Ideas germinate from needs, wants and wishes. In 2009, Dawn Sonnier and her family visited Santa Barbara where they discovered a publicly accessible playground. As a mother of three she was thrilled to see how her children enjoyed the facility.

The Idyllwild Fire Protection District Personnel Committee met with negotiators from the Idyllwild Career Firefighters Association last week. Before entering a closed session during the Dec. 5 committee meeting, Commissioner Jerry Buchanan announced that the subjects were the new California Public Employees Retirement System rules and overtime. The CalPERS issue was a continuation of the…

Four local Riverside Mountain Rescue Unit (RMRU) volunteers assisted in the rescue of an injured bicyclist in the area of Fuel Break Road in Idyllwild. RMRU member Lee Arnson said his unit was called out around 9 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 14 and reported to the area behind Idyllwild Arts. “He crashed and went over…

In addition to routine fiscal matters, the Idyllwild Fire Protection District commission appointed Christy Slattery as its new Emergency Medical Services coordinator at last week’s meeting. The coordinator provides clinical oversight, training and representation of the department with the county Emergency Medical Services Agency. The contract pays the coordinator $60 per hour, up to 25…

Presidential elections like the one held Tuesday bring to light the changing political divisions that shape the electorate. While the state of California is perennially and reliably “blue,” with Democrats outnumbering Republicans by two to one, Riverside County has been majority Republican at least since the state’s online registration records went online in 1999. That…