“My problem is I’m too diversified,” smiled Dutch native Jan Jaspers-Fayer. Eighty-six years young, Jaspers-Fayer still creates, still exhibits and is still interested — in everything. From bronze-cast sculptures to pencil drawings to anything in glass, Jan finds something that catches his eye and sparks his interest. His palette ranges from charcoal grays to brilliant…

When Idyllwild Cinema-Fest Chairman Phil Calderone added a new “Amateur” submission category, he did not expect it to yield one of this season’s major festival surprises — a probing and provocative feature with script values usually not found in amateur films.

Gov. Jerry Brown’s budget proposal for fiscal year 2017-18, which starts on July 1, is prudent. The General Fund expenditures are $122.5 billion, $240 million less than the current-year budget. In his press conference, Brown stressed the states vulnerability to gyrating income tax revenue and possible major shifts in availability of federal funds. The dark…