The cost of an ambulance trip to a local hospital will increase next year. In order to maintain current services, Idyllwild Fire Chief Patrick Reitz last week offered a proposed 2015-16 budget (which begins July 1) to the district’s Finance Committee that would raise the cost of a trip to $1,405 from the current level…

Friends of The Idyllwild Library hosted Cahuilla and Serrano elder and ceremonial leader Kim Marcus for a sharing on February 25th. Kim is an enrolled member of the Santa Rosa Band of Cahuilla Indians. The word Cahuilla means master or powerful ones. As ceremonial leader, Kim preserves ancient rituals, and customs, and together with his…

Chief Hewitt was born and raised in Southern California. Within two weeks of his graduation from Duarte High School in Los Angeles County, near the San Gabriel Mountains, Hewitt was on the Oak Grove Hot Shots team. That was the first step in his career goal of becoming a firefighter. From the age of 5 or 6, Hewitt knew that is what he wanted to become.