Religious Understanding Day On Mar. 30, from 8:30 a.m. – 12 p.m. the MSJC Library will be hosting “Religious Rights: Divine Right to Live in Peace with Others.” The event is sponsored by: MSJCC Diversity Committee; the Hemet-San Jacinto Interfaith Council; and the Human Relations Council of the greater Hemet, San Jacinto, and Menifee region. Please join with other members of the community for this exciting day of interfaith dialogue and cooperation. This event is free and open to the public, but you must RSVP. Breakfast and free parking is available in the college’s North lot. For more information, contact Mike Madrigal 951-970-1370. RSVP: krystynegray@yahoo.com or call 951-259-3714. The Diamond Valley (more…)

NAMI Education Programs NAMI Mt. San Jacinto, the local organization of the National Alliance on Mental Illness, will offer two free NAMI Education Programs. These programs include child care and light refreshments. The program is taught in English. For more information: (951) 765-1850 namihemet@gmail.com. Family-to-Family Education March 19 through June 4 at 5:30 – 8 p.m. – 12 sessions for families, partners or friends of adults with treatable mental health conditions including schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, major depression, anxiety, OCD. San Jacinto Elementary School, 136 North Ramona Boulevard in San Jacinto. Room 7 in the building next to office. For parking use South Grand Army Avenue gate entrance. Peer-to-Peer Class March 15 (more…)

The Diamond Valley Arts Center (DVAC) Saturday, March 9, 7 p.m., the Hot Flash & Men of Pause bluegrass and modern folk music band will perform at The Diamond Valley Arts Center (DVAC), 123 North Harvard Street in Hemet’s historic downtown. Tickets prices are $20 for general admission, $15 for DVAC members, and $10 for students. Tickets can be purchased online at www.theDVAC.org, at DVAC, or at the door. Saturday, March 23, 7 p.m., the Peter Curtis band will perform at The Diamond Valley Arts Center (DVAC), 123 North Harvard Street in Hemet’s historic downtown. Tickets prices are $20 for general admission, $15 for DVAC members, and $10 for students. Tickets (more…)

MSJC community art Visit the art and science exhibit from 10 a.m.–4 p.m. through Feb. 28 at the MSJC Art Gallery on the San Jacinto campus. Women’s Conference: Be a sponsor! The 8th Annual San Jacinto Valley Women’s Conference will be held Thursday, Feb. 28 at the Soboba Country Club. While the conference is sold out, there still are sponsorship opportunities for local businesses and organizations. The conference has raised over $30,000 in scholarships over the past 7 years. The group is looking for sponsors, raffle items, in-kind donations, volunteers, and, as always, cash donations. Find out how you can help support this amazing event. For more information, visit www.sjvwc.com, then (more…)

We talk to local artists who craft amethyst jewelry Agnes Kennedy and Ralph NatividadAgnes Kennedy and her son, Ralph Natividad, in front of their jewelry stand at the Fall Bazaar at Trinity Lutheran Church circa 2008. The mother-son team is a pair of local jewelry artists who to this day use semi-precious stones, including amethyst crystals and beads, to fashion jewelry. ■ Dennis Fletcher / Contributed Earlier this month, we ran an article about how Valentine’s Day got its name and date in our Gregorian Calendar. A side story within that tale is how the month of February got its name in ancient times from a Roman festival called Lupercalia. This (more…)

Women’s basketball: MSJC beats MiraCosta, 100-76 Photos by Corey EvanRaena Lasley tries to stop MiraCosta’s Unique Fradiue from making a shot. ■ By Corey Evan / Reporter Maintaining a winning team is hard work for any coach. But Chris Mozga has done so, maintaining a winning women’s basketball team at Mt. San Jacinto College. But would these screamin’ Lady Eagles keep their winning ways going against the visiting MiraCosta Lady Spartans on Friday, Feb. 8? The Eagles got off to a rocky start in the first quarter, gaining an early lead before the Spartans turned it into a see-saw battle. The Spartans took over the lead briefly, but the Eagles got (more…)

Boys soccer: Tahquitz bested Ontario at the last minute, 1-0 to advance in CIF Photos by Corey EvanEvan Ortiz looks to keep the ball away from Ontario’s Sergio Villareal. ■ By Corey Evan / Reporter The better a team does during the regular season, the more chance they have of becoming nervous in postseason. The Tahquitz High School boys soccer team got that chance on Thursday, Feb. 7 as they hosted the Ontario Jaguars for the CIF Division 5 playoffs. Providing the backdrop for this CIF match was the beautifully snow-capped peak of Mt. San Jacinto. How well would the Titans control their nerves against these big red cats? Hit-and-miss would (more…)

MSJC community art Visit the art and science exhibit from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. through Feb. 28 at the MSJC Art Gallery on the San Jacinto campus. Creative Crafters’ Club Potluck and Auction On Friday, Feb. 22, at 11 a.m. the Creative Crafters’ Friendship Club will be holding a benefit potluck and auction at the Salvation Army Community Room located on 340 South Palm Avenue in Hemet. Founded in 1988, the club and this benefit, are open to anyone interested in participating (athough membership is limited to 30 at present). Recent projects by the club have included creating decorative picture frames for Bradley Gardens, and notebooks of colorful pictures for (more…)

■ Chronicle News Staff Recently The Valley Chronicle published an article about a possible murder/suicide involving a niece caring for her aunt in a double-wide mobile home in Sierra Dawn Estates that was destroyed in a fire. This in an excerpt of the article written by the newspaper’s advisory editor, Chris Smith: “Eerie notes posted by the niece on social media and other evidence gathered at the scene reportedly led investigators to believe the niece had planned her and her aunt’s demise. The niece is said to have blamed family members, whom she named, for not offering her enough help in caring for her aging aunt, though the family members apparently (more…)