HS Football: Midseason Stat Leaders, B-1
De Luz group seeks AVA designation for grapes and wine, C-5
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Serving Temecula , Murrieta , L ake E lsinore , M enifee , Wildomar , H emet, San Jacinto and the surrounding communities October 6 – 12, 2017
Local Support ‘Race for the Cure’ as a donor, volunteer, race participant
www.myvalleynews.com
Volume 17, Issue 40
Get Shamrocked brings the sounds and tastes of Ireland to Murrieta
MURRIETA – The Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure is asking for volunteers, participants and donors to sign up and support the community event Sunday, Oct. 8, in Murrieta Town Square. see page A-4
Local Florida Avenue median landscaping decision postponed by HCC Tony Ault TAULT@REEDERMEDIA.COM
Even after weeks of negotiations with Caltrans concerning the planned raised median strip project on Florida Avenue, the Hemet City Council still is not satisfied with the landscaping agreement as submitted. see page A-5
Entertainment Hospice of the Valleys celebrates 35 years as ‘Havana Nights’ attendees raise $70,000
Toronto based Celtic Folk Rock Band, Enter The Haggis, performs on the second day of Get Shamrocked Irish Music Festival Saturday, Sept. 30, at Murrieta Town Square Park. Meghan Taylor photo
Alex Groves AGROVES@REEDERMEDIA.COM
Traditional Celtic music traveled across Town Square Park and beer and food were plentiful for those who attended the fifth annual Get
Tim O’Leary TOLEARY@REEDERMEDIA.COM
Hospice of the Valleys celebrated their 35th anniversary and their 21st annual Wine & Chocolate Fundraiser, Sept. 23, at Avensole Winery in Temecula. Over 500 guests, volunteers and vendors attended the “Havana Nights” event, complete with a mojito bar, Cuba Libre bar, Zarka’s cigar bar, Espie Hernandez salsa dancers, authentic Cuban dinner and music by Ruben V and the Latin Sounds.
Temecula officials concede that commuters passing through their city endure “unacceptable” gridlock conditions, and they are now seeking help from the state, area cities, the Pechanga tribe and an array of regional planning agencies. “It’s not all Temecula traffic. It’s a choke point,” Mayor Maryann Edwards said in a recent telephone interview. “We’ve been doing our part as best we can. But we can’t take care of the entire region.” It is a problem that impacts a vast area stretching from Menifee and Lake Elsinore on the north to well beyond Bonsall to the south. Residents of the tiny community of Rainbow are especially hard hit, as gridlock conditions on weekday afternoons and evenings jam a popular frontage road that parallels Interstate 15. Rainbow residents recently focused attention on their growing concerns. The candid appraisals of current conditions, as well as the prospects
Blotter Border Patrol vehicle stop nets 75-pound cocaine seizure TEMECULA – Two men were arrested by Border Patrol agents Thursday, Sept. 28, for smuggling nearly $1 million worth of cocaine on Interstate 15 in Temecula. see page D-6
INDEX Local ..................................... A-1
see GRIDLOCK, page A-6
Tony Ault TAULT@REEDERMEDIA.COM
Education.............................. B-6 Business ................................ B-7 Entertainment...................... C-1 Wine Country ...................... C-5 Calendar of Events............... C-6 Dining ................................... C-7 Real Estate ........................... D-1 Home & Garden................... D-1 Pets........................................ D-5
Blotter.................................... D-6 Classifieds............................. D-7
The music Little said people may think of Get Shamrocked as an Irish fair, but
see SHAMROCKED, page A-4
Exciting change ahead for San Jacinto, San Jacinto Mayor Scott Miller said
Health ................................... B-4
Opinion ................................ D-6
organizers.
Traffic slows to a crawl along northbound I-15 in Rainbow over 7 miles south of the Winchester Road. off-ramp in Temecula. Northbound I-15 traffic consistently backs up for miles south of Temecula typically between the hours of 3-7 p.m. on weekdays causing long delays for motorists due to a combination of factors such as bottle-necking, limited lanes, and insufficient on and off-ramps for the increasing amount of traffic. The city of Temecula is proposing a traffic task force consisting of regional city and community leaders to help formulate a plan to fix the freeway traffic problem. Shane Gibson photo
Sports ................................... B-1
Business Directory............... D-5
Fighting Jamesons and a handful of others. It was the second of a two-day event that drew a crowd of thousands, according to Paul Little, co-owner of the Shamrock Irish Pub & Eatery and one of the event
Temecula council to seek help to fix Interstate 15 gridlock conditions
Paul Bandong PBANDONG@REEDERMEDIA.COM
see page C-1
Shamrocked Irish Music Festival Saturday, Sept. 30, in Murrieta. People sat in lawn chairs and laid sprawled out on blankets amid the Saturday morning sun to listen to traditional bands such as Gaelic Storm, Enter the Haggis, The
Special guests like Dan McLaughlin, CEO of Physicians for Healthy Hospitals, center, is one of many special city, county, state, business executives and chamber members attending the San Jacinto Chamber of Commerce annual State of the City event at Soboba Springs Country Club, Sept. 22. Tony Ault photo
Reviewing the city of San Jacinto’s recent rapid economic and residential growth was Mayor Scott Miller at the annual State of the City address breakfast, sponsored by the San Jacinto Chamber of Commerce, at the Soboba Springs Country Club, Friday, Sept. 22. Touting the city’s recent record-breaking new housing developments, a 480,000-square-foot Indian casino under construction, the approval of the state Route 79 realignment thorough the city and many new stores and business soon to opening in the city of 40,000
people, Scott said “San Jacinto is a city getting ready to walk into a new season in every area. Everything is about to change, but we must be ready for that change.” Reviewing the councils’ work in the past year, Miller looked at a number of approvals for new housing projects and commercial businesses. The city’s approval of medical marijuana cultivation developments is promising to bring the city an additional $7 million in revenue each year to add to the city current $15 million operating budget. He told the more than 125 city
see CHANGE, page A-5