Bill Lowman explained that building excellence in each of the academy’s arts discipline required spending more money. “If I bring in an oboe player to better the orchestra, I need to spend more to ensure that player’s growth and development for that instrument,” he explained. “We would not have become who we are if we had not lived beyond our means [in the early years].”

Idyllwild Property Owners Association, once a thriving community club, now serves the purpose of giving “the little guy a voice,” by getting discounts for its members from five different propane companies, and making anonymous donations to community causes, said its only board member, Trish Seward, acting member chair. Seaward said she has repeatedly tried to…

The 30th annual Palm Springs Aerial Tram Road Challenge will start 7 a.m., Saturday, Oct. 24. This 6K run/walk begins at the bottom of Tram Way and ends at the tram’s Valley Station, an elevation gain of 2,643 feet in just 3.7 miles. Special anniversary finishers’ medals will be presented to all participants along with…

Even with heavy weekend rains, Hill roads were relatively free of traffic collisions. Even so, the two incidents reported by California Highway Patrol produced injuries. At about 5:40 p.m. Friday July 17, on Apple Canyon Road, within Hurkey Creek Park, a bicyclist, Val Ebreo, 12, of Indio ran into a pedestrian, his 10-year-old brother Nicholas,…