B
Temecula 9/11 Tribute To Mark 21st Anniversary | Page B1
Weather: 99o/78o | Volume IV | Issue XXXVI
Calabasas Pumpkin Festival Returns| Page C1
C
Thursday, September 8 - 14, 2022
A FAITH
www.HSJChronicle.com |
| $2.00 (Tax Incl.)
September is Hunger Action Month See more on page D1
Leading crypto skeptic is a Southern California congressman
See more on page A3
BUSINESS | Page D1
D BUSINESS
B POLITICS
CLERGY CORNER Get a laugh!
D
See more on page B1
HEMET WILDFIRES
Southern California wildfires grow with little containment AP | CONTRIBUTED
T
wo wildfires burned out of control in the inland Southern California region on Wednesday, forcing evacuations in communities and a mountain resort area. The deadly Fairview Fire grew to nearly 8 square miles (20.7 square kilometers) near the city of Hemet in Riverside County, about 80 miles (129 kilometers) southeast of Los Angeles. Cal Fire Battalion Chief Josh Janssen told a predawn briefing that the fire remained just 5% contained with “open fire on all sides of the fire still
threatening several communities.” The fire erupted Monday amid triple-digit heat and spread ferociously, killing two people who were found in a vehicle, severely burning another person while destroying seven structures and damaging several others. “Unfortunately we aren’t able to positively identify the victims at this time but we do believe that they were from the same family,” said sheriff ’s Sgt. Brandi Swan. “It appears as though the two victims that were found inside the vehicle were trying to flee from the fire.” The injured person was identified only
as a woman. Swan said she was expected to survive. The cause of the fire was under investigation. Southern California Edison notified the California Public Utilities Commission that “circuit activity” occurred close in time to when the fire was reported, the Los Angeles Times said. The activity was not specified. About 35 miles (56 kilometers) to the north, smoke loomed over ski runs in the San Bernardino Mountains as the Radford Fire fed on stands of timber south of the Big Bear Lake resort region. The blaze had spread over about 1.5 square miles (3.8 square ki-
WILDFIRES: A home goes up in flames during the fast-moving Fairview fire that erupted near Hemet on Monday afternoon, the Riverside County Fire Department said. | Courtesy Photo of ONSCENE.TV lometers) since being spotted by a U.S. Forest
Service helicopter crew Monday afternoon. It
was just 2% contained as of Tuesday night.
SAN JACINTO, CA.
Soboba youth attend UNITY conference SOBOBA BAND OF LUISEÑO INDIANS | CONTRIBUTED
T
his year’s United National Indian Tribal Youth Inc. conference was held in Minneapolis and 10 Soboba youth attended the five-day, youth-led event in July that attracted about 2,500 Native youth and advisors. The attendees, aged 12-17, are all participants in the Soboba Tribal TANF year-round LEAD prevention program that provides Leadership through Education, Acquirement, Desire. While the youth leaders were busy with workshops and other activities, two advisors from the Soboba Tribal TANF Program who accompanied them, attended sessions that covered safety, provided conference updates and networked with other advisors. “Attendance was higher at this
year’s conference,” Senior Program Specialist Annalisa Tucker said. “We heard from amazing Native American women doing great things in Indian country.” The UNITY Conference is an impactful event that offers general sessions, regional caucuses, workshops and a career/education fair. Fun evening activities provide hands-on leadership development activities where the National UNITY Council conducts elections and its annual business meeting. The national conference is a place where Native youth voice is encouraged and valued. This year’s theme was “Restoring the Spirit of Native Youth.” Kimani Resvaloso-Sanchez, 13, attended the youth conference for the first time and enjoyed meeting new people and seeing new things. She said the group also got to do some sightseeing around
the city that included a visit to the Mall of America. “The best workshop would have to be the one about healthy relationships and mental health,” she said. She also learned that future generations will be affected by what is done now, just as how we are currently being affected by climate change that has been taking place for the past 20 years. The conference offers unique youth programming through its UNITY Fire and UNITY Drum. The UNITY Fire, which is lit on the first day of the conference, burns 24/7 during the annual conference and is led by alumni fire keepers, is used for social and prayer purposes and has provided conference attendees an opportunity for support, healing and spiritual nourishment. Warren Skye, Tonawanda Seneca Pine Tree Chief, said, “A fire
SAN JACINTO, CA.
UNITY: This year’s attendees of the UNITY youth conference in Minneapolis, attend the Gala on Sunday, July 10. | Courtesy Photos of the Soboba Band of Luiseño Indians
burns within us and has so since the beginning of time. We must continue to strengthen it and keep it bright for generations to come.” The fire is meant for all beliefs
and religions to share their “Good Medicine” with other participants.
See UNITY on page D4
SACRAMENTO, CA.
Record heat is testing California’s California governor signs power grid like never before landmark law for fast food workers MATTHIAS GAFNI | CONTRIBUTED
California’s badly strained power grid appeared to escape rolling blackouts Monday but will be tested like never before Tuesday, officials warned, as they urged the public to ramp up conservation efforts or face the prospects of losing power during a historic heat wave that isn’t done roasting the state. The expected energy load driven largely by air conditioning demand has taxed the state’s power supplies, and Tuesday is anticipated to be expected to be worse than Monday. Officials have asked residents to cut their electricity use from 4 to 9 p.m. Tuesday — the seventh straight day of such requests, known as Flex Alerts. They have also declared that emergency operations are possible on Tuesday — something that also oc-
curred Monday, as the grid moved through the first few stages of emergency but then canceled the notices around 9 p.m. as grid conditions stabilized. Electrical demand is expected to be the highest ever on Tuesday, California Independent System Operator President and CEO Elliot Mainzer said Monday at a news conference. “Right now our goal is to not see that number,” he said. To keep demand from exceeding the state’s supply, Mainzer stressed that consumers would need to increase their electrical saving efforts 2 to 3 times what they did in the early days of the historic heat wave. On Tuesday, the state is predicting a 51,000 megawatt load. Officials issued an emergency energy watch for 5 to 9 p.m., a step that
See HEATWAVE on page A4
DON THOMPSON | AP NEWS
California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Monday signed a nation-leading measure giving more than a half-million fast food workers more power and protections, despite the objections of restaurant owners who warned it would drive up consumers’ costs. The landmark law creates a 10-member Fast Food Council with equal numbers of workers’ delegates and employers’ representatives, along with two state officials, empowered to set minimum standards for wages, hours and working conditions in California. Newsom said he was proud to sign the measure into law on Labor Day. “California is committed to ensuring that the men and women who have helped build our world-
Commemoration Temecula 9/11 Tribute To Mark 21st Anniversary
class economy are able to share in the state’s prosperity,” he said in a statement. “Today’s action gives hardworking fast food workers a stronger voice and seat at the table to set fair wages and critical health and safety standards across the industry.” The law caps minimum wage increases for fast food workers at chains with more than 100 restaurants at $22 an hour next year, compared to the statewide minimum of $15.50 an hour, with cost of living increases thereafter. The state legislature approved the measure on Aug. 29. Debate split along party lines, with Republicans opposed. Sen. Brian Dahle, the Republican nominee for governor in November, had called it “a steppingstone to unionize all these workers.” Supporters had said they hoped the measure would inspire similar
See FAST FOOD on page A4