Corona, CA: High school soccer coach accused of touching, kissing 14-year-old

An Ontario high school soccer coach is in custody after allegedly touching and kissing a 14-year-old player in a training room.

Officers arrested Earl Gann, 56, Tuesday near his home in Corona on suspicion of felony lewd acts with a child, said Ontario police Sgt. David McBride.

Detectives began investigating Gann after the victim, a student at Ontario Christian High School, told school authorities he "inappropriately touched and kissed her while she was alone with him" the afternoon of June 15, McBride said.

Corona, CA: From No Experience to 'Near Perfect'

Ontario, Calif., ARCO Owner named franchisee of the year

ARCO's franchisee of the year is Amy Kim, the owner of the gas station and ampm convenience store in Ontario, Calif., reported The Inland Valley Daily Bulletin. Kim won the distinction this month from a field of 1,200 U.S. stores, according to the report. She is the first woman to win the award, which parent company BP has been handing out for 11 years.

"I was completely surprised," said Kim, who was unaware she was even in the running for the award until her name was called at a BP event in Alaska. "I started crying, I don't know why," she told the newspaper.

Considerations such as store performance and the franchisee's ability to generate positive promotion for the ampm brand led to Kim's selection, BP spokesperson Scott Dean told the paper. She received a unanimous vote from a panel of regional sales managers and the vice president of franchise operations, Dean added.

Since the Corona, Calif., resident bought the Ontario store in 2002, it has surpassed every year its sales from the prior year. The store has received consistently near-perfect scores in examinations that occur six times per year for factors such as cleanliness, safety and customer service.

"Amy is a fantastic person. She's a fantastic franchisee," Michelle Khalil, the BP regional sales manager who nominated Kim for the award, told the Daily Bulletin. "When we look at the overall, it's what do people do for the community? How do they support the people? She's a wonderful operator."

Kim bought the Ontario store, which is on a busy stretch of Archibald Avenue just off the freeway, with no experience operating a franchise. She and her parents previously owned and managed a neighborhood grocery store in Florida.

"I was a fish out of water," she said.

Kim is now a certified trainer for BP, coaching incoming ampm owners, said the report.

Owning a gas station has become more competitive in the Inland Empire, she said, since she first started in the market. "Now gas stations are oversaturated," Kim said. "It's hard to find a money-making gas station."

Save the date! Fiesta de Comida Nov. 5, 2008 | 6:00 PM

Presenting fine foods from over 30 unique restaurants in the New Citizens Business Bank Arena in Ontario, California.

In Concert: Poncho Sanchez 8:30 to 10:00 p.m.

All proceeds go to Ontario-Montclair YMCA

Tickets available at: Ontario-Montclair YMCA

909.986.5847

INFO

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.

Ontario airport hit hard by industry downturn, high fuel costs

The Inland Empire facility's expected one-third drop in flights by fall is irritating travelers.

Not long ago LA/Ontario International Airport was setting growth records. Airlines flocked to the Inland Empire airfield in what Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa hailed as the "great first steps" to regionalizing air travel in Southern California.

In a much publicized event last year, the mayor even helped welcome the start of an airline's service at Ontario by donning a safety vest and directing an ExpressJet plane to its gate.

Come September, ExpressJet will no longer operate at Ontario, becoming one of the latest casualties of high fuel costs and a souring economy, which have grounded airline service across the country. Other domestic airlines, such as United, Delta, Southwest and JetBlue Airways, have slashed or eliminated service at Ontario as well.

As a result, no airport in Southern California has been hit as hard by the aviation fuel crisis and downturn as Ontario. It is bracing for a 34% drop in flights from last fall's numbers, irking travelers and frustrating promises by politicians to shift some service away from congested Los Angeles International Airport.

Officials for Los Angeles World Airports say Ontario and LAX are being severely affected because they are neither hubs nor headquarters for major domestic airlines. When economic times are bad, they said, airlines concentrate flights at their hubs to save money and to take advantage of their established markets.

The hits come at a time when the Inland Empire is already suffering from the slowdown in the state economy and a meltdown in its once-booming housing industry because of the subprime loan crisis.

The cutbacks are "going to make it worse for us. We'll have to fly from LAX, and the lines there are 10 times worse," said Bob Surane of Thousand Oaks, coach of the Combat Panthers, a high school girls' traveling softball club from Ventura County that regularly flies out of Ontario to tournaments.

On Friday, Surane and members of the Panthers were waiting to check in at the ExpressJet counter for a flight to Tulsa, Okla. He said the team likes Ontario because of discounted airfares and the convenience of getting in and out of the terminals.

Philip Geurin, a student at Pitzer College in Claremont who flies home to Tulsa between sessions, said he too was disappointed by the decline in service.

"I love ExpressJet," he said. "They had pretty good fares and I could fly home nonstop. I am going to have to find another way."

By the end of the year, Ontario could experience the largest percentage drop in available seats -- about 14% -- compared with 2007 among all mid-size airports in the continental U.S.

Officials for Los Angeles World Airports, which operates LAX, Ontario and Palmdale Regional Airport, are worried that the number of travelers using Ontario could plunge dramatically next year, from 7.2 million passengers in 2007 to less than 5.2 million, a level not seen since 1989.

The drop-off could be so severe that one of the airport's two terminals would no longer be needed, a dramatic setback for Ontario's plan to accommodate more than 10 million passengers. More than $275 million was spent building the terminals, which opened in 1998.

The gloomy outlook has prompted an L.A. City Council committee that oversees the airports to meet Wednesday to discuss the pending decline in air service at LAX and Ontario as well as potential economic effects.

The decline will probably mean higher fares and fewer choices, factors that could discourage even more travelers from choosing Ontario. Many nonstop flights are being eliminated this fall, leaving passengers with little choice but to take a flight with one or two stopovers or drive to LAX.

"The business community will take a bit of a hit here in its effort to get to destinations important to them," said Ontario Mayor Paul Leon. "JetBlue and ExpressJet gave us an advantage."

Ontario isn't the only airport in Southern California facing such a predicament. With slowing demand and high fuel costs, airlines are retreating to larger airports such as LAX, where routes are more profitable, and eliminating duplicate service at nearby airports.

A third of the flights at Bakersfield's main airport, Meadows Field, will be slashed this fall. Responding to dramatic population growth, the city of about 300,000 residents had recently built a new terminal and extended a runway to lure more airline service.

As more carriers entered the Bakersfield market, "we ended up getting more competitive pricing," said Teresa Hitchcock, head of analysis and marketing for the airport. But now with airlines retrenching, "the big question is going to be how that affects fares."

Airports in smaller California cities such as Merced and Visalia are somewhat protected by a federal government program that pays airlines to provide service. Those communities were temporarily left without any scheduled service this summer, but by fall flights are expected to resume under the Essential Air Service program, which lined up other airlines to fly there.

Mid-size airports like Ontario have no such protection and as such are hardest hit by the industrywide retrenchment.

When Ontario built its two new terminals, airlines agreed to share the airport's operating costs with one another. Consequently, as airlines leave, the remaining carriers are left with a larger obligation and will have to pay more to keep the airport solvent.

Airport officials say they can cushion the blow at Ontario under a new U.S. Department of Transportation order that will allow revenue to be transferred from LAX to Ontario -- if LAX can afford it.

Ontario's comparatively low fares and high operating costs are compounding the problem. The airport has typically drawn discount airlines that don't offer more lucrative first-class seating or other amenities.

But with passengers accustomed to lower fares than elsewhere, airlines at Ontario have had difficulty raising ticket prices to levels they say they need to meet the rising costs.

"Ontario is a victim of the 'toos' -- too poor, too competitive and fares are too low," said Jack Keady, an aviation consultant based in Playa del Rey. "You have a low-airfare environment with high airline costs."

Jess Romo, the airport's director, said Ontario was taking a number of steps to reduce expenses, including turning off lights at unused gates, using its staff more effectively and pushing hard to attract other airlines to the airport.

The downturn "is a disappointment, but you have to keep it in the context of what is happening industrywide," Romo said. "If you just look at the geography of the airport, it still has the potential for growth. Politically, geographically and from a business standpoint, this airport is ready to accept more activity as the demand returns."

And L.A. Councilman Bill Rosendahl, who represents areas around LAX, insisted that the airline downturn wouldn't kill the idea of spreading air travel around to regional airports such as Ontario.

"Regionalism is not dead," he said. "There's going to be 25 million people from Santa Barbara to San Diego. There is a market for long-distance, nonstop flights at Ontario."

May resale numbers by zip code...SQ FT $ fall hard!

Here are the sales numbers by zip code for May. There are a few areas that are selling well. Moreno Valley, Perris, Temecula, Murrieta and even Corona. Most of these sales are foreclosures or short sales, especially in the core areas. As you can see some of the price declines are pretty shocking considering that change is in only 12 months.

RIVERSIDE COUNTY SFR Price % chg $/Sq Ft
Banning 92220 17 $211 -26.10% $169
Beaumont 92223 43 $253 -26.00% $122
Blythe 92225 3 $199 -13.10% $132
Cabazon 92230 5 $125 -42.70% $98
Calimesa 92320 7 $215 -40.40% $159
Canyon Lake 92587 26 $310 -40.40% $132
Cathedral City 92234 53 $235 -38.30% $140
Coachella 92236 27 $192 -6.80% $104
Corona 92879 34 $330 -34.70% $162
Corona 92880 84 $385 -30.00% $131
Corona 92881 35 $375 -30.90% $178
Corona 92882 76 $385 -33.90% $163
Corona 92883 70 $330 -35.40% $147
Dsrt Hot Springs 92240 50 $143 -41.20% $88
Dsrt Hot Springs 92241 3 $110 -67.40% $136
Hemet 92543 18 $142 -36.90% $106
Hemet 92544 53 $171 -40.90% $111
Hemet 92545 67 $200 -35.50% $107
Idyllwild 92549 7 $370 23.30% $201
Indian Wells 92210 12 $750 -36.40% $249
Indio 92201 63 $230 -36.10% $131
Indio 92203 37 $273 -31.50% $150
La Quinta 92253 105 $485 -24.80% $202
Lake Elsinore 92530 50 $226 -39.70% $123
Lake Elsinore 92532 32 $285 -40.60% $109
Mecca 92254 1 $230 -14.80% $146
Menifee 92584 64 $245 -36.30% $122
Mira Loma 91752 25 $390 -28.60% $142
Moreno Valley 92551 39 $180 -50.30% $120
Moreno Valley 92553 68 $170 -53.40% $116
Moreno Valley 92555 64 $271 -35.60% $109
Moreno Valley 92557 60 $225 -37.50% $127
Mountain Center 92561 2 $210 -61.80% $118
Murrieta 92562 97 $315 -30.00% $121
Murrieta 92563 132 $295 -26.30% $113
Norco 92860 19 $469 -21.00% $188
Nuevo 92567 5 $225 -45.10% $131
Palm Desert 92211 44 $405 -5.80% $210
Palm Desert 92260 32 $452 -14.30% $199
Palm Springs 92262 33 $375 -10.90% $235
Palm Springs 92264 17 $550 -13.80% $260
Perris 92570 32 $225 -40.50% $112
Perris 92571 88 $195 -44.30% $107
Rancho Mirage 92270 26 $850 15.60% $272
Riverside 92501 14 $268 -22.50% $167
Riverside 92503 61 $276 -34.30% $139
Riverside 92504 50 $250 -34.50% $178
Riverside 92505 26 $241 -37.20% $161
Riverside 92506 44 $300 -31.00% $190
Riverside 92507 27 $260 -28.80% $167
Riverside 92508 37 $365 -27.00% $143
Riverside 92509 32 $270 -34.40% $160
San Jacinto 92582 20 $222 -42.30% $87
San Jacinto 92583 38 $188 -41.00% $109
Sun City 92585 18 $250 -26.50% $125
Sun City 92586 31 $179 -24.60% $122
Temecula 92590 1 $681 -21.80% $323
Temecula 92591 50 $299 -28.00% $138
Temecula 92592 104 $323 -28.30% $139
Thousand Palms 92276 2 $163 -31.40% $99
White Water 92282 4 $190 -38.80% $116
Wildomar 92595 33 $290 -32.90% $114
Winchester 92596 47 $287 -37.30% $113

Inland Empire Auto Show Quickly Establishing Itself as a Top Auto Show Player in Southern California

The 2008 Inland Empire Auto Show (IEAS), San Bernardino and Riverside Counties' top destination location for auto enthusiasts, today announced some exciting news about this year's main attractions. Coming off a successful rebirth of the IE Auto Show in 2007, the IE Auto Show is back in 2008 and is literally bigger and better.

Making west coast debuts at the IE Auto Show are the Chevy Traverse (seen at the Chicago Auto Show), the 2009 Nissan Maxima (recently seen at the New York Auto Show), and the production version of the Dodge Challenger (from the Chicago Auto Show).

The 2008 Inland Empire Auto Show will make its mark this year as being more than just a typical auto show. It will become the launching pad for other southern California-based automotive lifestyle events and groups as well. Extreme Autofest will be bringing 150 of its lifestyle tuner cars to the show giving the IE Show more tuner cars onsite than any other southland auto show.

Extreme Motorsports Expo will be showcasing a host of its sand rails and off-road buggies. This year the Extreme Motorsports team will be debuting the "Ball of Steel" pitting motorcycle's most aggressive riders against the hardest walls of the "Ball of Steel."

Formula D Drifting Champion Samuel Hubinette will be showcasing his newest race car -- the Mopar Dodge Charger. HKS USA will highlight its 350Z Motorsports race car and Zero Motorcycles will be displaying its all-new electric dirt bike.

Corona-based West Coast Customs will be showcased this year and featuring a series of its custom cars. West Coast Customs, most known for developing the highly popular show, "Pimp My Ride," will be showcasing some of its best custom creations. The West Coast Crew will be onsite making a special appearance and signing autographs at the 2008 Inland Empire Auto Show (schedule permitting).

Back by popular demand is the Inland Empire Auto Show's Green Street. With growing interest in alternative fuel vehicles, the Green Street has moved outside of the convention center where manufacturers will be pairing their green cars with green homes.

Show participants to date include:

o GMC o Chevrolet o Buick
o Pontiac o Saturn o Hummer
o Cadillac o Saab o Toyota
o Lexus o Honda o Acura
o Kia o Nissan o Chrysler
o Jeep o Dodge o Scion
o Lincoln o Mercury o Mercedes
o Volkswagen o Ford (dealer) Benz (dealer)
o Kia o Smart

To purchase tickets and for more information, visit the IEAS official Web site at http://www.ieautoshow.com.

College and High School Students Causes A Ramen Revolution in the Inland Empire

Azindies Productions, LLC is pleased to announce Ramen Revolution, a ground-breaking television series about anime and Asian pop culture, which will be taped live at the Granada Theater in Ontario, CA, on Saturday April 5th.

Azindies Productions, LLC is pleased to announce Ramen Revolution, a ground-breaking television series about anime and Asian pop culture, which will be taped live at the Granada Theater in Ontario, CA, on Saturday April 5th, at 6:00PM for broadcast on LA 18KSCI-TV on April 27 at 12:30a.m.

Ramen Revolution is the biggest, most unique anime event ever to hit the Inland Empire. It will include live Para Para dancers and feature performances from the Japanese-American bands Friday Knights and Thee Out Mods. There will be audience participation games and contests, free giveaways, and drawings for a free iPod nano and an iPod shuffle. Ramen Revolution will also provide news updates, event coverage, information on Japan's latest music and fashion trends, interviews, sketch comedy, and everything else a Japanime fan needs.

The show will be anchored by writer/comedian Jon Kalkin and hosted by Sir Jestro and Jennifer Partridge of the TV Series "Our New Earth." Special Guests will include Mark Anthony Williams from the movie Phat Girls and featured on Showtime's hit series Dexter, and Richard George, executive editor at www.ign.com in charge of comics and anime channel.

The first live show is on April 5th, 2008. Tickets to the show can be brought for only 15 dollars per person online at www.ramenrevolution.com or at a participating high school or college Anime club. Ramen Revolution can be also watched online at www.ramenrevolution.com.

Ramen Revolution was created in response to the large demographic of Anime fans and interrelated sub-cultures who have been ignored by mainstream Hollywood for so long. Therefore, Ramen Revolution is proud to be made by otaku for otaku.

But if you're new to the world of Asian pop culture, don't worry. Ramen Revolution was created to entertain everyone!

Largest Metropolitan Areas Ranking for Identity Theft Consumer Complaints January 1 – December 31, 2007

1 Napa, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area 404 302.6
2 Madera, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area 410 280.2
3 Greeley, CO Metropolitan Statistical Area 540 228.0
4 Brownsville-Harlingen, TX Metropolitan Statistical Area 876 225.9
5 McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, TX Metropolitan Statistical Area 1,563 223.1
6 Vallejo-Fairfield, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area 898 218.1
7 Hanford-Corcoran, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area 314 214.8
8 Dunn, NC Micropolitan Statistical Area 223 209.8
9 Flagstaff, AZ Metropolitan Statistical Area 261 208.9
10 Thomasville-Lexington, NC Micropolitan Statistical Area 322 206.1
11 Yuba City, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area 318 196.5
12 Laredo, TX Metropolitan Statistical Area 454 196.1
13 Lake Havasu City-Kingman, AZ Micropolitan Statistical Area 360 186.5
14 Bakersfield, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area 1,436 184.1
15 Yuma, AZ Metropolitan Statistical Area 336 179.1
16 Gainesville, GA Metropolitan Statistical Area 307 177.2
17 Prescott, AZ Metropolitan Statistical Area 366 175.9
18 Monroe, MI Metropolitan Statistical Area 258 166.4
19 Albany-Lebanon, OR Micropolitan Statistical Area 183 164.1
20 Sierra Vista-Douglas, AZ Micropolitan Statistical Area 209 163.6
21 Stockton, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area 1,096 162.8
22 Merced, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area 397 161.6
23 Salisbury, NC Micropolitan Statistical Area 218 160.0
24 Macon, GA Metropolitan Statistical Area 362 157.9
25 Las Cruces, NM Metropolitan Statistical Area 305 157.3
26 Punta Gorda, FL Metropolitan Statistical Area 239 154.8
27 Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area 1,231 153.9
28 Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area 383 153.4
29 Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ Metropolitan Statistical Area 6,165 152.6
30 Fresno, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area 1,358 152.3
31 Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Miami Beach, FL Metropolitan Statistical Area 8,317 152.2
32 Montgomery, AL Metropolitan Statistical Area 547 151.2
33 Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area 6,084 151.1

Business Notes: Dos Lagos, Momotree and Office Growth!

Dos Lagos showcases art, music

Greg Adamson is a local artist who creates paintings to live music on stage at the Dos Lagos Amphitheater. He will complete the second of two large paintings from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Friday at Art@the Heart of Dos Lagos, a collaboration of art and live music hosted by the Corona Art Association. Admission is free.

Adamson, a member of the Corona Art Association, sees a close connection between visual art and music.

"I am often drawn to musicians as subjects because I identify with the zone they seem to occupy when performing," he said. "I find myself in that same zone when I'm painting to music."

In addition to Adamson painting with band Derrick Edmondson, several art association members will be displaying and creating art on the Plaza near the Dos Lagos Amphitheater.

Information: www.PromenadeShopsatDosLagos.com, www.PM-Lifestyle.com.

Momotree coming to V.G.

Newly founded retailer Momotree will soon be joining the merchant lineup at Victoria Gardens.

The store, which will sell trendy apparel, accessories and collectibles and carry fashion lines such as Tokidoki, Harajuku Lovers, Tarina Tarantino and much more anime-based merchandise, is set to open in May.

"Momotree will bring an entirely new genre of products to Victoria Gardens, providing shoppers with even more choices," said Christine C. Pham, general manager of Victoria Gardens.

All the merchandise is hand-selected and meant to appeal to customers of all ages.

"Momotree was fortunate to find available space at Victoria Gardens," said store co-owner John Sugita. "It is the ideal conduit to bring these urban, pop-art inspired products to the Inland Empire."

Information: http://www.momotree.com/ , http://www.victoriagardensie.com/.

G&E sees strong office growth

Grubb & Ellis Co. says the 2008 commercial real estate outlook is good for the Inland Empire.

The industrial market is expected to further solidify its position as Southern California's leading distribution hub. The office market will see an increase in vacancy as supply outpaces demand and white-collar job growth slows with the slowing economy.

In the retail market, the weak housing market may bruise consumer confidence, but the Inland Empire seems somewhat immune as much of the area's local population is underserved by retailers in all categories.

The office development boom, which began in 2005, will slow in 2008 as developers become more cautious. Fallout in the local housing market coupled with the shaky mortgage industry will affect tenants, some of which will downsize their operations and sublet space.

The Inland Empire will continue to be an industrial powerhouse in 2008, benefiting from its proximity to the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, competitive rents, Los Angeles' under 2 percent vacancy rate, and available space to accommodate large warehouse users.

The Inland Empire has not been immune to fallout from the subprime lending crisis and its impact on consumer confidence. Nonetheless, the retail market has continued to exhibit strength.

Information: http://www.grubb-ellis.com/.

Bridal Shows for 2008

Are you getting married next year? Know someone who is? Well, then come out and see us on January 6th at the Ontario Doubletree Hotel. Brideworld is hosting their annual Ontario Convention Center Bridal Show showcasing the best of your Inland Empire vendors.

Can't make the Show in January? Visit us on March 30 at the Eagle Glen Golf Club in Corona, Ca. for yet another show! This one is a little smaller, but worth it!

Call us for details! 877-373-9379