The hours of operation for the Idyllwild Grinding Facility will change soon. Although summer hours, including Saturdays, were to begin on May 2, the Riverside County Waste Management Department has recommended that its operation be cut back to two days per week — Tuesday and Saturday. In 2014, its average usage declined to 69 tons…

Riverside County has issued a warning of possible scattered heavy rain in the Cranston Fire area. Residents and travelers should be careful and cautious this afternoon and through Friday, Aug. 17. At 3:40 p.m., the National Weather Service reported the heaviest rainfall had occurred near Highway 74 in the Garner Valley area, or about 5…

Residents who are customers of Idyllwild and Fern Valley water districts do not need to boil their water following the Mountain Fire. Both districts treat the water before it enters the distribution system. Further, IWD’s water comes from wells, not streams, therefore is free of ash and other debris. Fern Valley does divert some water,…

On Monday Feb. 9, former Idyllwild Fire Capt. James Reyes filed a wrongful termination of employment suit in the Riverside County Superior Court against the Idyllwild Fire Protection District. IFPD Chief Patrick Reitz gave Reyes a notice of termination on July 19, 2014, after nearly six months of paid administrative leave. Reitz ascribed his decision…

Last week, Robert Davis was chosen to fill the Hemet Unified School District board’s vacancy, which occurred when former Trustee Joe Wojcik resigned in August. Davis was chosen 4-2 to complete the remainder of Wojcik’s term that ends December 2018. Ten other individuals submitted interest in the seat, although not all came to the Tuesday,…