

Living Free holds community meeting
By
Ed O’Rourke (back to camera), chair of the Living Free Board of Directors, addresses a gathering of volunteers, staff and residents at a “Town Hall” gathering Saturday morning to discuss the new efforts to rebuild and rebrand the sanctuary. The new leadership reports that more pets were adopted out in 2014 than in the entire 30-year history of the organization. At the current rate of adoptions, this may reach 300 pets for 2015.

The Local Review Board for the Idyllwild Historic Preservation District last week discussed the work being done at 54200 N. Circle Drive (the front building of the Village Lane arcade). The property is a contributing resource within the district’s boundaries, according to the original historic property survey of September 2009. Possible changes were briefly discussed…
The Office of the State Fire Marshall (SFM) has prepared a new set of fire hazard severity maps for the state. Beginning next month, public hearings will occur throughout California to explain the maps’ purpose and the areas identified as potentially hazardous. The Public Resource Code has the SFM classify lands within state responsibility areas…
A quarter-acre brush fire started early Saturday evening near Lake Hemet. In less than two hours after it was reported at 7:08 p.m., the fire was controlled, according to Tawny Cabral, public safety information specialist for Cal Fire and the Riverside County Fire Department. No U.S. Forest Service engines were needed to control this blaze.
Editor’s Note: This article introduces Mike Hestrin with some biographical data and general reasons why he says he is in the Riverside County district attorney race. A subsequent article will present both Hestrin’s and opponent Zellerbach’s answers to questions drawn up by News Editor J.P. Crumrine and Correspondent Marshall Smith. Hestrin, 15-year prosecutor with the…
Bright green new foliage has begun to carpet land ravaged one year ago by the Mountain Fire …
On June 30, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed the legislation enacting the fiscal 2022-2023 budget. The total state budget exceeds $300 billion, of which $234.4 billion is the General Fund. Submitted in January, Newsom’s initial proposed budget was for $286.5 million. With the nation’s economic future still uncertain, the final budget includes $37.1 billion for reserves….