The creeps are coming back to the Inland Empire for an aftermath of horror that’s combining monsters, pop culture and high flying luchadores in Ontario. Tickets are now on sale for the second annual Creep I.E. Aftermath at the Ontario Convention Center. The event is  expected to draw more than 10,000 fans of horror for three days of terror Sept. 20-22. “It’s not a smaller event, it’s a full-scale convention but the twist is we incorporate pop culture into it. So we not only have what we’re known for, which is horror, but we also focus on pop culture, which could be anything from sci-fi to ..read more

An affordable housing community debuted in recent days in the Coachella Valley. Community Housing Opportunities Corp. celebrated the grand opening of Placita Dolores Huerta, a 56-unit complex adjacent to downtown Coachella. The campus on nearly 3 acres at 84908 Bagdad Ave. cost $44 million funded by the California Tax Credit Allocation Committee, Riverside County HOME Funds, a city of Coachella CFD loan, American Rescue Plan Act and USDA Rural Development financing. The community will carry the affordable distinction for at least the next 55 years, according to CHOC, a Fairfield-based nonprofi ..read more

A man armed with a handgun was fatally shot by police in Ontario on Sunday, May 5, after threatening the family of his ex-girlfriend and leading authorities on a pursuit that resulted in a crash, killing one uninvolved motorist and injuring another, police said. Around 10:30 a.m., a 911 caller reported that his sister’s ex-boyfriend was outside their residence in the 400 block of Maple Street threatening to come inside the home unless the sister went outdoors, said Ontario Police Sgt. Joseph Estrada. The man was sitting inside his vehicle when officers arrived and refused to exit. “We learned ..read more

The Southland Symphony Orchestra, directed by Sylvia Lee Mann, will present its 2023-24 season finale 4 p.m. Sunday, May 5, at Bethel Congregational Church, 536 N. Euclid Ave., Ontario. The concert will feature cellist Ruslan Biryukov in the Cello Concerto in E minor by Aram Khachaturian, a performance that will be dedicated in memory of victims of the Armenian genocide, according to a news release. The program also includes Sergei Prokofiev’s Symphony No. 1 in D Major Op. 25 — “Classical” and “La Leyenda del Quetzal y la Serpiente” (“The Legend of the Quetzal Bird and the Snake”) by José Eliz ..read more

Q: Readers Gary Valdez of Yucaipa and David Rollins of Claremont asked about the median barrier and construction area along the 10 Freeway in Ontario where the new express lanes are being built. “My question is why are they cutting out sections of the concrete center divider after it took them months to install?” Valdez asked. Rollins had the same question. “It seems that the center divider on I-10 East of Archibald for more than a mile is being jackhammered and it looks new. Why is that?” he asked. A: The median barrier in question is part of the I-10 Corridor Project, which involves building ..read more

Four people were arrested on Thursday, April 25, after allegedly attempting to rob two people who had withdrawn cash at a bank in Rancho Cucamonga, the Ontario Police Department said Saturday. On Thursday, two people were at a bank in the 11000 block of Fourth Street in Rancho Cucamonga, near Milliken Avenue. They were withdrawing cash when they noticed a suspect watching them intently as he stood in line, a Saturday police news release said As the victims drove away, they noticed a vehicle was following them, even after multiple evasive maneuvers, the news release said. The victims called Ont ..read more

More from the mailbag: My March 24 column about the 250th anniversary of Juan Bautista de Anza’s journey through the Inland Empire (wherever it is) explored his path through Riverside. To refresh everyone’s memory, the Mexican soldier and a small contingent left Arizona in a quest for an overland supply route to Mission San Gabriel. This took them through what became Riverside on March 20-21, 1774. (The expedition was forced to camp outdoors overnight because the Farm House Motel wouldn’t open for another 179 years.) The party reached the mission on March 22, which is when the party got starte ..read more

Ontario Christian High student Sebastian Bailey Villaseñor posed for selfies with his father’s rifles, endlessly watched videos about school shooters, used the internet to research ammunition, body armor and police response times to name just a few, and even ordered T-shirts similar to those worn by the teens who carried out the Columbine High School massacre in 1999. When Ontario police interrogated the 18-year-old about his plans to shoot up his school, he laid out what he called his thoughts — where he might park, where he might open fire, how he might defend himself against police — in res ..read more

The Ontario Chaffey Community Show Band will present “An Evening at the Pops,” a concert of music from the concert hall and world of popular music, 7:30 p.m. Monday, April 15, at the Merton E. Hill Auditorium on the campus of Chaffey High School, 1245 N. Euclid Ave., Ontario. Admission is free, and before the concert, the Woodwind Celebration Ensemble will perform at 7 p.m. in the lobby, where coffee and cookies will be available. Featured soloists from the band will be Gary Simpson, Trisha Molina, Francisco Mowatt, Natasha Le and John Holguin. Gary Simpson, a trumpeter in the band, has made a ..read more

Hold those lighters aloft: Fifty years ago this weekend, 200,000 rock fans descended on Ontario for California Jam, a one-day music festival on the grounds of the Ontario Motor Speedway. The April 6, 1974 event — ticket price: $10 — had this concert lineup, in order of appearance: Rare Earth; Earth, Wind and Fire; the Eagles with guest Jackson Browne; Seals and Crofts; Black Oak Arkansas; Black Sabbath, led by Ozzy Osbourne; Deep Purple; and Emerson, Lake and Palmer. If you’re keeping track, that’s two names with “Earth,” two with “Black” and one with “Purple.” Plus one “Browne.” Imagine 200,0 ..read more