Today in history
Today is Saturday, Aug. 27, the 240th day of 2016. There are 126 days left in the year.
On this date in the SCV: In 1931, The Signal reported that a magnificently constructed still, going at full blast and producing a large quantity of high-grade liquor, was the product of a raid conducted by the booze squad of the sheriff’s office on the Hauser ranch on the north side of Pelona Valley. Captain Stewart, of Sub-Station 6, led the shock troops when the charge was made on the old barn in which the still was located. Joe Capelo and Joe Ringo were the two men found in charge, and had just shut down the fire for lack of gasoline, though the liquor was still running from the still. Two vats of mash, one 5,000 and the other 10,000 gallons, were half full of very potent liquid. Today’s Highlight in History: On Aug. 27, 1883, the island volcano Krakatoa erupted with a series of cataclysmic explosions; the resulting tidal waves in Indonesia’s Sunda Strait claimed some 36,000 lives in Java and Sumatra.
Ten years ago: A Comair CRJ-100 crashed after trying to take off from the wrong runway in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49 people and leaving the co-pilot the sole survivor. Two Fox News journalists, Steve Centanni and cameraman Olaf Wiig, were freed by militants nearly two weeks after being kidnapped in Gaza City. The action series “24” won Emmys for best drama series and best actor for Kiefer Sutherland; “The Office” was honored as best comedy. Five years ago: Hurricane Irene, after striking Puerto Rico and the Bahamas, pushed up the U.S east coast, prompting evacuations in New York City and leaving major flood damage in Vermont. Hundreds of soldiers and federal agents raided a casino in Monterrey in northern Mexico, two days after an arson attack on a gambling house killed 52 people.
One year ago: Visiting residents on tidy porch stoops and sampling the fried chicken at a corner restaurant, President Barack Obama held out the people of New Orleans as an extraordinary example of renewal and resilience 10 years after the devastation of Hurricane Katrina. Ex-NBA star Darryl Dawkins, 58, whose board-shattering dunks earned him the moniker “Chocolate Thunder” and helped pave the way for breakaway rims, died in Allentown, Pennsylvania. On this date: In 1776, the Battle of Long Island began during the Revolutionary War as British troops attacked American forces, who ended up being forced to retreat two days later. In 1908, Lyndon Baines Johnson, the 36th president of the United States, was born near Stonewall, Texas.