Free Republic

:British-born actor Julian Sands, best known for his role in the Oscar-celebrated film "A Room with a View," was confirmed dead on Tuesday, five months after he went missing while out for a hike in snow-covered mountains near Los Angeles, authorities said. Mostly skeletal human remains discovered by hikers on Saturday in the area where Sands, 65, vanished were positively identified by the San Bernardino County coroner as belonging to the actor, the county sheriff's department said. The performer, known to be an avid mountain climber and hiker, was reported missing on the evening of Friday, Jan. 13, after he...

Inflation is impacting the entire United States population as prices continue to be a burden for families, but certain California cities are feeling the impact more than others. In a new study from WalletHub, cities were ranked on how much inflation is rising. The study pointed to the year-over-year inflation rate of 8.2% last month, but noted that some cities are feeling costs increase more than others. In the report, 23 Metropolitan Statistical Areas were examined. The site looked at the Consumer Price Index information available for the most recent month and compared it to two months ago and one...

A measure that would allow San Bernardino County supervisors to explore secession from the state of California could be put to county voters in November. The Board of Supervisors approved the ballot measure at a meeting Wednesday night after the issue had been raised at several board meetings. Wednesday's vote was the first step in adding the measure to the ballot, to be followed by a second and final reading and vote scheduled for next week. “Do the citizens of San Bernardino County want the San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors to study all options to obtain its fair share...

Over the past three weeks, more than 1,000 small earthquakes have hit Southern California — mostly in Riverside and San Bernardino counties. Some are calling the region’s increased seismic activity “swarmageddon,” but seismologist Lucy Jones told the Los Angeles Times that the small quakes don’t mean the big one is more or less likely. According to Jones, there’s only a 5% chance that any single quake will be followed by a larger one.

“Do you really want an America that can deny you a job for everything you’ve said on Twitter or Facebook? Do you really want to give up your right to speak just because you made the mistake of starting a business?” For nearly 40 years, Jim Riley and his family have lived on their 760-acre apple farm in Oak Glen, California, in San Bernardino County. Jim and his wife built a Colonial-inspired home on the farm in 1994, and were thinking about doing 18th century dinner theater. Shortly thereafter, the Rileys were approached by parents of local elementary school students...

The Volcano House, a flying-saucer shaped home atop a 150-foot cinder cone in the Mojave Desert donated to Chapman University, has hit the market for $650,000. Huell Howser , the producer and host of the TV show "California's Gold," gave the iconic home to the university in 2012. Howser died a year later.

Ballots were mailed out this week to more than 15,000 San Bernardino, Calif., county, city and agency employees to vote in an election for Teamsters representation. The workers, who are members of the San Bernardino Public Employees Association (SBPEA), will have the opportunity to vote in favor of affiliating with the Teamsters. The workers reached out to the union seeking strong representation. “I’m voting yes for the Teamsters and I encourage my co-workers to do the same. We need improvements and strong representation in future negotiations,” said Luis Aguilar, an employee with the county’s Transitional Assistance Department, which administers public...

RIALTO: Holocaust assignment prompts Museum of Tolerance visits Eighth-graders in Rialto Unified School District, who were assigned in February to argue whether the Holocaust really happened, now will take a field trip to the Museum of Tolerance in Los Angeles, the school board decided Wednesday evening, May 7. Board President Joanne T. Gilbert read a joint statement for the board announcing the field trip after a closed-door session. Earlier, eight speakers protested the assignment that asked eighth-graders to write an essay about whether the Holocaust occurred or if it was “merely a political scheme created to influence public emotion and...