$100,000 Reward offered after Third attack attempt on gang officers

A bomb-sniffing dog checks the grill of an unmarked car belonging to a member of the Hemet-San Jacinto Gang Task Force on Friday. A potentially deadly device, which authorities declined to describe, had been attached to the car and fell off in the parking lot of a convenience store in Hemet.
A Hemet gang officer's vehicle was booby-trapped Friday with a device that police described as "designed to kill" -- the third assassination attempt since New Year's Eve against task force officers.

A member of the Hemet-San Jacinto Gang Task Force parked at an am/pm convenience store at Sanderson and Acacia avenues in Hemet about 8 a.m. Friday and went inside to buy coffee. When he came out, he saw a suspicious device on the pavement next to his car and called for help, Hemet police Lt. Duane Wisehart said.

"It's like war," Wisehart said, standing next to yellow crime scene tape as the device was being inspected. "Somebody's going to get lucky eventually -- or what will be unlucky for us."

Police declined to describe the device but said it was designed to kill the officer when he approached the car and got in, or when he got out, Wisehart said.

Police are not sure whether the device was attached to the plainclothes officer's black, unmarked Crown Victoria at his home or some other place where it was parked. The device was on the car when he drove to the am/pm market, and it fell off there.

"The first thing you think is if they're following you," Wisehart said. "They may be watching us as much as we're watching them."

The investigation shut down city streets for blocks in south Hemet and prompted the evacuation of several businesses near the market. Hemet police called the Riverside County sheriff's Hazardous Device Team.

Bomb technicians, one wearing a black mask, inspected the car with the aid of a bomb-sniffing dog. They determined the device was not explosive.

Hemet police will send it to the Department of Justice to be tested for fingerprints and DNA. The officer's car will be stored as evidence. Police are studying surveillance footage from the store.

"For our guys, the message is that you're not safe anywhere," Wisehart said.

The gang task force was targeted twice before -- on New Year's Eve and again last week -- at its office near the Hemet police station. After the second attack, the team moved to a new site.

In the first attack, someone cut a hole through the building's roof and rerouted a line to fill the office with natural gas, intending it to explode when a person turned on a light or computer, causing a spark.

Last week, a rolling gate was booby-trapped with a firearm that would fire a bullet at anyone opening it. The bullet narrowly missed an officer.

No suspects have been identified, but police think it may be a gang under investigation. Before the Dec. 31 incident, police had cracked down on outlaw motorcycle gangs, and a white-supremacist gang was dismantled last year. None has been linked to the attacks.

No gangs or suspects have been ruled out, Wisehart said.

Each incident is being investigated by Hemet police, the gang task force and the FBI.

"We will get them," Police Chief Richard Dana said.

Hemet police have declined to state what specific measures are being taken to protect officers. Dana said officers may seem less friendly in interacting with the public, out of concern for their safety.

The gang task force is made up of seven officers from Hemet police, the Riverside County Sheriff's Department, the district attorney's office and probation and parole departments. It is one of eight units in the county. Police have not said which officers from which agencies were involved in the incidents, but said it was a different officer each time.

Gang task force officers aren't uniformed, but wear black bullet-proof vests.

The San Jacinto Valley has about 2,000 gang members who either are locals or have moved there from Los Angeles, said Hemet police Lt. Mark Richards, a one-time task force leader.

The Riverside County Board of Supervisors last week offered a reward of up to $100,000 for information leading to a conviction in the cases.

Hemet City Councilwoman Robin Lowe said she would seek assistance from state legislators to restore staffing that the Hemet Police Department lost to budget cuts.

"This is a domestic terrorist attack on our Police Department and our community," Lowe said.

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Opera, dinner in Hemet will benefit Ramona Bowl

A night of opera will be held on March 19 in Hemet to benefit the Ramona Bowl.

The event takes place at Dattilo's Ristorante Italiano at 2288 E. Florida Ave. Cocktails begin at 6 p.m. with dinner at 7. The cost is $50 per person. Cocktail attire is requested.

Entertaining will be sopranos Michelle Caravia and Megan O'Toole, tenor Josh Shaw and pianist Paul Jarski.

RSVP is requested by March 15. Information: 951-658-3111, ext. 100.
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Killer Bees make it to state, A San Jacinto Valley First

WINNERS: American Youth Soccer Organization’s under 10 soccer team, the Killer Bees, is one of four California teams to play in the State Finals. The State Finals are on March 27 in Bakersfield.

The Killer Bees soccer team has done something no other American Youth Soccer Organization soccer team from Hemet has done — it is going to the State Finals in Bakersfield.

“I don’t know if it’s really hit me yet,” Killer Bees coach Ramon Benz said.

The Bees — which is made up of 8- and 9-year old girls — solidified their spot among the four top teams in California when they swarmed the competition at the Southern California Section I Championship on Sunday.

The girls will represent Orange, Riverside, San Diego, Los Angeles, and San Bernardino counties in the state finals.

Benz said the Bees’ 25-0 record has not been easy to get.

“These wins have not come easy. We’ve had to face some tough teams,” Benz said.

He said the girls proved how badly they wanted the section championship when they braved hard rain and won despite the weather.

“We played in the rain, and our girls prevailed,” Benz said.

He said their final game was tied 3-3 in double overtime. The game went to a shootout. After three kicks each, the teams were still tied, 6-6.

“I made a keeper change to make a psychological move, and we stopped those kicks. I thought, ‘Oh my goodness, we have a chance to do something that no one has ever done (in Hemet).’” Benz said.

Benz said he doesn’t make excuses for his girls simply because they are young.

“I don’t treat them like they are 8 or 9 and incompetent,” he said. “If you tell them they can only do something small, that’s what they will accomplish. But if you give them big hopes and dreams, that’s what they are going to accomplish. I push them.”

Benz said one of the most extraordinary things about his team is that the players are at different skill levels. He said AYSO puts teams together to make sure no team is stacked with the most highly skilled players.

At the end of each season, coaches rate their players. The following season, the players are distributed so that there are players of every skill level on each team.

“Other regions that we play don’t do this. Some of them group all of the highly skilled players on one team,” Benz said.

He said each girl adds to the success of the Bees.

For example, he has two daughters, Glory and Cherish, who play on the team. He said that, although they are sisters, they couldn’t be more different. Glory is the leader, he said.

“She’s the toughness of our team,” Benz said.

Cherish is a shy player.

“She’s the sweet one out on the field (who encourages others),” Benz said.

Meanwhile, Jocelyn Guiterrez is dangerous, said Benz.

“Everytime she has the ball, we all hold our breath because she’s probably going to score,” he said.

Benz said Morgan Bond is the work horse. She makes plays happen, and, Benz said, although she doesn’t always get the limelight, she works her hardest.

He said his players work hard and they have heart — and that is what makes them successful.

He also said parents have played a key role in the success.

“It’s a good combination that includes the support of the parents. They support the way I coach. They allow me to push the girls,” Benz said.

He said he encourages parents to be positive with the girls.

“I tell the parents to let me be the bad guy,” Benz said.

Benz said the most important aspect of his coaching is to make the girls believe in themselves.

“What this win means is that we have talent and anything is possible. If you believe in yourself and you play as a team, you can do anything. When you play as a team, you’re dangerous. A team is hard to beat,” Benz said.

The Killer Bees is made up of Haylie Bustamante, Cherish, Alexia Hadad, Kylee Evans, Morgan, Jocelyn, Madelynn Smudde, Diana Alva, and Glory.

The team will play in the state finals on March 27.
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San Jacinto Valley's "Yesteryears"

Mary Whitney has authored books about Hemet's founding fathers and other famous people and events that profoundly shaped San Jacinto Valley history.

Her ninth offering, "Yesteryears," is dedicated to the everyday men and women who were important to the region's fabric yet received little notice other than when they were born, married or died.

The book, researched largely from the old Yesteryears columns in the Hemet News, serves up nuggets of did-you-knows from 1893 to 1989 alphabetized by subject or name and is complemented by an index.

For instance, the entry for "Covell, C.B." tells of Clarence B. Covell, a manager and cashier at Farmers and Merchants Bank for 51 years. "During his employment, he insisted on being the lowest salaried regular employee. Twelve days after his retirement, he died of a stroke -- January 1959," the book said. A subsequent entry noted the contribution from a fund he set up of $250,000 to build a library in 1971.

"That's an example of what I wanted to do," Whitney said. "Little-known people who did so much."

Whitney set out to write a book to commemorate Hemet's 100th anniversary. She decided to include "what I thought was relevant to us today and perhaps relevant to people 100 years from now."

She will speak to the Hemet Heritage Foundation on Monday at 6 p.m. at Diamond Valley Middle School, 291 W. Chambers St. in Hemet. The public is invited. Books will be available for $15.

Among the vignettes she might mention:

Hayes "Happy" Walker, who at the same time was Hemet chief of police and a bounty hunter. He was fired for allowing liquor to be sold during the Prohibition era of 1920-33.

In 1957, the California Water and Telephone Co. announced that at 11:01 p.m. on Nov. 2, all Hemet phones would be switched to a dial system from the operator system.

As many as 20 Indian settlements existed around the San Jacinto Valley or within Rancho de San Jacinto. "War and bloodshed were not uncommon," the book adds, citing the 1888 San Jacinto Register.

In 1942, $370,000 worth of dried apricots was shipped out of the valley.

Whitney's parents, Alma and Earl Hudson, who moved to Hemet in 1957, went out shopping for two hours one day and as usual, left their doors unlocked. They came to find Walton Sears, who lived a quarter-mile down the road, sitting comfortably in their home reading a newspaper.

Whitney's books

"Bring Me a Windmill"

"Valley, River and Mountain"

"Whittier, Fuller & Co."

"Vignettes of the Valley"

"Pieces of the Pas"t

"Hemet and the Brudins"

"Hemet"

"Fortunes Favor the Brave"

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San Jacinto High School physics students compete in international exercise

Last year, the physics students from San Jacinto High School were uncontested international champions. This year, much like the world of particle physics they are studying, things were uncertain.

This was the third year in a row that a group of about 40 San Jacinto students traveled to UC Riverside for two days to learn how subatomic particles are detected, how some of them behave and how to identify several of the particles, in particular, the Z particle.

On Tuesday afternoon, the students spent about two hours in front of computer screens analyzing trails left by the particles spawned in proton collisions. They were asked to estimate the probability of Z particles decaying into other particles.
Wednesday morning, they participated in a teleconference with students from Italy, Poland, France and Portugal. The group that came closest to the accepted probability was supposed to win bragging rights. Unlike last year, when the San Jacinto group came out on top, this year's results were too close to call.

But Mark Bonnard, 53, the physics instructor at San Jacinto High School, said the most important part of the event is getting youths turned on to science.

The annual exercise has been going on in Europe for many years, Bonnard said. He learned about it three years ago. He contacted CERN, the Geneva-based scientific organization that heads the Large Hadron Collider, and was put in touch with Pedro Abreu in Portugal. Abreu is in charge of his country's participation in the student exercise.

In an effort to get his youths involved, Bonnard made a trip to Portugal, at his own expense, to meet with Abreu.

"It was a pretty hair-brained idea," he said.

His team has been competing ever since.

Elizabeth Aguilar, 16, is a junior at San Jacinto High School. She said the physics students who came to UCR have been meeting once a week after school since the school year began in order to prepare for the exercise.

'the real thing'

She was excited about being in a university setting.

"This is work a lot of college students are doing," she said of the analysis she and her fellow students engaged in. "I think it goes a bit deeper than what you would learn in a (high school) class."

That exposure is the point of participating in the exercise, Bonnard said.

His students, he said, "get to come here and it's the real thing. They see that what I'm talking about is real. It gives validity to my whole program."

It also gives them an idea of the possibilities that are open to them in the sciences, he said.

Senior Victor Adame, 17, said he had never considered pursuing a science career before taking Bonnard's physics class.

"Before, it seemed like more science fiction," Adame said of the things he has been studying. "It opened my eyes. Now I'm trying to think about going more into physics."

UCR physics professor Bill Gary, who coordinates the exercise, said so far San Jacinto is the only Inland school involved.

"We want to grow it, but principals are reluctant to let their students come for two days," he said.

Still, with the single school participating, he already has seen a payoff.

"Some of Mark's kids have matriculated here and have been in my class," he said.

He motioned to the group on hand. "In a class of 40, if you can hook one, that's great."
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Historic Estudillo Mansion was built by San Jacinto's first postmaster

The stately Estudillo Mansion with the white wrap-around balcony is framed by picturesque bushes, awaiting regular use.

The brick mansion, which was built in 1884, now is the location of some city events, including the annual Fourth of July Celebration. But otherwise, the mansion is not open to the public.

The home was built by Francisco Estudillo Jr., San Jacinto's first postmaster and an appointed Mission Indian agent for the federal government. In that role, he was responsible for 32 reservations in Southern and Central California.

He also was elected to the local school board and served as San Jacinto's second mayor from 1890 to 1892, according to information from the city of San Jacinto, which owns the building.

The mansion is built on land that was part of a 35,000-acre Mexican land grant given to Estudillo's father, Jose Antonio Estudillo, in 1842.

Through the years, the mansion has had several owners. It was purchased by Riverside County in 1992 because of its historical significance and value to the San Jacinto community. The building was severely damaged by the Landers-Big Bear earthquakes in June 1992. The county turned over ownership of the mansion to San Jacinto in 1997.

Since then, the house has seen improvements, including an earthquake retrofit and stabilization.

The work has been funded primarily by state and federal historic preservation grants. In late 2008 and early 2009, attention was turned to the interior, including the removal of more recent modifications to the house. Damaged plaster and missing planks also were replaced. The goal, ultimately, is to restore the house to its late 1800s heyday.

The mansion is typically only open to the public at San Jacinto's annual Fourth of July celebration. The grounds of the mansion, known as Francisco Estudillo Heritage Park, are open to the public Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily.

The San Jacinto Museum is located on the mansion's grounds, along with a picturesque water conservation garden. The garden, parking lot and other improvements were completed last spring.

The Estudillo Restoration Association sponsors a number of fundraising efforts. The group meets the third Saturday of each month at the mansion.

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Desert Wildflowers Blooming

Spring color has erupted in the lower elevations of Anza-Borrego Desert State Park and is beginning at Joshua Tree National Park. The display, sprinkled with red chuparosa and delicate pink sand verbena, is expected to intensify in the coming weeks.

Some wildflower watchers say this spring's blooms could be less spectacular because September, October and November lacked rain needed to kick-start germination. But others disagree and say the regular blasts of winter rain will make for a better-than-average wildflower season, once the weather warms.

"We had ample rains in January. What that will do, and what we're going to see, is widespread bloom," said botanist Jim Andre, director of UC Riverside's Sweeney Granite Mountains Desert Research Center in the Mojave National Preserve. "You can't really lose this year."

Predicting the success of a wildflower season is tricky, he said, because so many factors influence the plants' behavior.

Besides rain, the flowers need warm temperatures and depend on the bank of seeds stored by each plant. Those in the Colorado Desert, which includes Anza, the Coachella Valley and the eastern part of Joshua Tree, require autumn rain, but the transition zones covering other parts of Joshua Tree, Death Valley and the Mojave National Preserve do not, he said.

Andre and other experts agree that this season could be slightly later than usual because of the winter storms.

Andre expects Joshua Tree will have one of the most spectacular displays this year. The area received 10 inches of rain in some spots, more than an average year's total. But germination could be slowed by future rain and snow because the seeds could rot or wash away, he said.
Here what's happening now:

In Anza, pockets of verbena and desert lilies are blooming outside Borrego Springs. At the peak of the season, look for carpet-like blooms of those and desert sunflowers along Henderson Canyon Road and Coyote Canyon, said Jim Bremner, who tracks sightings on his Web site, DesertUSA.com. Wildflowers to come include brown-eyed primrose, Arizona lupine, desert lavender and California trixis. The peak: now to late March.

On the warmer, low-desert side of Joshua Tree, near the Cottonwood Visitor's Center, chuparosa, bladderpod and ocotillo are starting to bloom, ranger Joe Zarki said. This month, expect to see the blooms of yuccas, nolinas, beavertail cactus, wooly marigolds, sunflowers, desert dandelions, blue-flowered heliotrope and poppies at the park and Amboy Crater. The peak: the second week of March to early April.

In the higher-elevation eastern Mojave Desert and Mojave National Preserve, blooms haven't started yet. In the next few weeks, look for desert pincushion, Canterbury bells, desert gold, Bigelow's monkeyflower and apricot mallow. Some of the best spots are the Cima cinder cones outside Baker and the Kelso Dunes. The peak: mid-March to mid-April.

In Death Valley, wildflower sprouts have started to appear in the lower elevations of the park. Though still a long way from flowering, the most growth is in the central part of the valley, lending a green tint to the alluvial fans and hillsides. Expect to see the pink blossoms of beavertail cactus, rock nettle, globemallow and Bigelow coreopsis. The peak: late March to early April.

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