Welcome to Kings River Life Magazine:
A California Magazine with Local Focus and Global Appeal.

With weekly issues every Saturday morning at 10am and new articles throughout the week, including reviews — movies each Monday at 7pm and live events Wednesdays at 7pm. If you love mysteries — explore Mysteryrat’s Maze — there's something for everyone… and check out our sister site on Blogger for bonus articles; Follow the River for updates.

← Previous Entries

Star Trek Into Darkness: Movie Review

FROM THE May 20 ISSUE

IN THE Fantasy & Fangs SECTION

by Lorie Lewis Ham


As a proud Trekkie, with each new Star Trek movie I am filled with excitement and yet concern. Will they do this cult favorite that has literally been a part of my life since birth, justice? (Star Trek and I were born in the same year). Well JJ Abrams has done it again! Into Darkness continues to breathe new life into this reboot of the Star Trek stories. It not only remains true to the original characters and world, but adds to it.

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Basically Brandon Talk Show Moves To TV

FROM THE May 18 ISSUE

IN THE Arts & Entertainment SECTION

by Lorie Lewis Ham


You may or may not know about Basically Brandon–the Valley’s first late night talk show. Up until recently it could be found on CentralValleyTalk online. However, recently the show moved to TV and KRL had the chance to talk with host Brandon Delsid about this exciting move. Hopefully after this interview, if you have never watched Basically Brandon before, you will check out this fun local talk show for yourself! And if you are already a fan–be sure and catch their new episodes!

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The Circle Of Life: An Animal Rescue Adventure

FROM THE May 18 ISSUE

IN THE Joyce Brandon SECTION

by Joyce Brandon


Rescue is really nothing more than a mirror of life. Birth, growth and death, victory and defeat, are all a part of the cycle. If you rescue animals long enough you will experience all the different phases. It is the “Circle of Life” to use a phrase made famous by Disney’s Lion King.

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Baconery Cafe

FROM THE May 18 ISSUE

IN THE Alicia Lieu SECTION

by Alicia Lieu


Bacon has become quite the trend over the past couple of years. I’ve seen bacon flavored candy and mints, bacon shaped throw pillows, T-shirts with all kinds of bacon sayings, and even bacon perfume. Historically bacon has been a flavoring agent in many cuisines before it became a popular stand alone breakfast food and topping for burgers and baked potatoes. Now bacon has come into its own as a leading role.

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Night Terrors: A Daniel Rinaldi Mystery By Dennis Palumbo: Review/Giveaway/Event

FROM THE May 18 ISSUE

IN THE Cynthia Chow SECTION

by Cynthia Chow


Maybe Freud had it right. It’s all about the mothers. In Dennis Palumbo’s third mystery featuring Pittsburgh psychologist Daniel Rinaldi, the acerbic but still hopeful PSTD specialist finds himself enlisted in two cases, due to his reputation and featured presence in the media stemming from several recent brutal events. After Wesley Currim confesses to the robbery and murder of the missing businessman, Edward Meachem, Currim agrees to reveal the location of the body only if Rinaldi, the psychologist Currim has seen on television, accompanies them to West Virginia to deal with his “trauma.”

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The Final Blab by DJ Reimer–RHS Happenings As the School Year Comes To An End

FROM THE May 18 ISSUE

IN THE DJ Reimer SECTION

by D.J. Reimer




My final prom took place on April 27 at the Grand Hotel in Fresno. This years’ prom saw one of the greatest ticket sales in RHS history (over 500). The theme was Lucky 13 and the luxurious hotel was decorated with red and black and included a comfortable upstairs region with poker tables and photographs. The dance floor was crowded, exactly as it should be! I was nominated for prom king and I was crowned king alongside my close friend Avery Perez! We danced a lovely dance serenaded by Joseph Ham singing a Sinatra song, and the 500 plus students seemed completely satisfied. Mission accomplished.

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Duke’s Story: A Therapy Dog Story

FROM THE May 18 ISSUE

IN THE Lee Juslin SECTION

by Lee Juslin



When Shiloh decided to get a dog, her first dog, she took all the right steps. She went to a breeder with a reputation in the breed and selected a puppy. When the puppy seemed to have recurring tummy problems, she immediately took him to a vet. And, when that vet couldn’t diagnose the problem to her satisfaction, she went to another vet. It took several vet visits before she found one who could get to the bottom of the problem. Duke, her Rottweiler puppy, her first dog ever, had Irritable Bowel Syndrome and an undersized liver, conditions the vet told her were inherited.

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The Smart Guys Marching Society, Ghost Whistle: Mystery Short Story

FROM THE May 18 ISSUE

IN THE Mysteryrat's Maze SECTION

by Dennis Palumbo



“Do any of you guys believe in ghosts?” Fred asked, nursing his second Jack Daniels on the rocks. He stood at the small wet-bar in a corner of my game room.
“Define your terms,” Mark said. “You mean actual ghosts? Apparitions of the dead that haunt the living? Like Casper. Or Keith Richards?”

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Marlowe meets Mission Impossible: Good guys, bad guys, and technology in the modern crime thriller

FROM THE May 18 ISSUE

IN THE Mysteryrat's Maze SECTION

by Christopher J. Lynch


“The killer crept slowly through the bushes towards his target. Through the windows of the house he could see lights blazing inside, indicating the victim was home. He wanted to make sure that there was no way a call for help could go out. When he reached the back of the house, he took his cutters and snipped the phone line.”

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Braced For Murder By Sue Owens Wright: Book Review/Basset Hounds/Giveaway

FROM THE May 18 ISSUE

IN THE Cynthia Chow SECTION

by Cynthia Chow
& Sue Owens Wright


A freelance reporter for the Tahoe Tattler and full-time advocate for basset hounds, Elsie “Beanie” MacBean finds herself unable to be objective when covering the story of Lakeside Animal Shelter and its inhumane conditions. Her empathy also prevents her from ignoring an unadopted “problem” basset hound named Calamity who more than lives up to her name but whose imminent death sentence has Beanie taking on the adorable hound and her less than attractive talents of destruction.

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Immanuel Schools: Paving the Way for Technology

FROM THE May 18 ISSUE

IN THE Everything Education SECTION

by Lauren Tashjian


Immanuel Junior High and High School are headed into the future of technology. The school will be starting the one-to-one iPad program for the 2013-2014 school year. This program will include grades seven through 12. Although it requires an enormous amount of planning, Principal Ryan Wood seems up for the task.

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47th Annual Kingsburg Swedish Festival Begins Tomorrow!

FROM THE May 15 ISSUE

IN THE Downtown Doings SECTION

by Lorie Lewis Ham


One of the biggest events of the year in Kingsburg, The Swedish Festival, begins tomorrow. It runs May 16, 17 and 18.
The Festival began in 1924 when a group of women from the Concordia Lutheran Church presented a mid-summer festival for residents of the Concordia Home, a retirement home located near the present Kingsburg Hospital.

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The Great Gatsby: Movie Review

FROM THE May 14 ISSUE

IN THE Jessica Ham SECTION

by Jessica Ham




The Great Gatsby has been my favorite book for years. It is beautiful and tragic and inspires you to experience life on a bigger scale. This book means the world to me so I was very nervous about seeing Baz Luhrmann’s adaptation of it. I was worried it would be too flashy or the meaning of the book would get lost somehow. But, I was pleasantly surprised.

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The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald: Book Review

FROM THE May 13 ISSUE

IN THE Every Other Book SECTION

by Jessica Ham




The Great Gatsby is a book that almost every high school student has had to read. Most of the time students hate the books they are forced to read in school, but I can guarantee you that The Great Gatsby is not one of them. I read it my junior year of high school and although I knew nothing about it, the description sounded intriguing. I got a couple pages in and I was hooked.

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← Previous Entries

  • Arts & Entertainment

  • Downtown Doings

  • Everything Education

  • Food Fun

  • Helping Hands

  • Hometown History

  • KRL Reviewers & Tales

  • Pet Perspective

  • Teen Talk

  • Terrific Tales