Being a 6-foot-tall green dog called Thunder with a red nose and floppy ears is funny enough. But when Thunder, the Lake Elsinore Storm’s mascot, misbehaved throughout a presentation for Idyllwild School elementary students, despite the best efforts of his handlers to stick to the script — repeatedly scratching his ample posterior, brushing under his…

Jazz aficionados will mark their summer calendar for the 23rd-annual Jazz in the Pines, which is Aug. 19 to 21. Many favorites, such as Casey Abrams, Chuck Alvarez, Graham Dechter, Yve Evans, Lisa Haley, Greg Jones and Harry Pickens, will return and perform over the weekend. Two important jazz figures also will return to the…