B
One of the most far-reaching mandate bills will not move forward | Page B1
Weather: 81o/45o | Volume IV | Issue XIII
C
REAL ESTATE | Page C2
Thursday, March 31 - April 4, 2022
A FAITH
Clergy Corner: Women
of the World Untie!
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www.HSJChronicle.com |
B POLITICS
Newsom imposes water restrictions
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D
HISTORY | Page D1
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B OPINION
A Trend Toward The Home Office
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CALIFORNIA STATE
Newsom rejects parole for Manson follower Leslie Van Houten
AP NEWS | CONTRIBUTED
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alifornia Gov. Gavin Newsom on Tuesday blocked parole for Charles Manson follower Leslie Van Houten, reversing a panel's recommendation that she be freed after spending a half-century in prison. Van Houten, 72, "currently poses an unreasonable danger to society if released from prison at this time," Newsom said in his parole review. It was the fifth time that a California governor has rejected her release. Her attorney, Rich Pfeiffer, disputed that view and said the decision will be appealed in court. He accused Newsom of rejecting parole because he is worried about "his political future" and noted that Van Houten has a spotless prison disciplinary record. "We're not fighting (over) Leslie being a good person. She's proven that through her actions for half a century," he said. Van Houten is serving a life sentence for helping Manson and others kill Los Angeles grocer Leno LaBianca and his wife, Rosemary, in August 1969. Van Houten was 19 when she and other cult members fatally stabbed the LaBiancas and smeared the couple's blood on the walls. The day before, other Manson followers, not including Van Houten, killed pregnant actress Sharon Tate and four others. In his rejection letter, Newsom noted that Van Housen had un-
Honorees at the 13th annual San Jacinto Rotary Club’s Community Recognition Dinner were also congratulated by Supervisor Jeff Hewitt on March 21. | Photos courtesy of the Soboba Band of Luiseño Indians.
SAN JACINTO, CA.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Tuesday blocked parole for Charles Manson follower Leslie Van Houten. | Photo by Getty Images.
Leslie Van Houten during a hearing in Corona, Calif on Sept. 6, 2017. | Photo by Stan Lin/File
dergone therapy, earned educational degrees and taken self-help classes in prison and had shown
PRST STD US POSTAGE PAID HEMET, CA PERMIT NO. 69 92543-9998
Van Houten was 19 when she and other cult members fatally stabbed the LaBiancas and smeared the couple’s blood on the walls. | File Photo.
"increased maturity and rehabilitation." But Van Houten also has "gaps in insight" that continue to make her a danger to society, Newsom said. Van Houten has had 21 parole hearings since 1982. Most parole boards denied her bid for freedom. But five panels have recommended her release since 2016, saying she had expressed remorse and was no longer a threat to public safety. Newsom rejected a recommendation made last November. He previously reversed parole recommendations in 2019 and 2020. In February, the California Supreme Court refused to hear Van Houten's appeal of the 2020 rejection. Previous Gov. Jerry Brown rejected Van Houten's parole in 2016 and 2018. On April 11, 2012, Charles Manson was denied release at his 12th parole hearing, which he did not attend, and it was determined that Manson would not be reconsidered for parole for another 15 years, i.e. not before 2027, at which time he would have been 92 years old. After his March 27, 1997, parole hearing, Manson refused to attend any of his later hearings. Manson died in 2017 of natural causes at a California hospital while serving a life sentence.
RIVERSIDE COUNTY
Nearly 2,000 Cannabis Plants Seized in Riverside Raid
SJ Rotary Club Honors Marian Chacon of Soboba SOBOBA BAND OF LUISEÑO INDIANS | CONTRIBUTED
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he annual San Jacinto Rotary Club awards dinner that got put on hold for a couple of years due to the pandemic, returned March 21 to recognize six honorees who make a difference in their community. Among them was Marian Chacon who was named Soboba Tribal Elder and Community Leader for 2022. Born and raised on the Soboba Indian Reservation, Chacon celebrated her 86th birthday in February and is one of the many respected elders on the reservation. She has been part of St. Joseph’s Catholic Church for many years and serves on the Mission Council Board. She was unable to attend the dinner because she teaches a Catechism class at the church on Monday nights, so Soboba Tribal Council Sergeant at Arms Kelli Hurtado accepted the award on her behalf. “Marian is big on tradition and has strong family values that she has passed onto many of us,” Hurtado said. “She enjoys living her best life with her grandchildren and great-grandchildren. She continues to help and be a big part of our community. She is a special person to me and that’s why I’m honored to be here today.” In 1995, Chacon taught the Soboba Youth Council how to take
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ter was valued at $126,000, according to the police spokesman. No one was arrested, but detectives are continuing to put together their case, according to Cabrera. Anyone with information was asked to contact the police department at 951-354-2007. The task force has been conducting raids on a regular basis for the last four years and consists not only of Riverside police officers, but also Corona and Hemet police personnel, sheriff ’s deputies, District Attorney’s Office Bureau of Investigation staff and representatives from the California Department of Cannabis Control.
See SOBOBA on page A4
Hemet Motorcyclist, USFS Firefighter, Id’d After Fatal Aguanga Crash TREVOR MONTGOMERY | CONTRIBUTED
A cannabis plant. | Photo from Pixabay.
over and conduct the Memorial Day Ceremony held at the Soboba Cemetery. She is active with the Soboba Tribal Preschool’s many activities. “In 2014, Marian took me under her wing to teach me how to sing for our funerals and wakes, for when our people pass away,” Hurtado said. “She is one amazing lady, and I am proud to call her my friend.” Chacon also received a certificate of recognition from the Riverside County Board of Supervisors, represented at the dinner by Fifth District Supervisor Jeff Hewitt. The certificate was “to honor and recognize Marian Chacon for her services as a Soboba Tribal Member. Thank you for your dedication and leadership in
AGUANGA, CA.
MYNEWSLA | CONTRIBUTED
iverside police investigators Tuesday were working to track down suspects involved in operating an illegal cannabis grow, where law enforcement personnel seized nearly 2,000 marijuana plants. Officer Javier Cabrera of the Riverside Police Department said that earlier this month, the Riverside County Cannabis Regulation Task Force initiated an investigation in the 4300 block of Napier Drive, near Buchanan Street, where a resident reported possible illegal cultivation activity. The investigation culminated in search warrants being served at the property, which had been “converted into a marijuana grow house,” Cabrera said. He said the March 21 raid netted about 1,900 cannabis plants and 86 pounds of processed weed. The lat-
Marian Chacon of Soboba is one of those honored by the San Jacinto Rotary Club.
lthough few details have been released, officials have confirmed that a Hemet motorcyclist was killed after a solo-vehicle crash in the unincorporated community of Aguanga, east of Temecula Sunday afternoon, March 27. The fatal accident happened at 45150 Sage Road, about a half-mile north of Highway 79, according to officials. According to his social media accounts and other sources, the victim, Desmond Palmer, 34, of Hemet, was a firefighter at U.S. Forest Service – San Bernardino National Forest, where he had been employed since May 2019. California Highway Patrol – Temecula, Cal Fire – Riverside, and other emergency personnel were dispatched to the scene around 4:20 p.m. after receiving reports
Desmond Palmer, 34, was killed after crashing his motorcycle on Sage Road in Aguanga on Sunday afternoon. | Photo source: Desmond Palmer's Facebook profile.
of a motorcyclist who crashed off the roadway. Firefighters and other emergency responders reached the scene about twenty minutes after the call was dispatched, at which
See ACCIDENT on page C4