Flower Shops Rancho Cucamonga CA

Rancho Cucamonga CA Press

San Bernardino brothers: Selling homes, chasing dreams, seeing possibilities

I tell them San Bernardino is like any other town. It has some nice areas and some rough areas, like everywhere else."But buyers prefer Rialto and Rancho Cucamonga to the west, Redlands and Yucaipa to the east.In Colton one day, the Ponce brothers meet with Everardo Jimenez, who lost his pressman job of 26 years when the Pennysaver went under. Jimenez, 60, is listing his two-story tract house because he can't find work and can't handle the mortgage. His daughter lives with him, and he wants her to be safe. He thinks the smart move is to buy a mobile home.Where?"Anywhere but San Bernardino," Jimenez says.On another afternoon, a couple walk into the Ponce & Ponce office with their two young children and tell Ricardo they'd like to buy a house in Fontana. Something in the $250,000 range, with a fenced-in yard."We think we're ready for it," says the wife.But she doesn't have a job, her husband's warehouse work pays just $30,000 a year, and they won't have a down payment until they get tax returns in the spring. She might, however, be able to get her father to co-sign a loan."Fontana is a very competitive market," says Ricardo, trying to be polite.When they leave, Ricardo tells me they were typical clients. If only people's bank accounts were as big as their dreams."A lot of these stories that come through here, I can relate to them," says Jose, who has seen people weep when they enter the first home they've ever owned.Ricardo can barely talk about how easy it is to relate.**Touring San Bernardino is like looking at negatives of old photographs. Something solid was there once, but only traces and shadows remain. Military, steel and rail jobs disappeared.Today, two of the region's biggest employers, the San Manuel Casino and Patton State Hospital — a fenced corral for the criminally insane — are in the business of false hope and incurable disease.To me, this economic reality says something about a greater economic divide.This year, I've written about someone buying a $35-million house in Beverly Hills to knock it down and build another, and I've written about a shoe repairman living in a van in Echo Park.I've written about someone pumping 1,300 gallons of water an hour in Bel Air, and a woman in South Los Angeles who went more than a year without running water when she fell behind on her utility bill.In San Bernardino, the castles and compounds of casino operators are perched on the foothills above a city in which transients, dealers and prostitutes parade along Baseline Boulevard, and abandoned buildings beg for a date with a wrecking ball.The Ponce brothers sell San Bernardino, so they have to believe in its ability to help people like them close the wealth gap.The brothers' cousin is their receptionist. When it's time to show a house, their mother is their cleanup specialist. Two childhood buddies also work for them. John Abad, their sons' wrestling coach, is one of their clients, and the Ponces think they've found him the perfect house.Abad wants to stop throwing money at a $550-a-month apartment in a rough downtown area and invest in a three-bedroom rancher for around $240,000. He'd take on renters and live in the guest house.Not far from that home, on the north side of town, the Ponces show me a three-bedroom house they bought to rehab. It reeked of rat urine and feces. But now it's beginning to look like a house someone might want to live in.Jose... http://www.latimes.com/local/california/la-me-lopez-san-bernardino-20151222-column.html

Glenn Frey and Eagles had a longer run in Ontario than you knew

Car Stories feature. Dennis Sampson of Rancho Cucamonga wrote about a 1955 Chevy station wagon that his dad bought new and that is still in the family 60 years later. VALLEY VIGNETTE A memorial tribute to the O’Day Short family is planned for 7 p.m. Friday in Fontana. That’s the family of four who died in a suspicious fire in 1945 after crossing the color line and being warned to move, as recounted in this space last month. According to a Facebook page created for the event, “the plan is to place flowers [and] posters, remember his family and share thoughts on this tragic event.” The gathering is outside Randall Pepper Elementary, 16613 Randall Ave., built on the site of the family’s home. District Attorney Mike Ramos wrote on Twitter on Dec. 18: “I have tasked my Cold Case Unit to look into this case so we can determine the next appropriate course of action.” David Allen writes Friday, Sunday and Wednesday, appropriately or not. Contact david.allen@langnews.com or 909-483-9339, visit insidesocal.com/davidallen, like davidallencolumnist on Facebook and follow @davidallen909 on Twitter. http://www.dailybulletin.com/arts-and-entertainment/20160121/glenn-frey-and-eagles-had-a-longer-run-in-ontario-than-you-knew

Local girls perform in 'Nutcracker'

Arcadia Performing Arts Center, Pomona College’s Bridges Auditorium, Riverside’s Fox Performing Arts Center and the Lewis Family Playhouse in Rancho Cucamonga. According to artistic director Victoria Koenig, “The Nutcracker” features dazzling sets complete with falling snow, an antique Albany Flyer One Horse Open Sleigh, a 40-foot Chinese dragon, stunning handmade costumes and a cast of 80 dancers. “We are thrilled to again take our wonderful production on tour to beautiful Southern California theaters,” said Koenig. “As always, ‘The Nutcracker’ showcases our key company principals and soloists who are in top form.” The age-old story of “The Nutcracker” follows a young girl named Clara who receives a magical nutcracker doll on Christmas Eve and sets out on a wondrous journey to the Land of the Snow and the Kingdom of Sweets. In a fantastic dream, she encounters battling mice, dancing snowflakes, waltzing flowers, and Sugar Plum Fairies. Along with featuring local up-and-coming ballerinas Emily Baggarly and Lauren Collett in the alternating role of Clara, “The Nutcracker” also showcases the talents of two local dancers. Seven-year-old Hesperia resident Sephora Carter is set to perform as a bonbon on Dec. 12, 13, 18, 19 and 20. Sixteen-year-old Phelan resident Sierra Leyde will portray an angel and a mouse in productions on Dec. 12, 13, 18, 19 and 20. “This... http://www.hesperiastar.com/article/20151210/NEWS/151219980