Layoffs versus salary reductions were the two sides of a debate between two Riverside County supervisors during the Board of Supervisors’ discussion of the 2011-12 budget. “It’s the worst budget and the county’s strategy has not yielded results. We’re headed toward a lot of layoffs,” Board Chair Bob Buster (1st District) warned his colleagues. Later,…

Dr. Raul Ruiz was sworn into office as a member of the 113th Congress, representing California’s 36th District, which includes Idyllwild. He has announced his principal staff members and his main office in the district. Kyle Layman will serve as his chief of staff. He was Ruiz’s 2012 campaign manager. Layman is a native of…

Filing for trustee positions in the November election for the Hemet Unified School District remained open until Thursday, Aug. 16. Incumbent Charlotte Jones decided not to seek re-election. At the Friday deadline, four candidates had submitted papers indicating their intention to seek one of the three trustee seats up for election. Incumbents Marilyn Forst and…

Proposition 52, “State Fees on Hospitals. Federal Medi-Cal Matching Funds. Initiative Statutory and Constitutional Amendment,” is fairly straightforward in its objectives but a bit complicated in its verbiage. Simply put, it aims to prevent the 2018 expiration of an existing hospital fee that helps fund Medi-Cal health care to low-income Californians, seniors, children and adults…