Upland Ca

City leaders take pride in Upland's tree-lined streets, the town's annual Lemon Festival and the farmers market that attracts families on Thursday nights. But the "City of Gracious Living" has a problem with what some city officials consider an uncouth neighbor: a 342-acre unincorporated community that runs counter to Upland's tranquil, family-friendly charm.

An Upland city councilman apologized Friday for making racially insensitive remarks, ending an effort by the mayor and other officials to force his resignation next week. Councilman Ray Musser, 73, said he was sorry for statements he made at Monday's council meeting when describing his experience at the inauguration of President Obama. "There was [sic] a lot of nonwhites in the crowd, well-behaved, and that was so gratifying," he said at the meeting.

Connie Interlicchia was in her Upland home Monday morning, working on her laptop computer in the kitchen, when the house shuddered and chunks of metal started raining into her backyard. She grabbed her purse and her Chihuahua and dashed outside, where she found a mangled twin-engine plane parked on her garage roof. "I looked up and I saw these guys on the roof. I asked one guy, 'What happened?' " Interlicchia said. "But they were too hurt; they couldn't talk."

An Episcopal bishop was found guilty by a church panel of covering up his brother's assaults of a teenage girl in the 1970s at a church in Upland. Charles E. Bennison Jr., 64, was convicted of two counts of engaging in conduct unbecoming of a member of the clergy, according to his attorneys and the church verdict, dated Tuesday and released Thursday. He could be reprimanded, suspended or ousted from the church. The victim, now 50, testified during a four-day ecclesiastical trial this month in Philadelphia that the abuse by the bishop's brother, John Bennison, happened three to four times a week for several years.

Authorities announced Tuesday that they discovered nearly 900 firearms hidden in secret panels, under floors and behind walls in an upscale home in the foothills of Upland. A team of federal, state and local police raided the house Friday as part of an investigation into a man accused of wounding his wife and a Glendora police officer during shooting incidents in February and last month.

Members of an Upland church scrapped their regular services Sunday and instead mourned the deaths of three teenagers and the wife of the church's youth director, killed Saturday in a fiery car crash while returning from a mission to a sister church. Rebecca Vetterani, 28, a seminarian intern at First Presbyterian Church of Upland, died in the three-vehicle accident that shut down U.S. 395 west of Barstow for hours.

All five San Bernardino County supervisors on Tuesday vowed to take lie-detector tests to prove that none of them leaked a confidential memo about a proposed $77-million legal settlement with a Rancho Cucamonga developer. The pledge is the latest twist in a three-year legal battle between the county and Colonies Partners over which should pay for flood control improvements near a massive residential and commercial development in Upland.

The U.S. Small Business Administration has declared victims of the Feb. 28 Upland earthquake, which caused an estimated $10.4 million in damages, eligible for low-interest loans for uninsured losses. From March 26 through April 7, the agency will maintain offices at City Hall in Pomona and the Ontario police and fire complex on C Street. Hours will be from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday through Saturday.

An apparent aftershock of the Upland earthquake on Feb. 28 shook the Upland-Pomona area at 10:25 p.m. Wednesday but apparently caused no damage or injury. Caltech seismologists said it was centered in the same area as the earlier temblor, 4 miles northeast of Upland. Upland police dispatcher Sharon Goodwin said, "I sure did feel it but we only got a few calls on it." Pomona police said they hadn't felt it nor had they received any calls.

The earthquakes that rattled both Northern and Southern California on consecutive days this week even startled a few scientists, although they insisted there is no reason to believe that the widely separated earthquakes were related events. "We're uneasy when we see earthquakes popping off all over the place," said William Ellsworth, a seismologist and geophysicist with the U.S. Geological Survey in Menlo Park.

Three Upland teenagers who died in a fiery car crash near Barstow on Saturday were identified Monday as Hayley Watson, Dominique "D.J." Michaels and Nick Libutti. The teens, who were returning from a church project when their van crashed, had recently finished their freshman year at Upland High School, said Sue Fredendall, an elder at the First Presbyterian Church of Upland. The crash occurred about 3 p.m. Saturday on U.S. 395 near California 58, authorities said.

Members of an Upland church scrapped their regular services Sunday and instead mourned the deaths of three teenagers and the wife of the church's youth director, killed Saturday in a fiery car crash while returning from a mission to a sister church. Rebecca Vetterani, 28, a seminarian intern at First Presbyterian Church of Upland, died in the three-vehicle accident that shut down U.S. 395 west of Barstow for hours.

Connie Interlicchia was in her Upland home Monday morning, working on her laptop computer in the kitchen, when the house shuddered and chunks of metal started raining into her backyard. She grabbed her purse and her Chihuahua and dashed outside, where she found a mangled twin-engine plane parked on her garage roof. "I looked up and I saw these guys on the roof. I asked one guy, 'What happened?' " Interlicchia said. "But they were too hurt; they couldn't talk."

Upland police arrested a crane operator on suspicion of involuntary manslaughter Thursday after a driver slammed into a power pole being moved by a Southern California Edison contractor, killing the 81-year-old motorist and a utility worker. The power pole was suspended by the crane four feet above a north-south traffic lane on Benson Avenue near 11th Street when it was struck by the motorist shortly before 10 p.m. Wednesday, said Upland Police Sgt. Alan Ansara.

A Cuban exile who said he stashed nearly 1,400 machine guns, grenades and rifles in his Upland home to help a paramilitary group overthrow President Fidel Castro was indicted this week on federal weapons charges, officials announced Friday. Robert Ferro, 61, faces five felony counts for allegedly storing the weapons, some of which were unregistered. Each count carries up to 10 years in prison. A spokesman for the U.S. attorney's office said additional charges could be filed.

A militant organization of Cuban exiles disavows any connection to a retired Army Special Forces officer arrested last week after authorities raided his Upland home and found more than 1,300 guns and explosives, the group's leadership said Thursday.

An Episcopal bishop was found guilty by a church panel of covering up his brother's assaults of a teenage girl in the 1970s at a church in Upland. Charles E. Bennison Jr., 64, was convicted of two counts of engaging in conduct unbecoming of a member of the clergy, according to his attorneys and the church verdict, dated Tuesday and released Thursday. He could be reprimanded, suspended or ousted from the church. The victim, now 50, testified during a four-day ecclesiastical trial this month in Philadelphia that the abuse by the bishop's brother, John Bennison, happened three to four times a week for several years.

The body of a 28-year-old woman was found alongside Mountain Avenue just north of the westbound 210 Freeway offramp early Monday, authorities said. The woman, identified only as being from the Los Angeles area, had suffered fatal wounds to her upper torso, although police declined to reveal details. Passing motorists reported the body at 4:25 a.m. on a grassy slope next to a gated community in the 2000 block of Mountain Avenue. Upland Police Sgt. Alan Ansara said no arrests had been made.

A Cuban exile arrested on suspicion of stashing more than 1,000 guns in his Upland home told federal authorities that the weapons were for a quasi-military group bent on overthrowing President Fidel Castro, but police officials said that may be a cover story for a black-market gun ring.

Authorities announced Tuesday that they discovered nearly 900 firearms hidden in secret panels, under floors and behind walls in an upscale home in the foothills of Upland. A team of federal, state and local police raided the house Friday as part of an investigation into a man accused of wounding his wife and a Glendora police officer during shooting incidents in February and last month.