At the November 12th meeting of the Board of Commissioners of Idyllwild Fire Protection District, Chief Mark Lamont’s Report noted invoicing of Mutual Aid calls over $3.6 million for 2024, not including participation in the Mountain Fire in Ventura County. In 2020 mutual aid calls amounted to $500 thousand, and this year is well above…
Riverside County Sheriff’s Office confirmed that their Special Enforcement Bureau arrested 38-year-old William Altpeter in Idyllwild on Thursday November 14. Long Beach Police, in a press release, reported that Altpeter has been booked for murder, suspected in the November 1 murder of a 72-year-old Long Beach man in the 4700 Block of Greenmeadow Road. The…
A leak from a propane delivery truck in Pine Cove on Saturday, November 2, resulted in evacuation and shelter in place orders for residents on two streets. An evacuation center was set up in the office of Pine Cove Water District. CalFire Public Information Officer Maggie Cline De La Rosa provided these details: The leak…
Update: Event Postponed Due to Weather The Idyllwild Community Block Party, initially scheduled for Friday, November 15, 2024, has been postponed due to freezing temperatures and potential snow. Organizers, including Supervisor Perez’s office, are coordinating to reschedule the event. See the full announcement below for more details. Supervisor V. Manuel Perez’s office is planning an…
Mountain Disaster Preparedness (MDP) held a Preparedness EXPO in Town Hall on Thursday November 7. The theme of the event was “Hope for the best, prepare for the worst…are you ready?”. MDP is a 501(c)3 nonprofit that organizes our community to prepare for and respond to all forms of disaster. Attendees were invited to visit…
Visitors to Oakwood Village will note a new shop at the very end of the parking area, the tiny building that is home to Jeffrey Parish’s “Artifacts.” He calls the place “my personality in a box,” and the carefully curated mix of curiosities from around the world and his own creations is the fruit of…
Sophia Dean has been Executive Director at Living Free for a little over a year, during which time she has overseen growth and renewal, reflected in rebranding and a new logo, once again incorporating a horse. In a letter to supporters Dean wrote “The horse had been part of our original 1980’s logo, but removed…
An Idyllwild teen who is a senior at Hemet High won first prize at Hemet Theater’s first ever “Star Factor” contest on Saturday September 28. Cameron Gage, who performed a routine on his scooter, was among 10 acts chosen as finalists, including magicians, musicians, and a balloon artist. The first prized was $1,500. Gage has…
I first came to Idyllwild in 1976, when I was 13. My mother and stepfather, Jean and Jim McEwan, left their Orange County jobs as RN and aerospace engineer to try their hands as innkeepers. They bought the Blue Bird Motel, which at that time encompassed both sides of 243, 26 units. I cleaned rooms…
A big rig accident on highway 74, on Thursday morning, October 31, resulted in a fatality. The accident happened near mile marker 88, at the top of the switchbacks above Palm Desert. According to Officer Johnathon Torres of the CHP, at approximately 7:38 a.m. a westbound Peterbilt dump truck pulling a two-axle trailer, both full…
