Alta Loma News

Lots of things were going on in the mid-1970s when the city of Rancho Cucamonga was created.

I always am happy to point out, preferably over a glass of wine, that our own Cucamonga Valley is California's oldest wine country, dating back to 1838.

LARRY THORNE wasn't what you'd call a hanging judge. He meted out justice in rural Cucamonga from 1957 to 1980, which mostly meant dealing with strangers speeding through town on Route 66 or citizens who got too exuberant at an Alta Loma watering hole, Ernie's. "It was a community of rambunctious people," Thorne recalls, a twinkle in his eye.

California's Oldest Grape Harvest Festival took over parts of Victoria Gardens in Rancho Cucamonga on Sunday afternoon.

Today I bring you a few wine news items which I call "Wine Wanderings." Without further ado, let the wandering begin! Super taster! "Cheers" and "Congratulations" to friend of the vine Mary Ellen Cole on becoming the Los Angeles County Fair's first Certified Sommelier granted by the American Chapter of the Court of Master Sommeliers.

Tech Trek is a project close to the hearts of members of the Ontario-Upland-Rancho Cucamonga chapter of the American Association of University Women.

Experienced singers are invited to join Windsong Southland Chorale for the 2009-2010 season.

FIRST, BELATED thanks to everyone who wrote or called about my flea problem at home, the topic of a recent column, to commiserate and share advice.

Local law enforcement agencies are looking into several recent incidents of mail being stolen in Upland, San Antonio Heights and Alta Loma.

The Hairston Motorsports and Racing Jerry Bickel Race Cars built 2007 Pro Street GTO with a 377 CID twin turbo Duttweiler built GM small block set the Pro Street national speed record at the recently completed West Coast Hot Rod Association "Shootout at Sundown" at the famous AAA Auto Club Famoso Raceway in Bakersfield California.

The August heat didn't put a damper on school spirit at Rancho Cucamonga High. On Monday, two weeks earlier than usual, students crowded around the Associated Student Body tent picking up class T-shirts and yearly planners.

As many as five Inland post offices could be closed or reconfigured as the U.S. Postal Service tries to stave off an expected $7 billion loss this year.

School is in for many local students, and it's a lot earlier than usual. For the upcoming school year, students who attend Chaffey Joint, Alta Loma, Central, Cucamonga, Etiwanda and Ontario-Montclair school districts will begin today.

IOA will serve as the main sponsor for the 25th Inland Valley Amateur Championship scheduled Sept.

As many as five Inland post offices could be closed or reconfigured as the U.S. Postal Service tries to stave off an expected $7 billion loss this year.

The Frontier Project on March 12 celebrated the topping off construction phase of its 14,000-square foot educational center.

Whoever thinks a dog is a man's best friend has yet been introduced to Susan De Antonio.

Three post offices in Pomona and Rancho Cucamonga are among 677 in the United States targeted for possible closure or consolidation.

After a 31-year career with the city's fire department, you would think Battalion Chief Dave Berry would be a know-it-all. But on his last day on the job, Berry was still the student, learning how to operate the tiller, the back portion of a hook-and-ladder truck.

The area where houses, a golf course and streets exist today in east Upland was a real battlefield 40 years ago.