BACK BY POPULAR DEMAND, the Hemet-Ryan Air Show will captivate thousands of people on Saturday, May 30, with amazing aerobatic performances, great memorabilia and a play area for children. Admission to the event, which is from 9 am to 3 pm is free. Parking and entrance to the Kids’ Zone also are free, allowing a family to spend a fun-filled but economical day out. Up to 25,000 people are expected to attend. For the first time, the Radio Disney Road Crew will be part of the entertainment, offering a variety of family games, music and prizes including DVDs, T-shirts, posters and more from 9 am to 12 pm.

Check out fun activities with the upcoming movie release G Force, a 3D animated film from Walt Disney Studios. A variety of military and private remote control aircraft will be on display. Great food, drinks and memorabilia will be on sale. Outside food and beverages will not be allowed. Seating is limited so be sure to bring a lawn chair. It’s also best to wear a hat and lots of sunscreen. Face painters and balloon artists will entertain children in the Kids’ Zone where they will have their choice of games and activities. Home Depot will be conducting an interactive event for the children. The last air show at Hemet-Ryan was in 2006. The free entry and parking is a huge draw, particularly during this economy. “People are staying closer to home and they want something to do in their backyard,” said Daryl Shippy, air show manager. “It’s been a very well-attended event.”

Performers are subject to change but those scheduled include:

• Golden Stars Skydiving Team, 22 professional skydivers exit an aircraft,deploy their parachutes and activate colorful smoke as they spiral down over the crowd with streamers, banners and the American Flag.
• Hemet Model Masters, remote control pilots from the Hemet Model Masters will wow the crowd with several jets and an F-15.
• Jon Melby, bought an airplane at age 19 and hired an instructor to teach him to fly it; he received his pilot’s license in only three weeks. After years of owning several aircraft and flying upright, Melby decided to try flying upside down. In 1996, he partnered in a Pitts S2B Bi- Plane and started aerobatic training/competition. Melby’s airplane, a Pitts S-1-11B, is one of only three that were built. His is the only original and only two of those types of planes are flying in air shows in the world. Melby said he likes to talk to children before he performs. Melby tells each child he speaks to that at the end of his performance, he will wave at him or her with the tail of his airplane. “From a kid’s perspective, that’s what they see,” he said. “It’s not about me going out there hotdogging and showing off. It’s about making a relationship with the crowd and entertaining them.”

Other aerobatic performances include Tumbling Bear Rob Harrison, Doug Jardine, Dr. Frank Donnelly and Martin Kennedy. For more information, please visit www.hemet-ryanairshow.org or call 877.332.2247.

COLORFUL HOT AIR BALLOONS rise into luminous Temecula skies, premium wine and first-class entertainment draw 40,000 guests each year to the Temecula Valley Balloon and Wine Festival, returning June 5-7 to the Lake Skinner Recreation Area. The Festival, now in its 26th year, has more than 20 wineries participating during the weekend. Wine tasting hours are Friday, 5 pm to 9 pm, Saturday, 11 am to 9 pm, and Sunday, 11 am to 5 pm. Wine and food pairings also are offered for an additional fee.

The Festival kicks off Friday, June 5, at 5 pm with a country music concert on the main stage, an arts and craft fair, wine tasting and the luminescent extravaganza known as the "Balloon Glow." The Glow is created when balloon pilots synchronize the igniting burners of their balloons. Held Friday and Saturday nights around 8 pm (after dusk), the Glow is one of the most popular entertainment options of the Festival. Between 6 am and 7 am on Saturday and Sunday mornings, dozens of hot air balloon ascend, weather permitting. Guests are encouraged to arrive early as hot air balloons need the cool morning air to fly.

Concert entertainment is included with admission. Friday features Lonestar, James Otto and Chuck Wicks. Saturday features Sugar Ray, Starship with Mickey Thomas, and Patty Smyth and Scandal; and Sunday features Survivor. Sunday also offers a freestyle motocross show with an international cast of performers. A limited amount of VIP Festival Campsites with full RV hook-up and special VIP amenities including back stage passes to one of the headliners are now available exclusively online. Hot air balloon flight reservations are limited, so book quickly. For more information, please see www.tvbwf.com or call 951.676.6713.

HOMEOWNERS ARE REQUIRED to create and maintain 100 feet of defensible space clearance around their homes or land parcels to minimize the spread of wildland fires. CAL FIRE and Riverside County fire station personnel are conducting “defensible space” inspections on improved parcels to ensure residents are following Riverside County Ordinance 695.3, which requires residents to provide proper and safe clearance.

Homeowners must provide 30 feet of non-flammable clearance with an additional 70 feet of “fuel modification” zone. Defensible space gives properties the best chance of surviving a wildfire and prevents fire from continuing to move, said Riverside County Fire Capt. Julie Hutchinson. “It makes homeowners accept responsibility for protecting their largest dollar investment, which is their home,” she said. In California last year, about 5,812 wildland fires scorched 1,339,839 acres. For simple steps and safety tips when using equipment to clear brush or for more information, go to www.rvcfire.org.

THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AGENCY is helping first-time buyers purchase foreclosed homes through a new program called the Neighborhood Stabilization Homeownership Program (NSHP). The program provides down payment assistance and home repair to qualified buyers and addresses the problem of abandoned and foreclosed homes in targeted areas within Riverside County.

“We’d like to help maybe 200 families buy their first home and return those impacted neighborhoods into owner occupancy,” said Emilio Ramirez, Director of Housing Development. The program, launched March 17, will be available to anyone who has not owned a home in the last three years, has an annual income that is not greater than 120% of the area median income and is purchasing a foreclosed home in the targeted areas of the county.

The program will provide downpayment assistance as a silent second loan in the amount of twenty percent (20%) of the purchase price of the home. EDA down payment assistance will be secured by a deed of trust recorded in second position. The first loan must be a fully amortized, fixed rate, 30-year mortgage. Energy-efficient improvements, curb appeal and landscaping are part of the program’s home repair assistance. Home repair items will be identified prior to closing. For more information, please visit www.rchomelink.com or call 800.909.0079.

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YOUNG PEOPLE AGES 14 to 24 will gain employment and learn valuable skills this summer during the Riverside County Summer Work Experience Program, funded by federal stimulus money. The program aims to help low-income individuals. Certain eligibility requirements apply and applicants will be required to provide copies of various documents, such as a birth certificate or a green card. Funding for the program comes from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, signed by President Obama in February.

The two-year program is on track to help 2,500 young people during its first year, said Loren Sims, Operations Manager for the Workforce Development Division. About $9.4 million has been allocated for the program over two years, but Sims said the majority of funds are expected to be spent in the first year. More than $5.3 million will be devoted to the first year of the program. “It’s a great opportunity for young people to gain valuable work skills, “ Sims said. “All the young people who participate will receive a job for a minimum of 120 hours and a maximum of 240 hours over the summer.”

The young people also receive work readiness skills, he said. Employers benefit by receiving additional assistance, giving back to their community and helping supervise a young person while exposing him or her to various employment and career opportunities. The county’s workforce development centers are helping people of all ages with employment needs. Three full service workforce development centers, in Riverside, Indio and Hemet, and two satellite centers in Temecula and Corona are helping displaced workers find jobs while providing other services. About 11,000 people received services of some kind from the centers between July 1, 2008 and March 31, 2009. Visit www.rivcojobs.com or call 888.968.8456 for more information.