Riverside County

WHAT: A proposed tunnel running through the Cleveland National Forest that would dump an estimated 70,000 vehicles a day onto Highway 133 at the Foothill Toll Road, affecting traffic in Laguna Beach. WHAT'S BEHIND IT: The Orange County Transportation Authority and the Riverside County Transportation Planning Agency are examining options to relieve traffic problems on the Riverside (91) Freeway. Three alternatives are being considered. Alternative 1 would create another road, to run parallel to the existing 91 corridor, at an estimated cost of between $2.5 and $5 billion.

A Costa Mesa man was killed Monday when an SUV hit him while he was cycling in Riverside County. Alan Earl Miller, 55, was northbound on Temescal Canyon Road in an unincorporated part of Riverside County, near Corona, about 2:30 p.m. when Scott J. Reis, 42, of Corona, hit him from behind with his 2003 Ford SUV, California Highway Patrol officials said. Miller was thrown from the bike and died at the scene. CHP officials said that Reis drove off the roadway and hit Miller.

Registration is now open for the third annual RockWater race, which starts in Riverside County and ends in Huntington Beach. The race begins at 9 a.m. March 20. The 28.9-mile race is meant to raise awareness of the Santa Ana River watershed. The race costs $100 per team, which can be up to seven people. Unlike in past years, bicyclists and skateboarders are also welcome to participate. The entry fee includes a RockWater shirt for each team member. The race begins at the border of Orange and Riverside counties and ends at the mouth of the Santa Ana River between Newport Beach and Huntington Beach.

Some say the worst day for firefighters is when they lose one of their own. Tuesday morning, firefighters in Newport Beach and beyond experienced just that as news of Kevin Pryor’s death spread. Pryor, a three-year veteran of the Newport Beach Fire Department, died in a hospital after suffering a sudden, catastrophic brain aneurysm the night before. He was 31. “All of us are extremely saddened. Most of us are still in a state of shock,” said Deputy Chief Dave Mais.

A robber from Costa Mesa was killed by his own gun Sunday in Riverside County when his victim wrestled away his weapon and turned it on him, police said Monday. Authorities declined to identify the 24-year-old Costa Mesa man pending notification of family, but said he and Amy Schinzel, 30, of Ontario, forced their way into a Mira Loma home about 8:11 a.m. Sunday intent on robbing the homeowners. Riverside County sheriff’s officials said they responded to the home after a report of gunshots.

Deepa Bharath The death sentence ordered by a Riverside County judge for a man who kidnapped, molested and murdered a 13-year-old Costa Mesa boy and molested another in Newport Beach marks the end of years of legal ordeals and the dredging of memories that have haunted Newport-Mesa for a quarter-century. James Lee Crummel, 60, will face the death penalty for abducting and killing James "Jamey" Trotter, who disappeared on April 19, 1979 while he was on his way to Gisler Middle School.

Two days after an off-duty Costa Mesa police officer shot and killed one man and wounded another in Temecula, authorities are saying little about their investigation but the family of the man killed in the fracas has offered its own version of what led to his death. “What gives that man the right to pull out his gun in public? When children are present?” said Karen Crowley, whose son, Shaun Vilan, was killed Saturday night. He was 30 years old. “I’m just so tired of this story getting twisted.

Three banks are offering a combined $15,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of the so-called "Ho Hum Bandit," an unassuming young man who's suspected of a dozen bank robberies in the last five months, including two in Newport Beach. Citibank, Wells Fargo and U.S. Bank are offering rewards for information that would lead authorities to a man described by the FBI as a white man with brown hair, 25 to 35 years old, who stands between 5-feet-7 and 5-feet-10, and weighs 160 to 170 pounds.

You've got to start somewhere, even if it's a remote Riverside County town few Orange Countians have heard of. So, the Sage Hill School boys basketball team makes its debut in the CIF Southern Section Playoffs at Division IV-A foe Hamilton High tonight at 7:30. "I'll call in our results on a satellite phone," quipped Sage Hill Coach Steve Keith, who learned the round-trip may require about five hours on a bus. Even at 4,000 feet, however, the Sage Hill squad, as they say, is happy to be there.

A new civilian crime scene investigator has been hired by the Newport Beach Police Department, in addition to a pair of promotions, the department announced Monday. Daniel Martinez, who has a master's degree in forensic science from National University and previously was employed by the Riverside County Sheriff's Department, has been hired as the crime scene investigator, said Newport Police Lt. Bill Hartford. Martinez worked as a forensic technician in his last job in Riverside, Hartford said.

Three banks are offering a combined $15,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of the so-called "Ho Hum Bandit," an unassuming young man who's suspected of a dozen bank robberies in the last five months, including two in Newport Beach. Citibank, Wells Fargo and U.S. Bank are offering rewards for information that would lead authorities to a man described by the FBI as a white man with brown hair, 25 to 35 years old, who stands between 5-feet-7 and 5-feet-10, and weighs 160 to 170 pounds.

A Costa Mesa man was killed Monday when an SUV hit him while he was cycling in Riverside County. Alan Earl Miller, 55, was northbound on Temescal Canyon Road in an unincorporated part of Riverside County, near Corona, about 2:30 p.m. when Scott J. Reis, 42, of Corona, hit him from behind with his 2003 Ford SUV, California Highway Patrol officials said. Miller was thrown from the bike and died at the scene. CHP officials said that Reis drove off the roadway and hit Miller.

Registration is now open for the third annual RockWater race, which starts in Riverside County and ends in Huntington Beach. The race begins at 9 a.m. March 20. The 28.9-mile race is meant to raise awareness of the Santa Ana River watershed. The race costs $100 per team, which can be up to seven people. Unlike in past years, bicyclists and skateboarders are also welcome to participate. The entry fee includes a RockWater shirt for each team member. The race begins at the border of Orange and Riverside counties and ends at the mouth of the Santa Ana River between Newport Beach and Huntington Beach.

A robber from Costa Mesa was killed by his own gun Sunday in Riverside County when his victim wrestled away his weapon and turned it on him, police said Monday. Authorities declined to identify the 24-year-old Costa Mesa man pending notification of family, but said he and Amy Schinzel, 30, of Ontario, forced their way into a Mira Loma home about 8:11 a.m. Sunday intent on robbing the homeowners. Riverside County sheriff’s officials said they responded to the home after a report of gunshots.

Some say the worst day for firefighters is when they lose one of their own. Tuesday morning, firefighters in Newport Beach and beyond experienced just that as news of Kevin Pryor’s death spread. Pryor, a three-year veteran of the Newport Beach Fire Department, died in a hospital after suffering a sudden, catastrophic brain aneurysm the night before. He was 31. “All of us are extremely saddened. Most of us are still in a state of shock,” said Deputy Chief Dave Mais.

Two days after an off-duty Costa Mesa police officer shot and killed one man and wounded another in Temecula, authorities are saying little about their investigation but the family of the man killed in the fracas has offered its own version of what led to his death. “What gives that man the right to pull out his gun in public? When children are present?” said Karen Crowley, whose son, Shaun Vilan, was killed Saturday night. He was 30 years old. “I’m just so tired of this story getting twisted.

WHAT: A proposed tunnel running through the Cleveland National Forest that would dump an estimated 70,000 vehicles a day onto Highway 133 at the Foothill Toll Road, affecting traffic in Laguna Beach. WHAT'S BEHIND IT: The Orange County Transportation Authority and the Riverside County Transportation Planning Agency are examining options to relieve traffic problems on the Riverside (91) Freeway. Three alternatives are being considered. Alternative 1 would create another road, to run parallel to the existing 91 corridor, at an estimated cost of between $2.5 and $5 billion.

Deepa Bharath For three months, Darleen Savoji didn't know day from night. The Newport Crest resident spearheaded a grass-roots movement in the neighborhood in 1997 to evict James Lee Crummel, a sex offender whose rap sheet would send shivers down any parent's spine. On Friday, a Riverside County judge handed Crummel, 60, a death sentence for kidnapping, sexually assaulting and murdering 13-year-old Jamey Trotter, who was last seen on April 19, 1979, walking on Harbor Boulevard in Costa Mesa toward Gisler Middle School.