guy walking by the front of the store exclaim an explicative at what he was looking at.

I followed his eyes to find the back end of a Mercedes sticking out of the front of a store, definately not something you see every day. As a matter of fact, it was quite a surreal site. The yellow lights of the security truck were flashing, soon joined by a police car. People began to gather around, some ran to get a closer look or maybe to offer some help.

Kara paid for the shorts and we made our way down to the ever growing crowd surrounding the car and the shop. The Mercedes, one of those expensive SUVs, had plowed its way up the curb, across a 15-foot sidewalk, through the front windows of the shop, knocking over one of the main support pillars, bending in all of the metal frames of the windows above the front doors and smashing out most all of the glass. The kicker was that the store, Z Galleries--one of those places to buy high-end knick-knacks you realized you don't need by the time you bring it home--is probably the most expensive shop in all of Dos Lagos. And Mercedes don't grow on the cheap trees either.

On the bench outside the shop was a family of four, trembling and consoling each other, probably half happy they weren't hurt and probably embarrassed to be attracting so much attention. It could have been infinately worse, given how crowded Dos Lagos was tonight (there are Jazz bands playing there this summer), and it only would have taken one person not paying attention and not expecting to get plowed down by an SUV while in the store to make this story into a tragic one. Instead, it is somewhat humorous.

How the woman who was driving managed to get the Mercedes so far into the store is amazing, but the store's facade looked as though it would come down at any moment. The police started to baracade off the area, and there were plenty of people taking pictures.

Wouldn't you know it: The one day I forget my camera, something unusual happens. Instead, the picture at the top is just a random one to give an idea of what Dos Lagos' sidewalks looks like.

OUCH!!!

Boston 131, Lakers 92

BREAKING NEWS: Gay marriage spreading throughout California!

The Associated Press is reporting clerks have begun handing out licenses to same-sex couples as gay marriage is now legal in California.

BREAKING NEWS: Tim Russert of NBC News has died at the age of 58, the network says.

On a personal note, I will miss him!

BREAKING NEWS: Kidnapping reported at McDonald's in Corona!

BREAKING NEWS: Kidnapping reported at McDonald's on Lincoln Avenue and 91 Freeway in Corona!

Update: Corona, CA-- Corona police are trying to determine if a woman seen being forced into a car by two men outside a McDonald's restaurant was kidnapped. Video

On Thursday, shortly before 6 p.m., Corona police officers were called to the McDonald's, at 310 S. Lincoln, after two witnesses said two men had struglled with a woman and forced her into a car.

Surveillance video appeared to the confirm the witnesses's account, although KNBC reported on Friday morning that nobody had been reported missing, and the woman had not been identified.
The video shows the two men struggling with the woman, trying to force her into a pewter or tan-colored Nissan 4-door car, for about two minutes. The car was an Altima or Sentra, police said, with clear tail lights and tinted windows.

After the woman was forced into the car, the car was driven away from the McDonald's and on to the eastbound 91 freeway.

The suspects were described as Hispanic males in their late teens or early twenties.
The victim was described as a blonde female in her late teens to early twenties wearing a black halter top.

Anyone who recognizes the vehicle and/or any of the subjects, or anyone who witnessed the incident, is asked to contact the Corona Police Department at 951-736-2330.