

HELP Center recognized for serving seniors
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Idyllwild HELP Center President Lou Bacher, left, holds the Community Focal Point Award presented by Gloria Sanchez, right, chair of the Advisory Council of the Riverside County Office on Aging, during a ceremony held at Silver Pines Lodge on Thursday, Oct. 6.


At the Feb. 9 felony settlement conference for Neil Cooper, his attorney requested that the court transfer his case to the mental health court. The Riverside County District Attorney’s office did not object. A hearing on his request was set for Tuesday, Feb. 28. The Idyllwild resident was arrested on Jan. 6, and subsequently charged…
Foster Lake remains empty, reported Idyllwild Water District General Manager Tom Lynch. While some rain fell during December, “… most of the puddles are gone and we’re left with mud,” he told the directors at the district’s Jan. 21 meeting. “The recent rain has done little to impact our water condition.” Groundwater level for the…
The Idyllwild Skate Park, owned and operated by the Idyllwild Community Center (ICC), was built in 2001 and underwent minor repairs in 2015. As a facility that serves locals and tourists, the skate park has undergone heavy usage, and has suffered significant weather deterioration due to Idyllwild winters over its 20-plus-year life span, leaving the…
An Idyllwild business owner reported a phone scam that attempts to swindle money from unknowing victims. The business owner received a phone call Thursday morning from a person claiming to work for Southern California Edison. The caller said that unless the business owner provided a credit card number and authorized payment of a larger-than-your-typical-SCE-bill sum…
Former Idyllwild Water District legal counsel Joe Aklufi was arrested Tuesday, May 17, along with six other former Beaumont city officials. Riverside County District Attorney Mike Hestrin filed charges against all seven former city officials for public corruption. Specifically, Aklufi, the former Beaumont city attorney, was charged with six counts of embezzlement. He is currently…
The Mountain Area Safety Taskforce’s March meeting provided updates from the agencies responsible for protecting our mountain communities from catastrophic wildfires. Representatives from CalFire, Idyllwild Fire, US Forest Service, Riverside Sheriff’s Office, and the County Emergency Management Department gave briefings, as did the Executive Director of Mountain Communities Fire Safe Council (MCFSC), the nonprofit organization…