Riverside County Sheriff’s Department investigators with the Narcotics Task Force eradicated about 1,800 marijuana plants Sgt. Joe Pemberton said Friday morning. The plants were discovered growing west of Lake Hemet, near the dam.   Investigator Ken Thrum led the eradication. He said it was a small grow, compared to most, and that it was…

Last week the Crier took a tour of Idyllwild Water District’s (IWD) wastewater treatment plant, in service since 1970. IWD recently approved a five-year program of rate increases to pay for a replacement for the facility, at a projected cost of over $7 million. Funding also is being sought from the state to lift some…

The performance of Idyllwild School students on the state’s Standardized Testing and Reporting program improved again in 2012. For the fifth consecutive year, Idyllwild students have demonstrated progress in English and mathematics. This year nearly 80 percent of the school’s students earned either proficient or advanced scores in Language Arts. Another 16 percent were basic,…

The County Executive Officer (CEO) Jeff Van Wagenen decided that former Public Health Officer Dr. Cameron Kaiser would no longer be employed by the county last Tuesday morning.“I want to thank Dr. Kaiser for his tireless work throughout this pandemic in service to our residents, communities, county agencies, cities, school districts and many other groups,”…

On Nov. 17, Riverside County Executive Officer Jay Orr presented to the Board of Supervisors the condition of the county’s budget for fiscal 2015-16 after the first quarter ended Sept. 30. While he said this year’s budget was on target for both expenses and revenue, the future is treacherous. Projected increases, some known and some…