Jeffrey A. Van Wagenen Jr. was unanimously selected to be the new Riverside County Executive Officer (CEO) in a special closed session meeting last week. Van Wagenen replaces George Johnson, who retired in December. Juan C. Perez served as the interim CEO. The board of supervisors was to approve the employment contract and compensation package…

Greater Idyllwild residents can vote in the Hemet Unified School District Trustee Area 2 election even though the winner will not represent them, unless they have children attending schools in Trustee Area 2. Running in Trustee Area 2, which covers schools in Aguanga, Pinyon and the Garner and Anza valleys, are former teacher and current…

Much of last week’s Idyllwild Fire Protection District (IFPD) Commission meeting was devoted to a discussion of wildfire readiness, evacuation planning, and emergency alerts. The issue of emergency planning was also a topic at the Riverside County’s Board of Supervisors’ July 23 meeting, the same day as IFPD’s meeting. (See accompanying story on page A3.)…