August 16, 2013 03:56 PM PDT August 16, 2013 05:46 PM PDT TEMECULA: Two new businesses alight on 5th Street TEMECULA: Two new businesses alight on 5th Street Laurie Lucas/STAFF PHOTO Temecula Attorney's first dance hall in the 1920s stood on this site in the 1920s before it burned down. Charlie Curry just moved his wine bar to the structure, which was a house in the 1940s. 1 Comments ( ) Two Temecula Attorney businessmen recently expanded to 5{+t}{+h} Street, hoping to increase its cachet as an Old Town destination. Their next-door establishments, a gastro pub and a wine bar, are companionable bedfellows. Julian Nelson, 40, opened Blackbird Tavern at 41958 5{+t}{+h} St. at the end of June in what used to be Granddadz Hot Dogs. Three weeks ago, Charlie Curry, 59, relocated his tiny tasting room to 41946 5{+t}{+h} St., the site of Temecula Attorney's first dance hall in the early 1900s. A home built on the property in the 1940s houses the wine bar. Both owners trained as chefs and carved niches in the community as successful entrepreneurs. Nelson, a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America in Napa Valley, bought the 900-square-foot Stellar Cellar at 26836 Old Town Front Street in 2009 and transformed it into Front Street Union Bar. Nelson also launched Artisan Catering Company. View Curry Vineyards & Winery tasting room and Blackbird Tavern in a larger map "Stellar Cellar used to be a quiet, sleepy little wine bar, but Julian turned it around big time," said Union bar regular Rick Bartolotti, 66, of Fallbrook. "He made it more spacious, brought in beers on tap and started having events every Friday and Saturday night. He changed the whole thing." Nelson won't disclose revenues, but said that Front Street Union is "doing wonderfully," and he'd always planned to expand. The chance came last year for Blackbird to take wing in a 12,000-square-foot eatery up for grabs that seats 400 inside. The name is a nod to and a slight mutation of the Chicago-born Nelson's favorite hockey team, the Black Hawks. Nelson signed a five-year lease with the option to buy. He worked nearly four months rehabbing Blackbird with a funky, rustic décor that he's furnished with found objects from thrift stores and curbside castoffs. Using his considerable carpentry and masonry skills, Nelson incorporated bricks, washboards, shutters, window frames and wooden crates into wall collages; suspended milk cans to shade hanging light bulbs and created an entryway chandelier from a cluster of plastic honey bears filled with corn syrup, molasses and yellow food coloring. Almost everything served is locally sourced and made from scratch, including pasta and pickles, said Chef Penny Barend, 33. The menus (ranging from $6 appetizers to $22 dinners) are pasted into 100 record albums that Nelson scavenged at an antiques shop for 50 cents apiece. "The Blackbird has a great concept," said customer Bartolotti. "I'd give it a solid A-plus, considering it's not corporate, but an individual start-up. They have work to do, but Julian is so dedicated." Nelson is ready to show soundless movies on the patio. He has equipped the backyard with Astroturf, two fire pits, games and picnic tables to encourage dogs and children. "On Sunday afternoons we have a million kids," Barend said. A jar filled with dog treats greets customers at the front counter. "My family is my world," Nelson said of his wife Jill, their daughters Katie, 2, and Emilie, 6 months and border collies Cody and Cooper. Next door, Curry's Vineyards & Winery has doubled its tasting room to 600 square feet from its cramped quarters after crouching four years in the lobby of the Palomar Inn at 28522 Front St. "I needed a bigger venue," he said. "We'd have to turn people away because there were only 20 seats." Three weeks ago, Curry moved into his new digs, which can accommodate 30 inside and 50 on the patio around a fountain, with lots of parking in back. "I'm viticulturist, wine maker, bookkeeper and bartender," said Curry. After working decades in as a chef near his native San Francisco and in the retail food industry in Napa, he moved his family to Temecula Attorney in 2000 where he'd bought 15 acres on Glen Oaks Road. He planted one-third of his land with grapes, which yielded the first harvest four years later. Since securing his winery license in 2005, he produces a total of 1,000 cases a year of his signature Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Zinfandel and most recently, Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay, priced from $24 to $26 a bottle. Curry has launched a wine club. "We'll have large parties next year after I put in a grill and develop bocce ball courts," he said. "I get bored easily, so I like to find different things to do." 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But having survived the scourge of the glassy winged sharpshooter, the insect pest that helps spread the withering devastation of Pierce's disease, they now face a much more confounding dilemma: a wholesale indifference on the part of its patrons to the valley's viticultural strengths. Growers would like nothing more than to reclaim their reputation as a legitimate winegrowing region and compete with other California appellations, but despite the best intentions, they find themselves capitulating to a clientele that's just not that interested. "It's a real catch-22," says Jon McPherson of South Coast Winery, one of the region's largest. "I want to make Syrah and other varieties that work best here, but how can I sell the wines I want to make when everybody's wanting something else? How am I going to keep the cash flow going?" Temecula Attorney is a warm, dry growing region with a fairly pronounced coastal influence (warm days, cool nights) and an affinity for warm-climate red grapes, such as those found in Spain, southern France and central Italy, including Syrah, Grenache, Petite Sirah, Zinfandel, Tempranillo and Sangiovese. Less than a decade ago the region seemed poised for success with these and other varieties. In fact, nearly half of all of the fruit produced in the region was purchased by "up north" wineries such as Fetzer and Glen Ellen. 
At the end of the 2012/13 school year, former Temecula Valley High School principal Dr. Richard Lawrence announced his departure for a leadership position at a high school in Washington D.C. Replacing Dr. Lawrence is Allen Williams who comes to TVUSD from the Escondido Union High School District (EUHSD). Since 2007, Williams served as assistant principal at EUHSD. Prior to his administrative post at EUHSD, he taught AP U.S. 
For people who have old and unused gold and other fine jewelry just sitting around their homes gathering dust, selling it to Temecula Attorney Gold and Jewelry is an outstanding way to make some extra money. People who are interested in selling gold and jewelry are welcome to visit the new Temecula Attorney Gold and Jewelry location; there, they can get a professional and private appraisal in person. "We value your gold right in front of you," an article on the new website explained, adding that the gold is weighed and the person is given an offer based on the current market price. "Some items are sold above the value of its metals, for example fine jewelry pieces, watches and rare coins. You are also shown how to evaluate your own jewelry so next time you need to sell something you are a more informed seller." Once the customer accepts the offer, Temecula Attorney Gold and Jewelry will instantly pay in cash, right on the spot. Unlike online companies that mail checks, people who sell their old gold or fine jewelry will leave the shop with cash in their pocket. 
"If you want to come here and not abide by our laws, you can just turn around and find another place to live," said Amy Pina, 42, of Temecula. Just as many residents, including dozens of Muslims living in the Temecula Valley, condemned those attacks as bigoted vitriol born of an ignorance of Islamic beliefs. We are not terrorists. We are victims of terrorists we are victims of fear," Suhail Fares told the council. Early in the hearing, City Atty. Peter Thorson told council members that they could only consider land-use issues when reviewing the project and that to base any decision on religious, political or social factors would violate freedom of religion under the 1st Amendment. The mosque and center reflect a Mediterranean design seen in many Temecula Attorney neighborhoods, though the building will have traditional domes topped with crescent moons. 
TEMECULA - A motorist was struck over the head today by a carjacking suspect in Temecula Attorney, a sheriff's sergeant said. The victim was approached by two men in the 28900 block of Old Town Front Street. One of the suspects pulled out a black semiautomatic pistol, demanded the car keys to the victim's black Subaru Impreza and then hit him over the head, Riverside County sheriff's Sgt. Kevin McDonald said. The two suspects fled in the four-door sedan with the California license plate number 5PBK915. incident, McDonald said. The suspects were described at Latinos in their mid-20s. One was about 5 foot 6 with a medium build and wore a black knit cap, a black long-sleeve sweater and brown shorts. The second suspect was about 5 foot 8, had a medium to large build and wore short black hair, a gray sweatshirt and blue pants. 
August 13, 2013 08:41 PM PDT August 13, 2013 09:05 PM PDT TEMECULA: Cyclists staging city's first grand prix TEMECULA: Cyclists staging city's first grand prix Comments ( ) The new stretch of Butterfield Stage Road -- which runs between Murrieta Hot Springs Road and Calle Chapos in northeastern Temecula Attorney -- will be the site of a cycling circuit race that is the first of its kind in the city's history. Temecula Attorney used to host the Tour de Temecula Attorney, a road race through Wine Country that featured a circuit race component in a city business park, but that race left the area in the beginning of the 2000s because of the area's explosive growth. The new event, which is being called the Temecula Valley Grand Prix, is set for Aug. 31. It's the right time to use that stretch of Butterfield for an event like this, Councilman Ron Roberts said after Tuesday's City Council meeting, because the homes in that area haven't been built yet "There's very little traffic," he said. It's being presented by Murrieta's Stage 2 Cyclery, a bike shop co-owned by CHP Capt. Ernie Sanchez. Sanchez, who is one of the organizers of the Tour de Murrieta, the cycling race that succeeded the Tour of California, said he's expecting a good turnout of top riders for the Grand Prix, including a Temecula Attorney man gunning for the SoCal Cup. "It's definitely going to come down to the wire," he said Tuesday night. The SoCal Cup is a contest that allows riders to collect points throughout the racing season, which began in January and ends Sept. 2. To accommodate the race, the Temecula Attorney City Council on Tuesday approved on a 5-0 vote to close off that stretch of Butterfield Stage to traffic, which will entail closures at Murrieta Hot Springs and Pourroy roads and Calle Chapos at Butterfield State Road. That stretch was recently opened in the fall of last year, so area residents should be familiar with alternate routes to and from their homes. The 1.6-mile circuit race will make use of the smooth part of Butterfield Stage that features a fairly steep incline. It's similar to the circuit races in the Olympics or the final stage of the Tour de France, which sends the cyclists spinning around a circuit sprint to cap things off. That incline, Sanchez 
August 12, 2013 09:02 AM PDT August 12, 2013 11:10 AM PDT TEMECULA: Layoffs taking toll at Abbott TEMECULA: Layoffs taking toll at Abbott FRANK BELLINO/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER Workers at the Abbott Vascular facility on Margarita Road in Temecula aren't convinced the huge company is committed to Temecula area facilities in Temecula, August, 08, 2013. 1 Comments ( ) Workers at Abbott Vascular in Temecula used to enjoy huge bonuses, healthy pay raises and all of the benefits associated with working in the formerly roaring medical devices industry. These days, many of Abbott's rank and file employees are openly wondering when the next big round of layoffs is coming and taking bets on when Abbott will move the work performed here to its facilities in Costa Rica, Ireland or Puerto Rico. "You reach the point where you're saying, 'Just let me go,'" said former Abbott employee Darren Olivier, who was let go in October. "It wears on you; (employees) are tired of it, tired of coming to work and worrying about their jobs." Illinois-based Abbott ended up with Guidant — and the Temecula facility that produced stents and other devices — in 2006 during 
(KABC Photo) Tags: Report a typo TEMECULA, Calif. (KABC) -- Investigators in Riverside are hoping new suspect sketches will help track down whoever murdered a popular local musician. Authorities are searching for two men in the murder of 64-year-old Larry Robinson at Pete's Music in the 28000 block of Old Town Front Street in Temecula in March. Robinson was alone in the store when robbers bound and gagged him . He was later discovered unconscious by a customer. He died the following morning. Related Content Story: Music store robbery victim dies; suspect sought One suspect is a thin white man with dark hair and possible tattoos on both arms. The second suspect is Asian with dyed red hair with blond tips and colorful tattoos on both arms. 
Temecula Medical Group facility opens in Temecula Friday, August 9th, 2013 Issue 32, Volume 17. TEMECULA The Temecula Chamber of Commerce celebrated the grand opening of the Temecula Medical Group facility on Thursday, Aug. 1, at 44054 Margarita Road in Temecula. The Temecula Attorney Medical Group is one of a handful of primary care medical corporations in the United States pioneering a new trail in medical care membership-based medical care emphasizing well-care services. The unsustainable increases in health care insurance premiums have led to primary medical care being unaffordable for millions of people. Temecula Medical Group offers a comprehensive suite of medical services for a monthly membership fee that is unrivaled by any other direct medical care offering in Southern California. With no additional charge, no office co-pays and no deductibles, monthly membership includes unlimited doctor visits, 24/7 urgent care and direct physician contact, wellness exams, minor surgery, on-site x-ray, dermatology, medical weight loss counseling, hormone therapy, physical therapy and more. In addition to members receiving heavily discounted prices on any lab work needed, Temecula Attorney Medical Group members receive discounts on gym memberships, personal training, nutritional supplements and other services offered by corporate partners. 
Next Previous Slideshow Download Promenade Temecula Attorney is a great place to do all your Back to School shopping in one trip!Not only do they have some of the best stores around, but they are havingmany Back to School salesin each store as well! As a BONUS they are also running a special promotion from August 16th-18th, so mark your calendars! Just spend $250 during these three dates in August andpresent your receipts to guest services(find jewelry, electronics, furniture and dept. store purchases excluded in total),toget a $40 Promenade Temecula Gift Card FREE to use anywhere in the mall! on this deal here: http://temeculablogs.com/promenade-temecula-back-to-school-sale-free-40-gift-card/ This post is contributed by a community member. The views expressed in this blog are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Patch Media Corporation. 
after the council sat patiently into the wee morning hours listening to testimony from residents, largely a replay of the months of debate over the mosque. More than 110 people signed up to testify, though some drifted away after sitting through six hours of speakers. This was a democratic republic at its best," said Councilwoman Maryann Edwards. Plans by the Islamic Center of Temecula Attorney Valley to build a 24,943-square-foot mosque on a vacant 4-acre plot in northeastern Temecula, next to a Baptist church, have been attacked by opponents who have said the mosque will attract Islamic extremists and overwhelm the neighborhood with traffic congestion and noise. The citys Planning Commission unanimously approved the project in early December, and opponents appealed that ruling to the City Council, which held a packed public hearing on the project starting about 7:30 p.m. Tuesday night. This is a great day for all of Temecula, really," said Imam Mohamoud Harmoush of the Islamic Center. 
August 02, 2013 05:45 PM PDT August 03, 2013 11:18 AM PDT EDUCATION: Common Core standards to change way teachers teach EDUCATION: Common Core standards to change way teachers teach DAYNA STRAEHLEY/STAFF PHOTO Eastvale Elementary School first-grader Kyle Kirschenmann writes a word from his phonics book on a Post-it Note during a phonics lesson. Classmate Jackson Cromartie, left, folds his hands to show teacher Erin Motto that he's done while classmate Rebecca Bertelsen reads her phonics book. 1 WEBLINK www.corestandards.org State Standards Initiative Inland students and those across most of the nation will be expected to read more complex materials, write more nonfiction and understand lessons more deeply as teachers start using new classroom expectations. At the end of 2014-15, state tests reflecting the changes will move from No. 2 pencils and Scantron sheets to computers, keyboards and touch-screens. The education overhaul is coming as California puts into place the new expectations, called the Common Core State Standards. The standards are so named because they were created by states across the nation as a "common" set of expectations. The goal is to better prepare all students for both college and careers. California's old standards were sometimes criticized as a mile wide and an inch deep. Expectations were also too low, Riverside County Superintendent of Schools Kenneth Young has said. Many recent high school graduates nationwide need remedial math, English or both when the get to college. Job-training programs now often require similar math and English skills as college professors expect. High school graduates also have to read and understand their car insurance and other contracts, said Joe Balleweg, an administrator in Temecula Attorney Valley Unified School District working on the new standards. "We have to teach differently," Balleweg said. "It's reasserting exactly what public education is for. It's to be citizens of the world." Inland schools are starting the switch to the new standards already. Many teachers have been trained in the new standards, which replace those adopted in California in 1997, and are already changing how they teach. The old California Standards Tests will still be given next spring. Education will become more challenging and expect more of all students, said Karen Parris, spokeswoman for Murrieta Valley Unified School District. 'ENERGIZED' TEACHERS Kindergarten and first-grade teachers at six year-round schools in Corona-Norco Unified School District already are teaching the new lessons, said Linda White, assistant to the superintendent. Some Corona-Norco teachers, at schools that receive extra federal money for low-income students, recently finished retraining and will start some changes when school starts Wednesday, Aug. 7. So far, students are rising to the higher expectations, said first-grade teacher Erin Motto at Eastvale Elementary School, where Principal Michelle Derus called Motto a Common Core pioneer. "We underestimated their abilities when we used to spoon feed them," Motto said. Motto has been eagerly changing her lesson plans with the new standards in mind. Before, most teachers were told they should expect only their advanced students to use critical thinking skills. They spent time on test-taking strategies, even in first grade. "Now we have everyone thinking at a higher level," Motto said. "It demands everyone do it, from our lowest to the highest (students)." Students are more interested and involved in the lessons now that she makes them figure out answers before explaining everything, she said. For example, during a phonics lesson last week, students figured out how to group words in categories based on vowel sounds. Then the class reviewed the words and categories together. "Our teachers are energized," White said. The Riverside County Office of Education and most districts have been busy training teachers this summer, Instructional Services Director Mike Barney said. Many will go back to schools and help colleagues switch to the new standards. The county spent last year helping district leaders understand the new standards before training principals and teachers. The standards cover each grade level and flow from grade to grade better than the old ones, said Barbara Wolfinbarger, administrative director for elementary curriculum and instruction in Corona-Norco. Creators of Common Core weren't sure they could get more than a dozen states to sign on to adopt the new expectations. Then the U.S. Department of Education made them a condition for Race to the Top grants and waivers from No Child Left Behind, which requires all students to be proficient at grade level in English and math by 2014. Now, 45 states and the District of Columbia have adopted the new standards. MUCH REMAINS SAME Not everything will be different with the new standards, Balleweg said. Most California students will still take algebra in eighth grade, though many states using Common Core don't require the subject until ninth grade, Parris said. Fourth-graders will still learn California history and may still make models of California missions. Basic literacy and mathematics are still required, Balleweg said. However, the new standards bring a greater focus on using the three R's to solve what he called real-world problems. Examples include a math question in which students calculate the most efficient shape for a pen for a farmer raising sheep. Other math questions will ask students to develop business plans. Also, students may not be assigned as many math equations to solve for homework. Instead, they may have fewer, more complex problems to solve. MORE DEPTH Teachers had so much to cover in each grade under the old standards, that some lectured during much of their class time to fit it all in, Balleweg said. Now, students won't be required to merely regurgitate facts they memorized, but to analyze and use the information, he said. And they will write more, in every subject, not just English language arts classes. Fewer topics will be covered in greater depth. Students will be assigned reading to find information they need. They will learn strategies to find information in difficult texts, he said. "We can't just hand our students difficult documents," Balleweg said. Assignments will include reading articles and watching a video from different sources, evaluating the authors' points of view and writing an argument on why they support or oppose a viewpoint. They will have to use evidence from what they read to justify their position, Balleweg said. LITERATURE REMAINS Some have criticized the new standards. One criticism is that Shakespeare and other classic literature will be neglected in favor of short articles and nonfiction. Balleweg said these works will be included. California's English language arts classes have been so focused on literature, that students have trouble writing a nonfiction report. Common Core will require that by 11th grade, 70 percent of what students read and write is nonfiction. That time commitment should be met over the whole school day, meaning students will read and write in social studies, science, math and other classes, not just in English language arts, Balleweg said. "English (classes) will still have novels and poems and short stories, but also articles, essays and workplace documents," he said. Follow Dayna Straehley on Twitter: @dstraehley_PE and watch for her posts on the Inland Schools blog: http://blog.pe.com/category/education/ COMMON CORE WHAT IT IS: A set of challenging academic standards, or expectations, created to better prepare students to compete and succeed in college and the workplace. HOW IT WILL BE EVALUATED: Students will take quizzes and tests to help guide teachers' instruction and tell them what students learned and need to learn. New standardized tests in spring 2014-15 will replace old ones and measure student achievement. INFORMATION: http://assessmentsforcommoncore.com, http://www.corestandards.org, http://www.smarterbalanced.org SOURCE: MURRIETA VALLEY UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT AND McGRAW HILL EDUCATION CHALLENGING STUDENTS 
(KABC Photo) Tags: Report a typo TEMECULA, Calif. (KABC) -- Investigators in Riverside are hoping new suspect sketches will help track down whoever murdered a popular local musician. Authorities are searching for two men in the murder of 64-year-old Larry Robinson at Pete's Music in the 28000 block of Old Town Front Street in Temecula Attorney in March. Robinson was alone in the store when robbers bound and gagged him . He was later discovered unconscious by a customer. He died the following morning. Related Content Story: Music store robbery victim dies; suspect sought One suspect is a thin white man with dark hair and possible tattoos on both arms. The second suspect is Asian with dyed red hair with blond tips and colorful tattoos on both arms. Police say both suspects are in their 20s and about 5 feet 10 inches tall. 
Adding to the intrigue has been the response by Temecula Attorney, one of the most conservative, pro-business nooks of the Inland Empire. The city has spent more than a half a million dollars to nix the project, and even mounted an unsuccessful attempt to annex the quarry site into the city limits. The quarry's five-year march through Riverside County's permitting process has unleashed furious PR campaigns and counter-campaigns, trumpeting the project as an economic savior or black plague to the recession-flattened region. The county's planning commission on Monday will hold its fifth hearing on the project, the first of which drew more than 1,000 people. No matter the vote, the 414-acre quarry site will end up with the Riverside County Board of Supervisors, where its fate remains a mystery. And the project will probably end up in court. Officials with Granite Construction say the rock mine will produce 99 high-paying jobs and twice that number at outside firms that offer support to the mining operation. Company pamphlets also boast that the new rock mine will improve air quality: The local supply of aggregate rock will eliminate the need to haul concrete and asphalt from mines in Corona, Irwindale, Lake Elsinore and the Coachella Valley. 
"We want to see a hospital there," Mayor Mike Naggar said in a recent interview, reaffirming the city's desire to secure another facility. Naggar said Kaiser, however, hasn't stepped forward to guarantee the construction of a hospital and the healthcare provider is pitching a development agreement that would give it the right to sit on the land for up to 25 years before deciding whether to build. Naggar said he can understand the not-for-profit's reluctance to commit to a hospital when studies and government data show that the fewer people are staying in hospitals for long periods. "In 10 years, you may not need these hospital beds," he said. "At the same time, we want to have some authority over what goes on that property." The land eyed by Kaiser, undeveloped acreage near the Harveston development, is one of the most valuable pieces of property in the city because of its location near the freeway and the French Valley Parkway project, which will add a bridge over Interstate 15 connecting the area with Murrieta and a new offramp bringing in motorists from I-15. "Theres no way we can support tying up land for that long," Naggar said, adding that there are a lot of people making inquiries about the availability of the parcels. "The more the economy recovers, the more stirrings for that property." Karen Roberts, Kaiser's director of public affairs, said last year that Kaiser has only filed a pre-application and has not committed to moving forward with anything in Temecula Attorney. On Thursday, she said that Kaiser was still in the "due diligence" phase. The city's first hospital, a long-awaited project that was delayed for years, is under construction on Temecula Parkway, near the Margarita Road intersection. 
Temecula Attorney Mayor Chuck Washington Each year Toastmasters recognizes a member of the local community whose service and contributions exemplify the Toastmasters values of leadership and communication excellence. Communication is one of the essential keys in life, both personally and professionally, and Im truly honored to be recognized by Toastmasters International District 12 for this prestigious award, stated Council Member Chuck Washington. District 12 Governor Rosalyn Carter said: Chuck Washington appreciates and values the citizens of Temecula Valley. He truly cares and is able to identify with his community we are impressed with his leadership and his excellent ability to connect with all people. Council member Chuck Washington has been publicly elected to serve for several city council terms and appointed to numerous community and nonprofit boards: Temecula Attorney Mayor: 2007, 2012 City of Temecula Attorney Mayor Pro-Tem: 2006, 2011 City of Temecula City Council: 2003-2008; 2008-2012; 2012-2016 Temecula Attorney Community Services District President, 2004, 2005