Reform of wildfire insurance has been a high priority for stateofficials – both executive and legislative – for more than a year.Although the Legislature could not reach any compromises last fall, bothGov. Gavin Newsom and Insurance Commissioner Richardo Lara moved forwardwith administrative and regulatory actions. Lara’s goal for completing the changes necessary to improve the…
Earlier this month, some Pacific Crest Trail hikers were concerned aboutthe possibility of norovirus infecting other hikers going north. Whilesome posted their fears on Facebook, others contacted the Town Crier.One wrote that the outbreak was between Idyllwild and Big Bear Lake. No evidence of a norovirus outbreak in Riverside County or locally hasbeen identified. “Public…
All of the Hill communities reside within the 41^(st) U.S. CongressionalDistrict. Republican Ken Calvert, who represents CD 41, is serving his16^(th) Congressional term. In November 2022, he defeated Democratic rookie Will Rollins in one ofCalvert’s closest races, in which he captured just 52.4% of the votes. Both men will face off again in November. And…
Financial issues, primarily the draft fiscal year 2024-25 budget,dominated the May 16 meeting of the Fern Valley Water District’s Boardof Directors. The major budget item was about the District’s unfunded liability forretirement through the California Employers’ Pension Plan Trust Fund.Other items included the warrants, the General Manager’s Report, andwater consumption’s effect on District revenue. Draft…
Near the end of his revised budget presentation last week, Gov. GavinNewsom described two major legislative initiatives that hisadministration is preparing. One is an effort to limit the appropriation of expected higher revenueuntil it is collected and the State assured of its availability. This isintended to avoid expansive budgets which later need to be trimmedbecause…
At its May 21 meeting and again at the June 4 meeting, the County Boardof Supervisors will approve two ordinances raising their salaries andthose of the County’s other elected officials, e.g., the Sheriff and theCounty Auditor. “For most of these elected officials, these ordinances were lastaddressed in 2014,” County Executive Officer, Jeff Van Wagenen, wrote…
Last week, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced his May revision for the comingfiscal year (FY) budget. For FY 2024-25, beginning July 1, Newsom’srevised total expenditures, including federal, special and bond funds,will be nearly $288 billion, of which $201 billion will be for theGeneral Fund accounts. This is about $25 billion less than available forthe current FY,…
Thursday, May 9, the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC)unanimously approved a change in how large investor-owned utilities maybill for electricity in California. In late 2025, electric bills will be the total of a fixed or flat rateand a usage charge. Current bills are based on usage alone. The changeintroduces the separation of the electric bill…
The Fern Valley Water District (FVWD) Planning Committee, composed ofBoard Chair Jon Brown and Director Kevin Scott, met May 9 to develop thecapital improvement plan (CIP) for the draft fiscal year (FY) 2024-25budget. This will be submitted to both the Budget Committee May 13 andto the board of directors at its regular meeting May 16….
Last week, the state’s Department of Water Resources (DWR) announcedthat the state’s groundwater supplies were improving. Although moregroundwater is needed, the rain year 2023, which was October 2022through September 2023, resulted in significant increases in the state’sgroundwater inventory. Many of California’s urban areas rely on surface water, such as theColorado River project transferring water to…
