The race and campaign for Mayor of Idyllwild is heating up. The election (June 11 through June 13) is only days away. The competition is almost animal-like. Given the gravity of this election, the Town Crier has asked Monk to contact and sniff out the candidates. The winner will be inaugurated July 1.
Three questions were posed to each candidate and their manager. First, what experience does the candidate have leading the pack? Second, what is the candidate’s vision for Idyllwild should they win? And what is the candidate’s campaign slogan?

The Whole Being Weekend took place last Friday, Saturday and Sunday at Camp Buckhorn in Idyllwild. The annual tradition brings together people from all walks of life, people who look forward each year to a spiritual retreat, punctuated with entertainment, workshops and recreation.

Mark Votapek, assistant professor of cello at the University of Arizona, is an accomplished cellist with a distinguished resume. A graduate of Indiana University’s prestigious Jacobs School of Music and the New England Conservatory of Music, Votapek has served as associate principal cellist with the St. Louis Symphony, principal cellist with the Honolulu, Oregon and…