Layoffs versus salary reductions were the two sides of a debate between two Riverside County supervisors during the Board of Supervisors’ discussion of the 2011-12 budget. “It’s the worst budget and the county’s strategy has not yielded results. We’re headed toward a lot of layoffs,” Board Chair Bob Buster (1st District) warned his colleagues. Later,…

After more than 66,000 annual parcel inspections, the Riverside County Fire Department Hazard Reduction Office has issued about 9,500 Notices of Violation and Order to Abate to vacant-parcel owners within recurring targeted unincorporated areas in Riverside County. Supported by Riverside County Ordinance 695.4, those parcel owners that received a NOV are required to clear their…

At least temporarily, a federal judge has restricted the U.S. Forest Service’s Adventure Pass program. On April 28, Judge Terry Hatter of the U.S. District Court in the Central District of California, sided with four hikers who objected to paying for an Adventure Pass solely for parking. The judge ruled that the Forest Service can…

Despite the popular concept that national politics, especially in the hallways of the U.S. Congress, is clogged with the goo of partisanship, the U.S. Senate’s Committee on Energy and Natural Resources defies that image. Last week, the committee, led by Chair Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) and ranking member Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-WA), held a hearing on…