Caltrans maintenance crews will be clearing drains between the Old Control Road and Keen Camp Road along Highway 74 near Mountain Center today, Tuesday, Feb. 12. There will be one-way traffic control in the area. #Quickmap

Editor’s note: Each year, the Town Crier reports the information below for the three local water districts — Fern Valley, Idyllwild and Pine Cove — and the Idyllwild Fire Protection. The FVWD information appeared in the Feb. 1 issue. PCWD will appear next week followed by IFPD. Each district provides the information to the state…

Editor’s note: Riverside County Sheriff Stan Sniff met with the editorial and reporting staff of the Idyllwild Town Crier last week. Sheriff Stan Sniff acknowledged the crime rate has been creeping up throughout Riverside County. This is the principal reason he wants to protect his department’s funding and has urged the Board of Supervisors to…

Despite the relatively normal fall rainfall, the National Weather Service’s latest long-range forecast is pessimistic regarding a wet winter and the end of the five-year drought, which is expected to enter its sixth year next spring.  On Dec. 8, NWS issued its winter forecast that said, “Given the current conditions and the model forecasts, the…