For decades, what’s now known as southwestern Riverside County was primarily hidden in the shadows of the rapidly expanding Los Angeles and Orange counties. Generations of Native American tribes and farmers, then miners and railroad workers, pushed the region’s population to 139,000 by 1992. ...

Thadd Williams has always been concerned about the 65-foot tree in front of his Montrose home, due to its height, size and proximity to power lines. ...