Saturday, June 30, 2007

Weekly News Roundup: June 30 Edition

City News

There were no injuries at yesterday afternoon's fire in the Stater Bros. shopping center at 4th Street. The fire started at the USA Cleaners, burned neighboring China Express and Rice Bowl, and damaged several other businesses.
Assisting in this mutual aid incident were fire units from San Manuel Band of Mission Indians, Riverside County, San Bernardino County, and the cities of Redlands, Highland and Colton.
Related Story:
The investigation of Yucaipa Police Detective Julie Brumm and Deputy Charles Elder helped lead to the arrest of 28-year-old Jason Deiner of Banning for 11 armed robberies in Yucaipa (Cottage Creamery, ARCO near 3rd and Arnett's market), Calimesa, Redlands and Banning.
The moral of the story came down to video surveillance systems. “Arnett's has a great system, but it wasn't turned on, ARCO's was,” said Zehms. “The systems need to be effective and in operation. And don't leave a lot of money in the till,” he beamed as he looked at Brumm and Elder.
Related Story:
From the last city council meeting:
School News

Yucaipa-Calimesa School District named assistant superintendent of human resources Sherry Kendrick as the superintendent to replace Mitch Hovey. Kendrick was the district's chief negotiator in the contentious and prolonged contract negotiations with the teachers' union that arrived at an agreement in May. According to the Press-Enterprise:

Kendrick must also confront what [union vice president Patrick] Smith called "shortsightedness" in the district's recent decisions, such as going ahead with the Mesa View school project before road issues were settled and the district possibly assuming some ongoing costs for an artificial football field and track at Yucaipa High School.

"There's still a lot of suspicion among our association members when the district does anything ... we're a pretty cynical lot at this point," Smith said.

On Tuesday, the Yucaipa-Calimesa school district employees approved an $80.4 million budget for 2007-08. According to the Press-Enterprise, this balances the budget, but leaves no room to pay for additional personnel.

The board had wanted to augment support staff at its schools, including custodians, secretaries and security personnel, and add some assistant principals, which were among the recommendations from a budget advisory committee of administrators, staff and parents.

However, the board has vowed not to fund ongoing, annual expenses with one-time revenues, Ingram said.

Yucaipans in the News

77-year-old Wyvonna Joyce "Cherrie" Riddell, wife of Mayor Dick Riddell, passed away on June 25 from complications due to lung cancer. A native of Texas, she resided in Yucaipa for over 20 years. She and Dick were married for more than 59 years. Monday morning, July 2, a Rosary will be held at St. Francis X. Cabrini Catholic Church, and a Mass of Christian Burial and celebration of her life will be held on July 5. Memorial donations may be made to Yucaipa Valley Pregnancy Counseling Center, AudioVision Radio Reading Service for the blind, and the American Cancer Society.

According to the San Bernardino County Sun, Brad Camp makes a difference as a guidance counselor at Orangewood Continuation High School in Redlands. The entire Camp family is dedicated to education:

Camp and his wife of 30 years, Brenda, a third-grade teacher at Yucaipa Valley Elementary School, live in Yucaipa. Their involvement in education seems to have rubbed off on their daughters: Brianna is in her second year teaching history at Yucaipa High School, and their youngest daughter Brittany is finishing her first year teaching fifth grade at Meadow Creek Elementary School in Yucaipa.

Yucaipa High School grad Mark Teahen has had a knockout year as right fielder for the Kansas City Royals. According to the Sun:
Entering Tuesday, Teahen leads the Royals in batting (.290), RBI (40) and triples (5). He also has 38 runs scored, 12 doubles and five home runs, making him the logical choice to represent Kansas City in next month's All-Star Game at AT&T Park in San Francisco.
Teahen had rotator cuff surgery in September.

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Thursday, June 28, 2007

Yucaipa Music & Nightlife: June 29 - July 5

Here is the musical entertainment you can find in Yucaipa for June 29 - July 5. If you know of any other events, feel free to leave a comment. You can find more information in the links at the the end of the post. For theater and family activities, see the Yucaipa entertainment calendar.

Note: all entries subject to change. Call to confirm the bands and cover price.

Friday, June 29
  • Hickory Ranch Steakhouse: karaoke
  • Eagles Aerie: karaoke by Dallas, with pot luck and shooters, 7-9pm
  • Angel's Roadhouse: One (U2 Tribute Band), with Lust for Loonies, others, 21+, $5
Saturday, June 30
  • Riley's Farm: An Evening in the Colonies with Patrick Henry. History, 18th century games, and colonial dancing. Get details and order tickets.
  • Eagles Aerie: Laverne and Friends with pot luck, 3pm-8pm
  • Shorter's Bar & Grill: karaoke
  • Angel's Roadhouse: Led Zepland (Led Zepplin tribute band), with Feather Static, others, 21+ $$
Sunday, July 1
  • Eagles Aerie: Flat Out Country, 3pm-8pm
Monday, July 2
  • rest up for the fourth!
Tuesday, July 3
  • Angel's Roadhouse: karaoke "2 for Tuesday", with 2 tacos/$2 and domestic draft beer $2.
Wednesday, July 4 * Independence Day *
  • Yucaipa FreedomFest @ Thunderbird Field: Bring lots of cash to celebrate American Independence the Yucaipa way. Gates open at 3:30 pm, C-17 Globemaster flyover at 7:30 pm, fireworks at 9:00 pm. $5 parking on campus, also parking across the street and Crafton Hills College (there will be a shuttle). Tickets are $5 for adults, $4 for seniors, $3 for kids age 3-17. No food or alcohol is allowed, but you can purchase food on the inside (Jose's Mexican Food, Thunderbird Snack Shack (pizza, hot dogs), Sophia's Roasted Corn, coffee, smoothies, snowcones, popcorn) - and there will be a pie eating contest (call 790-4685 to sign up)! You are allowed to bring folding chairs and "shade materials." Kids Fun Zone: $10 covers "All-American picnic games, crafts and special events." There will also be a gunny sack race, water ballon toss, three-legged race, and backwards crab walk race. So, for a family of four that's only $41 - plus the cost of food - to spend the likely 100 degree afternoon on the high school football field/track. Awesome.

    Anyway, there will be live music: Riley's Mountaineers Band (the bluegrass "house band" at Los Rios Rancho) plays from 4:00-4:50 and 5:10-6:00, and United Blues Band plays from 7:40-8:30 .
  • Angel's will be closed on independence day!
  • Bailey's probably will be closed for the 4th!
Thursday, July 5
  • Angel's Roadhouse: karaoke, 21+ only
  • Shorter's Bar & Grill: karaoke
Where to find Yucaipa nightlife (MAP)
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Saturday, June 23, 2007

Weekly News Roundup: June 23 Edition

It's been pretty quiet the last week (other than the sonic booms). Maybe it's the heat?

City News

The next city council meeting is June 25 at 6:00 PM. The agenda is now available online (pdf).

According to the San Bernardino Sun, a second San Gorgornio High School teen, David Rivera, died from injuries in last week's crash on Oak Glen Road. Adrian Barajas died at the scene. A third boy, Victor Ramirez, remains in critical condition. The only boy wearing a seat belt walked away from the crash.
Related stories:
Locals in the News

Congratulations to this week's graduates:
The Press-Enterprise profiles Steve and Friends (12033 4th St.), a family-run hair salon that opened in Yucaipa 41 years ago. They plan to have a web site soon!
The salon supports community programs by donating hair cutting and styling services to women re-entering the work force after completing rehabilitation programs. It also participates in the annual Relay for Life cancer fundraising walk.
Art students at Canyon Middle School - under direction of art teacher Mike Bennett - paineted a mural featuring Presidents Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Kennedy and Reagan. See the article in the Press Enterprise for a photo of their excellent work.

Yucaipa High School named this year's athletes of the year seniors Brett Roy and Cortney Kivett. Roy played football, earning "first-team All-League honors" , basketball, and track. Kivett played basketball, volleyball and softball. She led last year's softball team in hitting, and almost repeated the feat this year. She and her twin sister Ashley will be playing for the University of Oregon Ducks next year. There was no mention of Roy's post-high school plans.

The News Mirror calls 10-year-old Kyle Gornay "the most amazing swimmer in town."
Gornay went on this spring to win not one but five events in the Southern California Short Course Junior Olympic Championships at the Belmont Plaza in Long Beach. Gornay took first place in his age group in five races: the 50-yard freestyle, the 100-yard freestyle, the 50-yard butterfly, the 100-yard butterfly and the 50-yard backstroke.
Kyle swims for the Redlands Swim Team, even though he is a resident of Yucaipa. The News-Mirror is hoping he'll be swimming for the Thunderbirds in a few years.

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Friday, June 22, 2007

Boom! Boom!

Just about 1PM this afternoon there were two loud booms. Was it an earthquake? Well, the USGS did register a 2.6 Earthquake at 12:44 PM with an epicenter in Calimesa. But earthquakes don't usually boom.

So, what was it? Sonic booms from the space shuttle Atlantis as it approached Edwards Air Force Base for a landing.

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Thursday, June 21, 2007

Yucaipa Music & Nightlife: June 22-28

Here is the musical entertainment you can find in Yucaipa for June 22-28. If you know of any other events, feel free to leave a comment. You can find more information in the links at the the end of the post. For theater and family activities, see the Yucaipa entertainment calendar.

Note: all entries subject to change. Call to confirm the bands and cover price.

Friday, June 22
  • Fraternal Order of Eagles: karaoke and jello shooters, 7pm-11pm
  • Hickory Ranch Steakhouse: karaoke
  • Angel's Roadhouse: Mommy's Little Monsters (Social Distortion tribute), with others, 21+, $$
Saturday, June 23
  • Riley's @ Los Rios Rancho: Roundup at Los Rios. Cowboy chuckwagon dinner, and music from "the Bard and the Balladeer," Don Edwards and Waddie Mitchell. Proceeds benefit the Desi Geestman Foundation, giving support to childhood cancer patients and their families. (Purchase tickets)
  • Fraternal Order of Eagles: pot luck dinner and music of the Rainbow Cottage Band, 3pm-8pm
  • American Legion Post 426: dance to the music of the Starlight Wranglers, 7:30pm to closing
  • Shorter's Bar & Grill: karaoke
  • Angel's Roadhouse: Stone Free Experience (Jimi Hendrix tribute), with Shades of Day, Aberrance, 21+ $5
Sunday, June 24
  • Yucaipa Fraternal Order of Eagles: pot luck jam session with Flat Out Country, 3pm-8pm
  • Angel's Roadhouse: Drop8, EO6, and others, free show, 5pm
Monday, June 25
  • blissfully quiet
Tuesday, June 26
  • Angel's Roadhouse: karaoke "2 for Tuesday", with 2 tacos/$2 and domestic draft beer $2.
Wednesday, June 27
  • Angel's Roadhouse: open mic jam with BoXKutters, $5 pitchers
  • Bailey's: karaoke
Thursday, June 28
  • Angel's Roadhouse: karaoke
  • Shorter's Bar & Grill: karaoke
Where to find Yucaipa nightlife (MAP)
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Saturday, June 16, 2007

Weekly News Roundup: June 16 Edition

City News

The Yucaipa City Council approved a $20.4 million budget. According to the Sun the budget includes:
  • ~$6 million for policing services
  • $3.2 million for firefighting
  • $2.5 million for public works
  • The News Mirror notes that revenue from building permits "fell short of projections for the 2006-7 fiscal year by almost 50 percent," and the slow down in residential development will continue to affect future revenue.
The city is fiscally in the black, with a projected balance of $38.5 million in the General Fund.

The City Council approved a zoning change for an undeveloped property on the northeast corner of Holmes and County Line Road (map) from "neighborhood commercial" to residential. According to the News Mirror:
A representative for the owner noted the property was purchased with the intention of developing it commercially. The inability to do so, even though the property was zoned for commercial development, represents a loss to the owner, who came to accept that he could not develop his property according to the original intent allowed under existing zoning law.

The owner's representative argued, very respectfully but pointedly, that to further limit potential profit on the original investment by requiring 10,000 square foot lots rather than 7,200 square foot ones would not be fair, especially considering all the other lots on the Yucaipa side that surround the site are approximately 7,200 square feet.
The City Council ultimately agreed to this change.

According to the Sun, Yucaipa department of public works has initiated bids to begin widening Yucaipa Blvd. Phase one will focus on the stretch between 7th and 10th streets, but will ultimately span 5th to 12th.
"Oak Glenn[sic] Road intersects Yucaipa Boulevard between 7th and 10th streets, and so we're trying to provide the additional capacity on Yucaipa Boulevard to accept that traffic from the freeway," Casey said.
The project is scheduled to begin by early July.

26-year old Yucaipa resident Jessica Licause was shot and killed in Mentone on June 9. According to the San Bernardino County Sun, Licause's boyfriend, Christopher Barrios, was probably the intended target. Four people have been arrested in connection with the killing.
Other links:

Two carloads of San Gorgornio High School Students left a graduation pictnic at Yucaipa Regional Park and raced down Oak Glen. According to the Press-Enterprise:

Wiltshire, the sheriff's spokeswoman, said witnesses told authorities that the Civic and Tahoe bumped just north of Fifth Street and then spun out of control.

The Honda, driven by Roxanne Gonzalez, 18, of Colton, broke through a guardrail and went down a steep embankment west of Oak Glen Road, Brownell said. The San Bernardino County coroner's office and Sheriff's Department differed on the number of people in each vehicle.

One student in the SUV was killed in the crash - Adrian Barajas, age 18. Several other passengers were seriously injured.

Other reports:
Locals in the News

Congratulations to all Yucaipa High School Grads! 548 graduated on Thursday, with two valedictorians - Daniel Price and Molly Jones - and three salutatorians - Devon Ruff and Breanna & Spencer Marcinek. Senior class President Daniel Schwarz also spoke at graduation.

Related articles:
The Sun reports on Yucaipa-Calimesa Unified School District Superintendent Mitch Hovey's move to the Fullerton School District. His last day at YCUSD is July 1.
One month after Hovey stepped into the Yucaipa-Calimesa District as its superintendent, he created the Areas of Focus list with nine categories and all ultimately work to help the students. And not to anyone's surprise, Student Needs was the first of the nine categories where the district developed programs to help enhance every student's learning environment, to shape their characters and nurture their intellect.

Another one of the categories was Curriculum and Assessment to adjust the curriculum and insure students' progress on a regular basis.

"I feel good about what we've been able to do," Hovey said.


Congratulations also to the Crafton Hills College graduates. From the News Mirror:
There were 311 students eligible for CHC graduation, of which 123 were men and 188 were women. The average age of the graduates was 27. The oldest graduate was 56 and the two youngest were 18. The average grade point average was 3.11.


Ernistine Smith, 43, of Yucaipa, was selected to give a speech, which she delivered at CHC's annual commencement breakfast.

Smith, who raised four children, decided to return to college three years ago to pursue a nursing degree.

“I've been waiting for this for 18 years,” said Smith while waiting for the commencement ceremony to begin.
The Press-Enterprise talks to Lee Green, a farrier who owns the Shoein' Shop (near Live Oak Canyon), with some excellent photos.

"I have over 3,000 kinds, types, styles and sizes of horseshoes, whether it's for racing, jumping or saddlebred stuff, big draft horses and supplies for horses that have therapeutic needs."

Loma Linda University News reports that Yucaipa resident Ann Burke has published a novel, To the Last Drop of Our Blood.

“It is my privilege to present to the reading world a book about the Waldenses, a minority whose story echoes like a call among their native Alps, its poignant warning resounding to where we are.”

In her book, Ms. Burke sketches excerpts from the story of the Waldenses, a religious minority who for generations lived under the looming shadow of church-state power.
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Thursday, June 14, 2007

Yucaipa Music & Nightlife: June 15-21

Here is the musical entertainment you can find in Yucaipa for June 15-21. If you know of any other events, feel free to leave a comment. You can find more information in the links at the the end of the post. For theater and family activities, see the Yucaipa entertainment calendar.

Note: all entries subject to change. Call to confirm the bands and cover price.

Friday, June 15
Saturday, June 16
Sunday, June 17
  • a great day to head to the mountains - or the beach
Monday, June 18
  • recover from the weekend
Tuesday, June 19
  • Angel's Roadhouse: karaoke "2 for Tuesday", with 2 tacos/$2 and domestic draft beer $2.
Wednesday, June 20
  • Angel's Roadhouse: open mic jam with BoXKutters, $5 pitchers and free pool
  • Bailey's: karaoke
Thursday, June 21
  • Angel's Roadhouse: karaoke
  • Shorter's Bar & Grill: karaoke
Where to find Yucaipa nightlife (MAP)
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Saturday, June 09, 2007

Weekly News Roundup: June 9 Edition

All the news that's fit to blog . . .

City News

Redlands Daily Facts reports that 20-year-old Matthew Colligan has been arrested for stealing money off the counter of the Wells Fargo branch in the Vons grocery store. Colligan was apprehended at a Bryant Street residence, which lead to the discovery of several code violations and arrest of the residents - Harvey Ashton, Benjamin Dean, Jason Simonson and Gabriel Cook, for drug possession.

The News Mirror has picked up the story that the City Council has preemptively banned marijuana dispensaries within the city limits.
The Yucaipa City Council passed the urgency ordinance unanimously. Mayor Dick Riddell voted for the ordinance, however, only after McMains assured him that doing so did not bind the city to anything permanently. “No,” McMains replied. “This ordinance simply precludes anyone from opening a dispensary before the city council has had an opportunity to deliberate on these matters in greater depth and detail.”
The Press-Enterprise reports that
San Bernardino police officer and Calimesa resident, Blair Christopher Hall has been arrested for killing his wife in their backyard spa. Hall had his own private investigation firm, Southern California Research, in Yucaipa.

Yucaipa-Calimesa Joint Unified School District met on Tuesday and approved almost $1.2 million for the installation of new artificial turf at the Yucaipa High School Stadium, according to the News Mirror:

The News Mirror reports that Yucaipa fire marshal services will be provided by Charles Abbott Associates. Currently Yucaipa shares a fire marshal with Highland, a service provided by the California Department of Forestry. Highland has decided to to employ a full-time fire marshal.

According to the News Mirror, $19,200 will be spent to conduct air quality studies at the site of the planned Oak Hills Marketplace. The applicant, The Target corporation, has also requested additional environmental impact reports. The Oak Hills Marketplace is planned for Live Oak Canyon road, just off of I-10.

Locals in the News

The Yucaipa High School graduation ceremony is Thursday, June 14 at 7PM. Other Eevents:

The Sun reports that Yucaipa High School has hired Redlands Athletic Director Mark Anderson to replace retiring AD Jim Taylor.

IE News reports that the National Youth Theatre has announced the National Youth Theatre Awards. Winners include Aniah Simons, who won in the Outstanding Supporting Actress Category (13 and under) for her role as Sad Girl in Bye Bye Birdie (Heartland Players).

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Thursday, June 07, 2007

Yucaipa Music & Nightlife: June 8-14

Here is the musical entertainment you can find in Yucaipa for June 8-14. If you know of any other events, feel free to leave a comment. You can find more information in the links at the the end of the post. For theater and family activities, see the Yucaipa entertainment calendar.

Note: all entries subject to change. Call to confirm the bands and cover price.

Friday, June 8
Saturday, June 9
Sunday, June 10
  • it's a day of rest
Monday, June 11
  • recover from the weekend
Tuesday, June 12
  • Angel's Roadhouse: karaoke "2 for Tuesday", with 2 tacos/$2 and domestic draft beer $2.
Wednesday, June
  • Angel's Roadhouse: open mic jam with BoXKutters
  • Bailey's: karaoke
Thursday, June
  • Angel's Roadhouse: karaoke
  • Shorter's Bar & Grill: karaoke
Where to find Yucaipa nightlife (MAP)
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Saturday, June 02, 2007

Weekly News Roundup: June 2 Edition

Not too much news this week. That's probably a good thing . . .

City News

In January, Valley Breeze Mobilehome Park won their litigation against the city to allow rent increases under the Yucaipa rent control ordinances. The city is appealing the decision, and Len Tyler, chairman of the Yucaipa Mobilehome Residents Association told members at their most recent meeting that the YMRA will be filing an amicus brief on behalf of the Mobilehome owners. He was quoted in the News Mirror:
“While the residents are not directly involved in this court case, their interests are at stake,” Tyler stated.


“We must build up our legal fund if we want to continue looking out for the interests of the residents.”
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The U.S. Forest Service is beefing up its staff in anticipation of a bad wildfire season this year, the San Bernardino County Sun reports. There is some concern that the Sheriff's deputy assigned to the mountain community of Forest Falls, Shannon Kovich, hasn't been around much. Kovich would be in charge of getting the community to evacuate in the case of wildfire.

Capt. Bart Gray of the sheriff's Yucaipa station, which has jurisdiction over Forest Falls, said Kovich remains the resident deputy there and of the lower mountain communities of Angelus Oaks, Mountain Home Village and Barton Flats, but in the past couple of months has been assigned to patrol primarily in Yucaipa.

Kovich is on vacation now, and other deputies are assigned to patrol those communities. But they also must patrol the surrounding cities of Yucaipa, Oak Glen and Mentone. It's a territory spanning 225 square miles, Gray said.

Yet response times should not be a concern for residents. The average response time for deputies from Yucaipa to Forest Falls is about six minutes, sheriff's spokeswoman Cindy Beavers said.

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According to the San Bernardino County Sun, the Yucaipa City Council has put into place a 45 day renewable ban on medical marijuana dispensaries. No one has actually applied to set up such a dispensary.
Riddell said Yucaipa's moratorium is needed because cities are stuck with having to craft a medical cannabis policy while in the middle of a serious conflict between state and federal law.

Yucaipa officials want to wait until Sacramento and Washington "get their act together" and resolve the conflict before the city adopts a permanent policy, Riddell said.

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According to the News Mirror, our man in Sacramento, State Assemblyman Paul Cook, has sponsored several bills that are up for vote:
  • AB456 : "enable the Contractor's Licensing Board to dispense funds from the Construction Management Education Account continuously during the year without direct oversight by the legislature," rather than annually.
  • AB1069: "add mobile homes to the list of vehicles covered by the Abandoned Vehicle Abatement Program"
  • AB1661: allow young men to register for selective service at the DMV, in addition to the post office.
  • AB1662: "enable servicemen who are California residents stationed outside California to prioritize an absenteee ballot in case there is a subsequent, run-off election."
News Bits:
  • The News Mirror asks "Where's Chili's?" The construction of a Chili's restaurant near the intersection of Yucaipa Blvd. and 7th Street was approved last year, and they've even applied for a liquor license. No construction, yet though. The word is that it will begin "this summer."
  • The Orange County Register reports that the Fullerton School District welcomed former Yucaipa-Calimesa School District Superintendent Mitch Hovey with a reception.
  • The story of "landlocked" Mesa View Middle School was picked up by the San Jose Mercury News.
And that's all she wrote.

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Friday, June 01, 2007

Yucaipa Music & Nightlife: June 1-7

Here is the musical entertainment you can find in Yucaipa for the first week of June. If you know of any other events, feel free to leave a comment. You can find more information in the links at the the end of the post. For theater and family activities, see the Yucaipa entertainment calendar.

Note: all entries subject to change. Call to confirm the bands and cover price.

Friday, June 1
Saturday, June 2
Sunday, June 3
  • all quiet
Monday, June 4
  • nothing I know about
Tuesday, June 5
  • Angel's Roadhouse: karaoke "2 for Tuesday", with 2 tacos/$2 and domestic draft beer $2.
Wednesday, June 6
  • Angel's Roadhouse: open mic jam with BoXKutters
  • Bailey's: karaoke
Thursday, June 7
  • Angel's Roadhouse: karaoke
  • Shorter's Bar & Grill: karaoke
Where to find Yucaipa nightlife (MAP)
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