Continuing our series of top stories in 2017, the following stories were among those that brought the most visitors to our website.
Sheriff’s deputies shot and killed a man at the Motel 6 in Twentynine Palms January 17. Deputies had been called to the motel about 3:30 a.m. for a report of shots fired; when they knocked on the man’s motel room, the suspect, later identified as Dominic Hodges, 39, of Yucca Valley, opened the door and fired at the deputies. The deputies returned fire before taking cover. A woman in the room, Tani Garcia, 39, of Yucca Valley, told deputies they had been smoking meth for several days and had checked into the motel because they were afraid they were being followed. A SWAT team sent a robot into the room about 9 a.m. where it was discovered that Hodges had died from his wounds. Tani Garcia died five days later at Desert Hospital in Palm Springs from breathing problems.
A motorcycle rider was killed April 30 when a woman driving a H3 Hummer pulled out in front of him in Yucca Valley. William Allen, 72, was riding his 1995 Harley Davidson westbound on Highway 62 about 4 p.m. when the woman pulled out in front of him at Katje Way. Allen was killed at the scene.
On June 28, we aired a story about a controversial decision made by the Morongo Unified School District board of education. The board voted to update its policy to prohibit teachers from advocating their personal points of view in the classroom. The previous policy required only that all sides of an issue be presented fairly.
Another controversial issue brought visitors to our website for an August 22 story about the City of Twentynine Palms amending its residential restrictions on neighborhoods where registered sex offenders can live. A Sacramento lawyer threatened to sue the city if it didn’t change its ordinance.
And finally, a county employee was killed and several off-duty first responders from San Bernardino County were injured in the Route 91 mass shooting in Las Vegas October 1. Dana Gardner, a deputy recorder for the county, was among the 58 victims killed.
