Brian-Glad to see you checked Ontario airport. It is convenient to Palm Springs but true that there are very few non-stop into Otario especially from back East.

Tomsd is right about not stressing about LA traffic because there is nothing you can do about it any. I am a rep who lives in San Diego county and cover all of Southern CA. I am in LA a couple times a week. Usually by 3:30 traffic is pretty bad especially heading east. I think I said the best window is between 10:30 to 1:30. Traffic heading east should be lighter starting around 9:30 am but I often see it building up heavy by 2pm. I would guess since you're coming in from the East Coast you'll arrive pretty early with the time difference. So you should be OK.

AM1070 is a good one for traffic reports, they give them every 5 minutes.

I appreciate the responses. I'll probably book a flight within the next few days.