The Mountain Emergency Services Committee monthly meeting last Thursday featured Jim Cook, Cal Fire retired battalion chief and current president and chief chaplain of the California Fire Chaplain Association. His topic was “Disaster Psychology.” Although Cook’s talk was framed as training for Community Emergency Response Team volunteers, there were topics and discussion points that could…

On May 19, the plaintiffs challenging Riverside County’s supervisorial maps submitted a request to the Superior Court to prohibit using the maps approved in December 2021 depicting the five county supervisor districts. These supervisorial districts were used for the 2022 elections. In the 2024 elections, voters will be selecting supervisors for the 1st, 2nd, and…

By Caltrans The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) is pleased to announce that Highway 243 will reopen today [Nov. 1] by 6 p.m. between Interstate 10 [Banning] and Idyllwild. The route has been closed since Feb. 14 due to catastrophic damage during a historical storm. Highway 243 was repaved during the emergency closure with a…