Hacienda Heights Ca

A brush fire near Hacienda Heights -- sparked by a high-powered, limited-edition car that ran off the road and tumbled 100 feet -- charred 70 acres of rugged terrain Tuesday and prompted the temporary evacuation of about a dozen homes, authorities said. The fire, which erupted shortly before 1 p.m., forced the evacuation of homes scattered over three streets in the Turnbull Canyon area. But by 8 p.m., residents were allowed to return home. No structures were damaged.

A brush fire near Hacienda Heights -- sparked by a high-powered, limited-edition car that ran off the road and tumbled 100 feet -- charred 70 acres of rugged terrain Tuesday and prompted the temporary evacuation of about a dozen homes, authorities said. The fire, which erupted shortly before 1 p.m., forced the evacuation of homes scattered over three streets in the Turnbull Canyon area. But by 8 p.m., residents were allowed to return home. No structures were damaged.

On Tuesday, the folks who had waited out the Battle of Turnbull Canyon crept back up the steep roads toward home--what they hoped was still home--to count their losses or their blessings. Flame and smoke had made them refugees from their own houses on Monday. In the uncertainty of the night, they could only imagine what was happening up on that ridge, along that rustic Hacienda Heights canyon where they lived.

Firefighters and sheriff's deputies using a helicopter rescued a 14-year-old girl who became stranded Wednesday afternoon after sliding about 40 feet down a 150-foot cliff behind some hilltop homes. The girl, whose identity was not released, suffered minor injuries, officials said. They said she lost her footing while hiking below the 16200 block of Elza Drive.

Residents in the east San Gabriel Valley community of Hacienda Heights are trying something that has fallen out of vogue in the last decade: cityhood. To lessen the blow inflicted on counties through the loss of land, facilities and tax revenue, a 1992 state law requires communities that wish to incorporate to pay the host county a "revenue neutrality" fee, better known to cityhood proponents as "alimony."

Firefighters and sheriff's deputies using a helicopter rescued a 14-year-old girl who became stranded Wednesday afternoon after sliding about 40 feet down a 150-foot cliff behind some hilltop homes. The girl, whose identity was not released, suffered minor injuries, officials said. They said she lost her footing while hiking below the 16200 block of Elza Drive.

In an auspicious moment for American Buddhism, the 38-year-old World Fellowship of Buddhists will meet for the first time outside of Asia--convening today on a hillside in Hacienda Heights at the $25-million Hsi Lai Temple. Delegates from Asia may feel at home in the magnificent complex patterned after and financed mainly by Taiwan's Fo Kuang Shan temple. But they may have trouble otherwise recognizing the transplanted, 2,500-year-old religion in its Americanized version.

You're heading up Hacienda Boulevard in Hacienda Heights, downshifting for the long climb that will carry you over the ridge to La Habra Heights. You pass a Del Taco outlet and a Shell station, round a curve, and wham. Suddenly you're transported from the eastern San Gabriel Valley to a distant country where breezes seem to carry a hint of incense and elderly men in flowing robes speak softly of ancient wisdom.

Five young men pleaded no contest Thursday to assault and hate crime charges for stabbing a black man in a Hacienda Heights park, shouting racial slurs at the victim and taking his portable stereo. Allan Holbrook and Michael Bracamonte, both 18, were sentenced by Pomona Superior Court Judge Daniel S. Lopez to six years in prison for the July 22 incident. Co-defendants Alexander Holguin, 16, and Rudy Romero and Frank Perez, both 19, received five-year terms.

A security guard at the Hsi Lai temple was arrested after shooting at three teenagers who were looking for a party, Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies said. Lt. Randy Olson said the teenagers drove past the temple twice about 2 a.m. Sunday. The temple, in the 3400 block of Glenarm Street, was the site of a 1995 fund-raiser featuring Vice President Al Gore that is now the focus of congressional hearings.

A couple died when fire engulfed part of a guesthouse Saturday, authorities said. The man and woman, believed to be in their 50s, were in cardiac arrest when pulled out of the house, said Capt. Mark Savage of the Los Angeles County Fire Department. Sheriff's deputies and neighbors tried to get into the home in the 1100 block of South Galemont Avenue, but were initially blocked by heavy security screen doors and deadbolts, Savage said. The cause of the fire was under investigation.

A sheriff's deputy remained in extremely critical condition Thursday after a fellow deputy accidentally shot him during a gun battle at a motel in Hacienda Heights, officials said. Detectives said they were investigating how the accident happened, and an official from the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department's office of independent review said training procedures could be changed. "Right now, we're praying," said Sheriff's Homicide Bureau Capt. Ray Peavy. "It's in God's hands....

For two San Gabriel Valley teenagers, an Internet computer game was too intense to forget about in cyberspace, so they agreed to fight in person. It ended with the arrest of nine teenagers charged as adults with 10 felony counts after a bloody mismatch in a secluded Hacienda Heights community. They are all due in Pomona Superior Court today for their preliminary hearings to determine if they should stand trial.

There was little subtlety in the numbers -- by a 2-1 margin, residents of the San Gabriel Valley community of Hacienda Heights have rejected cityhood. Now that the simple question of incorporation has been answered, new queries have arisen. How do you satisfy the thousands of residents who feel underserved by the county? What becomes of the lingering uneasiness in the wake of a bitter campaign that, at times, was racially charged?

Bids for extra taxes for well-regarded but cash-strapped schools succeeded in Palos Verdes on Tuesday but failed in Manhattan Beach, while in Santa Monica and Malibu, results on a similar measure were too close to call. In another election, which pitted neighbor against neighbor, voters strongly rejected a drive to incorporate the east San Gabriel Valley community of Hacienda Heights.

Residents in the east San Gabriel Valley community of Hacienda Heights are trying something that has fallen out of vogue in the last decade: cityhood. To lessen the blow inflicted on counties through the loss of land, facilities and tax revenue, a 1992 state law requires communities that wish to incorporate to pay the host county a "revenue neutrality" fee, better known to cityhood proponents as "alimony."

Three weeks ago, Charlene Lewis gave birth to an 8-pound, 12-ounce boy named Jordan. On Monday afternoon, she went horseback riding. Bareback. She had not planned it that way. But when Lewis heard that flames were threatening her new home off Turnbull Canyon in Hacienda Heights, her first thought was of her chestnut mare, Roosandra. Lewis is 21 and Roosandra 20. "We grew up together," Lewis said.

On Tuesday, Steinmetz Park in Hacienda Heights could have been any park, anywhere on a warm summer day, with chatting mothers watching over children of all races climbing monkey bars, whooshing down slides and squealing with glee at their sand-and-water creations. That's the way it usually is at the park, a suburban oasis that most nearby residents described as quiet, safe, free from the gangs and crime that plague some more urban parks.

A security guard at the Hsi Lai temple was arrested after shooting at three teenagers who were looking for a party, Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies said. Lt. Randy Olson said the teenagers drove past the temple twice about 2 a.m. Sunday. The temple, in the 3400 block of Glenarm Street, was the site of a 1995 fund-raiser featuring Vice President Al Gore that is now the focus of congressional hearings.

Five young men pleaded no contest Thursday to assault and hate crime charges for stabbing a black man in a Hacienda Heights park, shouting racial slurs at the victim and taking his portable stereo. Allan Holbrook and Michael Bracamonte, both 18, were sentenced by Pomona Superior Court Judge Daniel S. Lopez to six years in prison for the July 22 incident. Co-defendants Alexander Holguin, 16, and Rudy Romero and Frank Perez, both 19, received five-year terms.