Mary Morse, Idyllwild’s Spirit Mountain Retreat executive director and Hemet’s Human Relations Council president, is the 2016 Civil Rights Champion for Justice, an annual honor bestowed by the Fair Housing Council of Riverside County Inc. Morse has been a dedicated pioneer for social justice in the Hemet Valley for many years, as president of the…

The donor of the Idyllwild Community Center land doubled his matching contribution to the Idyllwild playground project from $25,000 to $50,000, according to playground advocate and leading fundraiser Dawn Sonnier. She sought additional assistance from the donor because a 15 by 15 foot covered pavilion was not provided for in the original plan and budget….

U.S. Forest Service firefighters were dispatched to the Idyllwild Arts campus Monday afternoon after reports of a fire. The vegetation fire, called the Apela Fire, was located about 100 yards up slope from the Grotto. It was contained to an 8-foot spot and extinguished quickly. Fire investigators were speaking to a group of three Pacific…