There are good deals to be had, but there's also a downside to Black Friday, given the lines and the search for parking spaces as well as the short tempers and sharp elbows that don't quite live up to the usual holiday spirit.
The L.A. Times Money & Company blog details two incidents today at Wal-Mart stores.
In Upland, store management called police at 2:44 a.m., asking for assistance in dealing with customers who were “fighting inside.”
The store had remained open all night as a security precaution after a Wal-Mart worker on Long Island, N.Y., was trampled to death last year on Black Friday when a surging, impatient crowd rushed the doors after the store opened.
A little over an hour later, authorities were called to a Wal-Mart in Rancho Cucamonga when a fight broke out in the electronics section.
Neighbors on Bluejay Way, a quiet housing tract near Harmony Elementary School in Hemet, expressed shock today as news filtered in about the charred remains found at a house on the street.
Robert Rotsolk said he smelled what seemed like a bonfire coming from his neighbor's backyard two Sundays ago about 6:30 p.m. and reported it to the police.
"It smelled like pallets burning on the beach," he said.
Hemet police came on Tuesday and found the first set of remains in the backyard. They are investigating whether the remains belong to any of three 17-year-olds who disappeared without a trace a week ago. Two of the teens were seen at the home earlier.
All but two Metrolink lines will be closed for service on Thanksgiving Day, officials announced today.
San Bernardino and Antelope Valley trains will operate on a regular Sunday schedule with seven round trips offered on the San Bernardino line and three on the Antelope Valley line. Fares purchased on Thanksgiving Day will be 25% off regular weekday one-way and round-trip tickets.
The other five Metrolink lines will be closed. All trains will resume normal service Friday.
As part of Metrolink's holiday promotions, any round trip tickets bought on Thanksgiving are valid for free return travel on the San Bernardino and Antelope Valley lines on any day through Sunday.
Also, up to three children 17 and younger can ride for free with a valid ticket on all lines during Thanksgiving weekend.
A 16-year-old Riverside County boy was booked on suspicion of homicide in connection with the death of a 20-month-old girl who was physically abused, authorities said today.
Deputies from the Riverside County Sheriff's Department responded to a medical aid call Monday morning as paramedics were performing CPR on the girl in Ripley, a town on the eastern edge of the county near the Arizona border. While at the scene, the deputies observed injuries to the child that were consistent with abuse, the department said.
The child, who was being cared for by the 16-year-old, was pronounced dead at a hospital, the department said. Investigators arrested the minor and booked him into juvenile hall in Indio.
Anyone with information about the incident is asked to call investigator James Merrill at (951) 955-2777.
Two Chihuahuas, their mouths sealed shut with electrical tape, were found dumped in a Riverside canal Monday in a crime animal service workers described as having been done with “just complete malice.”
The male dog was dead while the female survived. They were discovered by a county public utilities employee doing a routine check of the waterway near Cridge and Olivewood about 11 a.m.
“Someone was just looking to be cruel,” said Riverside County Animal Services Officer Kristina Hillegaart.
The dogs were found on a metal grate in the canal. The female is being examined by veterinarians. A $500 reward has been offered for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person responsible.
"This is just disgusting that someone would do something like this to innocent, defenseless animals," Animal Services Director Robert Miller said.
-- David Kelly in Riverside
Photo: The female Chihuahua survived, the male did not. Credit: Riverside Department of Animal Services
A magnitude 3.6 earthquake hit Riverside County east of Temecula.
The temblor did not cause any damage, though it was felt in parts of the Inland Empire. It hit near the small town of Anza in southwestern Riverside County.
It was the third moderate quake to hit Southern California in the last 24 hours. A 4.3 temblor hit off San Nicholas Island Sunday afternoon, followed by a 3.6 aftershock.
Neither of those quakes caused damage or injuries.
A mother and her 6-year-old daughter were found slain in their Perris home, but a 10-year-old girl was left unharmed, according to the Riverside County Sheriff's Department.
The discovery was made Saturday. The department said the victims were Maysam Barbar, 43, and Tamara Barbar, 6. The name of the surviving child was not released.
Details about the slaying -- including a possible motive -- were not immediately available.
But the department said it is looking for the girl's father, Michael Barbar. He might be driving a gold 2004 Nissan Maxima or a dark gray 2008 Nissan Maxima and could be headed to Las Vegas, the department said.
[Updated at 12:32 pm.: Michael Barbar, 52, was arrested today in Deming, N.M., by Deming Police officers, according to the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department. During their initial investigation, detectives from the Riverside Sheriff’s central homicide unit received information that Barbar had driven to Nevada and was headed east. Barbar was located with assistance from the Inland Regional Apprehension Team, a task force of local and federal law enforcement officials. Detectives planned to travel to Deming today to speak with Barbar.]
The Inland Empire and much of San Diego County are expected to be under a red-flag warning Sunday morning through Monday night, signaling critical fire conditions, the National Weather Service said.
High pressure over the Western United States is expected to fuel winds entering from the northeast. Meteorologists are expecting gusts of more than 35 mph to funnel through the Cajon Pass and the Santa Ana mountains. The winds are expected to spread to the inland areas of San Diego County.
The air is expected to become particularly dry Monday, with humidity dipping below 10%.
The situation appears to be less worrisome in Los Angeles and Ventura counties. Fire weather watches had been expected for Sunday in those counties, but were canceled this afternoon.
Although winds are expected to kick up tonight in the mountains of Los Angeles and Ventura counties, except for the Santa Monica Mountains, relative humidity is expected to remain higher than 35%, said National Weather Service spokesman Bill Hoffer.
A freeze warning will be in effect overnight in the Antelope Valley as temperatures dip into the mid-20s.
A 43-year-old woman and her 6-year-old daughter were found dead Saturday inside their Perris home, authorities said.
Investigators said they suspect that the woman's husband may have killed them.
"We believe he is heading to Vegas," said Riverside County Sheriff's Deputy Craig Roberts.
The suspect, Michael Barber, is believed to be driving a tan or gold 2004 Nissan Maxima with the California license plate 5GMV103, or a dark gray 2008 Nissan Maxima with the California license plate 6BRV641.
Anyone with information about his whereabouts is asked to call detectives at (760) 393-3500 or (951) 210-1000.
Sky diver Stephen Millard Harrington was making his last jump of the day. It was meant to be a relaxing drop that would cap a record-setting day in the skies above Riverside County.
But Harrington apparently hit the tail of a twin-engine plane as he jumped out the door and plunged several thousand feet to his death Wednesday in Murrieta, according to authorities and fellow parachutists.
The 40-year-old Boston resident was pronounced dead at 5:05 p.m., shortly after he crashed into a residential lot in the 38000 block of Calle de Lobo.
San Bernardino County narcotics agents seized 1,300 pounds of marijuana with a street value of $1 million and arrested four men during a raid at an Ontario home used by a Mexican drug cartel, authorities said.
Agents from the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department arrested four men Wednesday morning at the home in the 1600 block of G Street. Police identified them as Eduardo Flores, 46, of Bell Gardens; Carlos Rodriguez, 29, of Los Angeles; Aurelio Lizarraga, 34, of Rialto; and Saul Ochoa, 35, of Corona.
They were booked at the West Valley Detention Center and face drug charges, authorities said.
A sky diver was killed late Wednesday when his parachute either malfunctioned or failed to open, according to the Riverside County Sheriff's Department.
The sky diver, whose name was not released, landed on the driveway of a home near Murrieta.
He was part of a group that took off from Lake Elsinore, according to the Riverside County Fire Department.
John
Hamilton, the owner of Skydive Elsinore, told the Press-Enterprise that the man was one of four people during the jump and was wearing a special "wing suit" in which there is fabric between the arms and legs.
Hamilton told the paper that the man may have hit the tail of the aircraft when he jumped.
A Palm Springs man who has never served in the military is expected to surrender to authorities Thursday to face charges of wearing military medals he did not earn, authorities said today.
Steve Burton, 39, has agreed to surrender at the U.S. District Court in Riverside. He was charged Friday by federal prosecutors in L.A. with the unauthorized wearing of military medals after he was allegedly seen and photographed wearing military uniforms and decorations.
The FBI was contacted by a Navy commander after she attended her high school reunion and saw Burton wearing a Marine Corps uniform displaying several medals, including the Navy Cross, the Bronze Star, the Purple Heart and others, according to an affidavit filed in United States District Court.
A former U.S. Marine who survived several tours of duty in Iraq and a knife attack at his Phelan home a few months ago was violently beaten to death with a hammer while installing cable at a Victorville home, authorities said. A relative of the homeowners has been arrested in the attack.
Trevor Neiman, 25, a Charter Communications Cable installer, was found beaten and bloody by San Bernardino County sheriff’s deputies who responded to the home shortly after 4:30 p.m. Monday.
While Neiman was working on the cable at the home in the 15200 block of San Jose Drive, a man attacked and repeatedly beat him with a small hammer, authorities said.
A suspect arrested in the shooting death of a Pomona man may be linked to two bodies found Saturday in the Mt. Baldy area and Chino, according to the L.A. County Sheriff's Department.
Robert Louis Caballero, 32, of Pomona, was arrested Saturday after leading police on a short chase when he refused to pull over for a minor traffic stop. He was detained on suspicion of murder in the Sept. 29 shooting of Armando Vidana, 25, of Pomona.
But authorities believe Caballero may be connected to two other deaths discovered Saturday -- a man in Chino and a woman in the Mt. Baldy area. Information gathered after the pursuit led detectives to the bodies, and the Sheriff’s Department is working with the Pomona and Chino police departments, said Steve Whitmore, a spokesman for the Sheriff's Department.
A Union Pacific freight train derailed near Union Station this morning, disrupting several Riverside commuter trains.
Officials do not yet know what caused three of the 104 cars to derail about 1:30 a.m., said Metrolink spokesman Francisco Oaxaca. No injuries were reported, he said.
The derailment blocked two tracks on the east side of the Los Angeles River near 9th Street, Oaxaca said. Metrolink train 401 leaving Riverside at 4:42 a.m. and the 403 train leaving at 5:42 a.m. were scheduled to go only as far as the Montebello-Commerce station, he said.
Buses will be at that station to take passengers to Union Station. Riverside lines 405 and 407 will travel to Union Station but will be delayed 30 to 60 minutes. Metrolink suggests passengers consider taking the 91 or San Bernardino lines as alternatives in order to avoid the delays caused by the derailment.
-- Baxter Holmes
Photo: A Metrolink train passes through as crews work on clearing the railway lines after a Union Pacific freight train derailment near Union Station. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)
A day after state Sen. John Benoit (R-Palm Desert) voted to approve Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's controversial $11-billion water bond proposal, the governor announced Wednesday that he was appointing the legislator to the Riverside County Board of Supervisors.
Benoit was elected to the state Senate last year after six years in the state Assembly. The District IV seat of the Riverside County Board of Supervisors is vacant because of the death in August of Supervisor Roy Wilson.
Schwarzenegger plans to call a special election to fill Benoit’s Senate seat but has not yet set a date.
Members of the Board of Supervisors are paid $143,000 a year, although some have voluntarily taken a 10% pay cut because of the county’s budget problems. The base salary for state legislators is $116,208, although Benoit had voluntarily taken a 5% reduction.
The Soboba Band of Luiseno Indians placed its chairman, Robert Salgado, on administrative leave Tuesday, aday after he pleaded not guilty to 36 counts of bribery in a Los Angeles courtroom.
The tribal council, meeting in closed session, said Salgado would be on leave until the charges against him are resolved.
The council also said he was not authorized to “conduct business or represent the tribe in any capacity” although he is still chairman. Salgado, 67, was arrested by FBI agents last week on suspicion of accepting more than $250,000 in bribes from vendors doing business with the reservation near San Jacinto.
He was also charged with hiding his income from the Internal Revenue Service.
Investigators are trying to determine what may have led a religious camp employee to fatally shoot a 60-year-old housekeeper at the camp near San Bernardino.
Leith Hamilton, 30, was arrested Monday on suspicion of killing Celebrada Lomato-Sexton, 60, a housekeeper who lived and worked at the Camp Cedar Falls Campground and Conference Center in Angelus Oaks, about 15 miles east of San Bernardino.
San Bernardino County sheriff's deputies were dispatched at 11:53 a.m. Monday after receiving a report of a woman's body found in a cabin.
A Riverside County man has been arrested for allegedly possessing and distributing child pornography, authorities said today.
Michael LaValley, 53, of Menifee allegedly distributed a CD containing images of young children being posed in a sexually explicit manner and engaging in sexual acts, the Riverside County Sheriff's Department said.
LaValley was taken into custody last week at his home in the 27200 block of Murrieta Road in Menifee, the department said. Investigators seized his computer and other digital media.
Anyone with information is asked to call Deputy Jake Adams at (951) 210-1052.
One of Southern California’s toughest commutes is about to get somewhat easier.
Officials Tuesday will break ground on a $59.5-million project to widen the eastbound 91 Freeway with the hopes of easing congestion for commuters along the heavily traveled stretch between Orange and Riverside counties.
The section through the Santa Ana Canyon has long been considered one of the worst freeway bottlenecks in the nation, connecting bedroom communities in the Inland Empire to job centers in Orange and Los Angeles counties.
The roughly 6-mile-long project will run from the 241 Freeway, a toll road, to the 71 Freeway and will add one lane to the four existing eastbound lanes, excluding two express lanes.
“The 91 corridor, that’s been one of the toughest puzzles to solve,” said Peter Buffa, chairman of the Orange County Transportation Authority. “There’s 300,000 cars traveling that route each day.”
He said the agency also hopes to eventually widen the freeway in both directions from the 55 Freeway to the 241 toll road.
Commuters in that area got another boost this week with today's grand opening of new lanes on the 241 toll road, another route channeling Inland Empire commuters into Orange County.
Two men are dead and another wounded in an apparent murder-suicide this morning in a Cathedral City rental car showroom, police said.
[Updated at 2:14 p.m.: This post has been updated throughout to reflect the latest information.]
The shooting occurred at 10:29 a.m. in the showroom of Luxury Rent-A-Car in the 68300 block of East Palm Canyon Drive when a gunman opened fire, said Lt. Glen Haas of the Cathedral City Police Department.
There is a preliminary motive, but Hass declined to comment further because the investigation is ongoing.
“The evidence at the scene and the interviews lead us to believe that the shooter was probably one of the fatalities,” he said.
High winds are buffeting neighborhoods across Southern California tonight, knocking down trees and power lines, leaving tens of thousands of people without electricity, kicking up massive clouds of dust and complicating landings for at least three flights at Los Angeles International Airport.
Strong winds also prompted authorities to close the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge for 24 hours after a cable snapped about 5:30 p.m., the California Highway Patrol said. The cable broke on the westbound upper deck, hitting at least one vehicle and snarling rush-hour traffic.
In some areas of Southern California, winds were expected to blow between 30 and 50 mph, with gusts up to 70 mph, according to the National Weather Service. The agency also issued red flag warnings in mountain areas because of the winds and low relative humidity. Gusts up to 65 mph were recorded in the Angeles National Forest. Van Nuys recorded gusts of 55 mph, while Santa Monica reported gusts of 41 mph late Tuesday.
The South Coast Air Quality Management District issued a windblown dust and ash advisory for sensitive people in the Coachella Valley in Riverside County. Wildfire-ravaged areas in the San Gabriel Valley were also expected to reach unhealthy levels for sensitive people, the agency said.
In Los Angeles, 23,100 customers were without power as of 9 p.m., according to the city's Department of Water and Power. The DWP serves a total of 1.4 million electricity customers.
Among the hardest-hit Los Angeles neighborhoods were Hyde Park, where 3,441 customers were without power, and Northridge, where 2,947 had no electricity, the utility said.
The DWP said crews were working to restore power in affected areas.
In areas served by Southern California Edison, about 16,000 customers were without power as trees and wind-blown debris snapped power lines, the utility said. The power outages ranged from beach communities in the South Bay and Orange County to foothill neighborhoods in the San Gabriel Valley.
In Huntington Beach, about 4,300 customers had no electricity, and 3,500 more were without lights in Arcadia, said SCE spokesman Gil Alexander. He said crews were trying to restore power.
"They expect to be working much through the night," Alexander said.
At LAX, strong winds this evening forced one arriving flight to be diverted to another airport, said Allen Kenitzer, spokesman for the Federal Aviation Administration.
He said the winds, which were gusting up to 35 knots, forced two other flights to use "missed approach" procedures, meaning each had to make two attempts to land. Both flights landed without incident.
On Twitter, people from San Francisco to Azusa sent messages and shared photos regarding power outages, downed trees and other wind-related problems in their neighborhoods. "These winds are out of control," said one message.
Think your commute is bad? Others have it worse – unless you happen to live in Lake Elsinore.
The U.S. Census Bureau on Tuesday released new data showing how long it takes people to get to work. In Southern California, Lake Elsinore in Riverside County topped the list, with residents taking an average of 41.8 minutes to get to work. Palmdale and Adelanto were behind, at 40.5 minutes.
The report, which examined data collected between 2006 and 2008, confirms something veteran commuters know well: The worst drives to work are often shared by residents who live in far-flung suburbs. Other Southern California cities high on the list: Walnut, Perris, Murrieta, Moreno Valley, Diamond Bar, Chino Hills, Santa Clarita and La Puente.
The study found that the average Los Angeles resident spends an average of just under half an hour getting to work – putting the city at No. 26 for cities in the region.
Palm Springs and Indio in the Coachella Valley posted some of the shortest commutes in Southern California, about 20 minutes. But not far behind were some Orange County suburbs: Costa Mesa (22.3), Tustin (22.3) and Irvine (22.5).
Robert Salgado, the colorful and often controversial chairman of the Soboba Band of Luiseño Indians, was arrested by FBI agents today on charges of accepting more than $250,000 in bribes and hiding income from the IRS.
The U.S. attorney's office alleges that Salgado, 67, took bribes from four vendors including one providing valet parking to the tribal casino.
Salgado was charged in a 36-count indictment that was returned last week by a federal grand jury in Los Angeles. He was taken into custody today after surrendering himself at the U.S. District Court in Riverside. Abbas Shilleh, 46, of Diamond Bar is named in two of the bribery counts. He agreed to surrender Monday morning.
Salgado made news last year when he declared that a state of war existed between his tribe and the Riverside County Sheriff's Department following a series of shootings that left several tribal members dead. The incident created a crisis that was solved only after a series of tense meetings between Salgado and county officials.
Think your commute is bad? Others have it worse – unless you happen to live in Lake Elsinore. 
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