Hemet Unified School District trustees had some good news and bad news about the district’s financial condition at last week’s board meeting. Vince Christakos, Assistant Superintendent for business services, reported the projected deficit for this fiscal year (ending June 30) is $2 million. The district’s reserves will easily cover this amount. “We’re fine the rest…

The 2016 tax season is in full swing and Riverside County Community Action Partnership’s Volunteer Income Tax Preparation program is available to help qualifying residents file their taxes. The free tax-preparation services are provided by IRS-certified tax preparers and are available to anyone with a total household income below $60,000. Based on an individual’s earnings…

The strongest El Niño weather pattern since the late 1990s never truly brought its predicted rain torrents to Southern California. During the winter months, when the region was expected to be dealing with flood emergencies and mudslides, an unusual high-pressure system pushed the storms further north. According to Alex Tardy of the National Weather Service’s…

The Riverside County Board of Supervisors approved a $4.7 billion budget for fiscal year 2013-14, which begins July 1. However, only $630 million represents funds which the board had discretion to allocate. This year, County Executive Jay Orr projects discretionary county revenue will grow by $17 million, to $586 million, the first revenue boost since…

Riverside County’s balanced budgets for 2012-13 and next fiscal year are in jeopardy, according to County Executive Jay Orr. In a mid-year budget report to the board of supervisors, Orr wrote, “Several issues burdened by multi-million deficits or unexpected costs threaten that delicate balance and make next year’s budget a challenge.” Among those issues are…