“Some people think lilacs are just an Eastern thing,” said Gary Parton, Idyllwild’s lilac patron. But even though most longstanding lilac festivals are in the Eastern and Midwestern U.S., Parton and his new committee want to establish Idyllwild as a nationally known lilac town. This year, beginning at 10:30 a.m. Saturday, May 2, the Idyllwild…

Opal Singleton knows the dangers of trafficking of young people both in the United States and in third-world countries. And the recruitment methods are not that dissimilar, regardless of first- or third-world location.  “A lot of recruitment has to do with gangs,” said Singleton, noting that the ubiquity of smart phones and the Internet makes…