San Bernardino County HR to host virtual session to help job seekers
Riverside city manager resigns; James Johnson to be new city attorney
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Investigation of deadly crash at Edwards Air Force Base continues By Joe Taglieri
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n investigation was continuing Wednesday to determine the cause of a B-52 bomber crash at Edwards Air Force Base that caused the deaths of eight people at the military installation near Kern, San Bernardino and Los Angeles counties. The B-52 Stratofortress was flying a routine test mission when it crashed shortly after takeoff Monday around 11:20 a.m. Video from the crash site showed a large amount of smoke emanating from the burning military aircraft, which appeared to be completely destroyed. Col. James Hayes, deputy commander of the 412th Test Wing at Edwards Air Force Base, said during a news media briefing Monday afternoon that the aircraft was doing a local test sortie to support a radar modernization program when it crashed immediately after becoming airborne. "Our team of first responders snapped into action, and immediately cordoned off the area and took the appropriate action to start putting out the flames," Hayes told reporters. Edwards Air Force Base officials set up centers for emergency operations and wing operations to coordinate and monitor the response and recovery crews, Hayes said. "After reviewing the footage of the crash, it was deemed that this was an unrecoverable crash and unsurvivable," Hayes said. "At that point, we went into the notification process." Chief Master Sgt. Joshua T. Skarloken said officials
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Fire in Riverside County’s Badlands scorches nearly 3,100 acres By Staff
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brush fire in the Badlands southwest of Calimesa that has burned nearly 3,100 acres and prompted evacuation orders and warnings was 40% contained Tuesday morning, the Riverside County Fire Department reported. The Shore Fire was reported initially at 3:23 p.m. Monday in a sparsely populated area close to Lake Shore Drive and San Timoteo Canyon Road, officials said. The terrain in the fire zone is difficult to negotiate on foot, and the blaze increased from 2,600 acres Tuesday to 3,085 acres as of Wednesday morning. Firefighters on the scene
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Tuesday and Wednesday totaled 255 with air, engine and hand crews from the county, Hemet Fire Department, Palm Springs Fire Department and Cal Fire-San Bernardino County. Firefighting efforts were focused on the north side of the rugged terrain stretching between Interstate 10 to the north and the Moreno Valley (60) Freeway to the south. Cal Fire released the following statement Wednesday: "Ground crews made significant progress overnight constructing and strengthening containment lines, laying hose around the fire perimeter, and monitoring interior
Jeromy Smith, 32, was among those who died in the B-52 crash Monday at Edwards Air Force Base. | Photo courtesy of Lindsey Smith/GoFundMe
were in the process of notifying the crash victims' families. Military personnel, government civilians and government contractors were among the people on the aircraft. One of the people who died in the crash was identified Tuesday as Jeromy Smith, 32, a civilian flight test engineer. He was a husband and father of two young children. According to a GoFundMe page created to support Smith's wife Lauren, one of the couple's two boys is just 4 months old, and their other son is 2 and a half years old. "Our entire family is devastated by this great loss. My brother-in-law was an incredible husband and an amazing father to their boys," Lindsey Smith wrote on the GoFundMe page, which as of Wednesday morning had raised over $46,000 of a $50,000 goal.
The couple resided in Bakersfield. A separate GoFundMe page identified another of the victims as Lt. Col. Miles Middleton, 42, a test pilot. He was also married with two children. "As a family friend, I've witnessed firsthand the strength and resilience Pam has shown, but the road ahead is filled with uncertainty and challenges," Melissa Lynch wrote on the page. "With Miles gone, Pam is now responsible for supporting her family on her own." As of Wednesday morning people contributed more than $116,500 of the fundraiser's $140,000 goal. The B-52 Stratofortress has been a key regular component of the Air Force's fleet of bombers since starting service in 1955. The longSee Crash Page 09
See Fire Page 27 range aircraft can carrying as much as 70,000 pounds of weapons and generally has a crew of five. The last crash at the base occurred in 1992, when two crew members were died. According to the U.S. Air Force, the 412th Test Wing does all flight and ground testing of aircraft, weapons systems, software and components along with modeling and simulation work. The unit has a maintenance group of over 2,000 people and an operations group of 3,000. The test wing maintains and flies an average of 90 aircraft with upwards of 30 aircraft designs and performs over 7,400 missions including more than 1,900 test missions each year, officials said. "Risk is an accepted component of flight testing, but because of Edwards'
Riverside County man among accused in alleged plot to attack White House By City News Service
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Riverside County man is among five individuals across the country charged with plotting an attack using explosivesladen drones during Sunday's Ultimate Fighting Championship event at the White House, federal prosecutors said Tuesday. Bryan Omar Roa, 24, of Calimesa is charged with conspiracy to commit murder for allegedly colluding in online chats to carry out the criminal offenses. "The FBI, our law enforceSee Attack plot Page 27
ment partners and our U.S. attorneys did what they do every day to make America safe through quick response and vigilance in investigating, disrupting and dismantling this alleged plan before it could be carried out," Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said Tuesday. "We will take immediate and aggressive action to identify and prosecute those who incite and plan acts of violence." The other defendants are Tycen C. Proper, 19, of Danville, Ohio; Daniel