Rain renews West Nile fears
RIVERSIDE “”mdash; The wet winter has created ripe conditions for
mosquito breeding and experts are worried the West Nile virus will
spread throughout the region and infect scores of humans and
horses.
West Nile swept across the nation to California in six years
with all but two of the state’s 27 deaths last year occurring
in San Bernardino, Riverside, Los Angeles and Orange counties.
Eighty-eight people died nationwide last year.
The virus usually shows up first in birds, then strikes hard the
next year, infecting people and horses and killing birds by the
thousands.
Mosquito-control agencies are already seeing unseasonably large
numbers of mosquito larvae in wet or marshy areas and earlier this
month Los Angeles County reported the nation’s first human
West Nile case of 2005.
Families, friends of train crash victims
mourn
GLENDALE “”mdash; Family and friends of the 11 people killed in
the Metrolink commuter train derailment gathered at the scene of
the crash for the first time since the Jan. 26 crash.
Metrolink officials took them in two buses Sunday to the crash
site, where firefighters lined up with hands clasped in front of
them. Grief counselors and chaplains stood by to provide
support.
“˜”˜I can’t look at the trains. It’s so
painful,” said Lien Wiley, whose husband Donald Wiley,
58, died in the derailment.
Wiley and other relatives of the victims prayed and left flowers
on the tracks.
Compiled from Bruin wire services.