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Fourteen people arrested in Riverside County prostitution sting| Page A2
Weather: 63o/41o | Volume IV | Issue XLIV
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Cirque du Soleil Coming To Riverside County In 2023| Page C1
Thursday, December 15 - December 21, 2022 www.HSJChronicle.com |
A FAITH
CLERGY CORNER What Are The Odds?
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B POLITICS
The Hemet City Council shows some fire and spit
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BUSINESS | Page D1
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D BUSINESS
Musk’s Twitter disbands its Trust and Safety advisory group See more on page D1
Why fusion could be a clean-energy breakthrough DOUG GLASS AND MICHAEL PHILLIS| AP NEWS
on fusing a pair of hydrogen isotopes — deuterium and tritium — according to the Department of Energy, which says that particular combination releases “much more energy than most fusion reactions” and requires less heat to do so. Here’s a look at exactly what nuclear fusion is, and some of the difficulties in turning it into the cheap and carbon-free energy source that scientists hope it can be.
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he major advance in fusion research announced in Washington on Tuesday was decades in coming, with scientists for the first time able to engineer a reaction that produced more power than was used to ignite it. Using powerful lasers to focus enormous energy on a miniature capsule half the size of a BB, scientists at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California started a reaction that produced about 1.5 times more energy than was contained in the light used to produce it. There are decades more to wait before fusion could one day — maybe — be used to produce electricity in the real world. But the promise of fusion is enticing. If harnessed, it could produce nearly limitless, carbon-free energy to supply humanity’s electricity needs without raising global temperatures and worsening climate change. At the press conference in Washington, the scientists celebrated.
FUSION RESEARCH: A technician reviews an optic inside the preamplifier support structure at the Lawrence Livermore National Labora-
tory in Livermore, Calif.T, in 2012. | Courtesy Photo of Damien Jemison/Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
“So, this is pretty cool,” said Marvin “Marv” Adams, the National Nuclear Security Administration deputy administrator for defense programs. “Fusion fuel in the capsule got squeezed, fusion reactions started. This had all happened before – 100 times before – but last week for the first time they designed this experiment so that the fusion fuel stayed hot enough, dense enough and round enough for long enough that it ignited,” said Adams. “And it produced more energy than the lasers
had deposited.” Here’s a look at exactly what nuclear fusion is, and some of the difficulties in turning it into the cheap and carbon-free energy source that scientists hope it can be. WHAT IS NUCLEAR FUSION? Look up, and it’s happening right above you — nuclear fusion reactions power the sun and other stars. The reaction happens when two light nuclei merge to form a single heavier nucleus. Because the total mass of that single nucleus is less
than the mass of the two original nuclei, the leftover mass is energy that is released in the process, according to the Department of Energy. In the case of the sun, its intense heat — millions of degrees Celsius — and the pressure exerted by its gravity allow atoms that would otherwise repel each other to fuse. Scientists have long understood how nuclear fusion has worked and have been trying to duplicate the process on Earth as far back as the 1930s. Current efforts focus
WHAT IS NUCLEAR FUSION? Look up, and it’s happening right above you — nuclear fusion reactions power the sun and other stars. The reaction happens when two light nuclei merge to form a single heavier nucleus. Because the total mass of that single nucleus is less than the mass of the two original nuclei, the leftover mass is energy that is released in the process, according to the Department of Energy. In the case of the sun, its intense heat — millions of degrees Celsius — and the pressure exerted by its gravity allow atoms that would
See FUSION on page A4
Soboba Delivers Busloads of Toys for Area Children SOBOBA BAND OF LUISEÑO INDIANS | CONTRIBUTED
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n collaboration with the Hemet and San Jacinto unified school districts, the Soboba Foundation and Soboba Casino Resort were able to provide toys for local students just in time for Christmas. Diverging from past years of toy drives held in conjunction with the Soboba Casino Resort, this year’s event enlisted the help of the San Jacinto Walmart to fulfill the wish list of 5,000 toys for young children. The Soboba Foundation reached out to a few department stores to help them with this large endeavor, and special elves from the San Jacinto Walmart stepped in to help out. Walmart’s Store Manager Sandy Cifuentes, Academy Lead Lisa Flores and GM Coach Irma Hernandez worked closely with the Foundation’s coordinator Andrew Vallejos in the true spirit of community and Christmas. Cifuentes said, “We appreciate this event and are here
From left, Soboba Tribal Council Treasurer Daniel Valdez, Chairman Isaiah Vivanco, Soboba Foundation President Dondi Silvas and Vice President Catherine “Cat” Modesto. Behind them, members of the Hemet Police Department Explorers and other volunteers unstuff a busload of toys.
San Jacinto Walmart team members Bianka Rosas and Kiyana Castillos help load 1,000 toys into the cargo bay of the Soboba bus that will deliver toys to San Jacinto Unified School District’s warehouse, Dec. 5. | Photos courtesy of the Soboba Band of Luiseño Indians
to give our support! And support they did. Before the popular Unstuff the Bus events could take place, Walmart team members shopped, rang up and ensured toy inventory to help accomplish the mission. They also provided manpower to load 1,000 toys onto the Soboba bus for each day of delivery. “It’s always the season for uni-
gade” from where the bus parked to the entrance of the DO’s warehouse, gifts were passed along one at a time. SJUSD’s School, Family and Community Liaison Sheila Blythe helped members of the San Jacinto High School cheer team and other volunteers sort each gift onto tables labeled for age groups and gender located inside the huge warehouse.
ty, inclusion and giving,” Vallejos said. “We are grateful to all those who said yes and asked how they could help." The first event took place at San Jacinto Unified School District’s main office parking lot on Dec. 5 where hundreds of community members waited for the Soboba Band of Luiseño Indians’ bus to arrive. Forming a “toy bri-
RIVERSIDE, CA
“We love to see everyone out here working together,” Blythe said. Soboba Tribal Council and Foundation members were on hand, as well as Soboba Fire Department personnel, working alongside other volunteers as toys were passed down the line.
See TOY DRIVE on page C4
RIVERSIDE, CA
California to close Riverside County One-Stop Clinics Available To Test, Treat COVID-19 In Riverside County prison, deactivate other facilities TRAVIS SCHLEPP | KTLA.COM
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he California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation is moving forward with a plan to close a prison in Riverside County, deactivate several other facilities and discontinue the use of another property that is currently being used as a prison. The prison that will be closing is Chuckawalla Valley State Prison, one of two prisons in Blythe, with a targeted closing date set at March 2025. The decision to close Chuckawalla was made at Gov. Gavin Newsom’s direction, alongside declining inmate numbers and budgetary reasons, as CDCR focuses on “fiscal responsibility” with its use of state prisons. Chuckawalla sits on about 125 acres of land and was opened in 1987. It currently holds about 2,050 inmates.
CDCR will also not renew its $32 million lease on the California City Correctional Facility in Kern County. The state leases the property and staffs it with CDCR employees. With news of the termination of the lease, the prison will be effectively closed by March 2024. California City Correctional Facility is the only property that CDCR leases for use as a prison. Newsom has pledged on multiple occasions to stop California’s use of private prisons. The state has leased the facility since 2013 when the state was dealing with overcrowding at its state-owned prison facilities. The facility currently holds about 1,925 inmates. Chuckawalla and California City prisons were chosen to be shuttered after CDCR evaluated the cost of keeping them open.
See PRISON on page A4
PATCH | CONTRIBUTED
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n an effort to avoid crowded hospital emergency rooms, Riverside County residents who are experiencing illness due to a possible coronavirus infection are urged to get tested then treated at clinics located throughout region. The clinics are offered by Riverside University Health System-Public Health, in partnership with OptumServe. “We continue to see significant impacts to our hospital emergency departments with individuals seeking COVID-19 testing and/or COVID-19 therapeutics. We have an opportunity to remind the community that there are additional resources to assist with accessing COVID-19 testing and medications,” said Misty Plumley, program chief for the county's immunizations and emergency response. The one-stop-shop allows patients to be tested for COVID-19,
December 16th
5pm FREE Christmas Concert 6-8 pm Festival Open The Well | 2700 W. Johnston Ave. Hemet, 92545
The clinics are offered by Riverside University Health System-Public Health, in partnership with OptumServe. | Courtesy Photo of Shutterstock
have a telehealth communication with a doctor and receive an oral antiviral treatment — all during the same visit. Riverside County, like other regions throughout the state, has seen a sharp rise in
See CLINIC on page A4 Family Friendly Event! Food, vendors, petting zoo photo booth & FREE Hot Chocolate, Cookies & Smores