Last week, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed several bills into law. Consumers, workers and voters are the beneficiaries of Newsom’s and the Legislature’s actions. Consumers First among these new laws is Senate Bill (SB) 478, which takes effect July 1, 2024. This legislation makes it an unlawful business practice to advertise, display or offer a price…
On Sept. 27, the Wildland Fire Mitigation and Management Commission released its 340-page report. It included 148 recommendations to the administration as well Congress and state, local and tribal governments. Background The commission was authorized as part of the 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. It directed the secretaries of Agriculture, Interior and Homeland Security to establish…
At the Sept. 12 Riverside County Board of Supervisors’ meeting, Registrar of Voters Rebecca Spencer was placed on paid administrative leave from her position. The supervisors met in closed session for a “Public Employee Performance Evaluation/Title: Registrar of Voters.” “The County of Riverside accepted Rebecca Spencer’s resignation from her position as the Registrar of Voters…
California has taken extensive steps to combat organized retail theft. This is a more serious and costly crime than shoplifting or employee theft. Two years ago, Gov. Gavin Newsom released his Real Public Safety Plan, which included $255 million in grants to local law enforcement to combat the growing specter of organized retail theft (ORT)….
The Sept. 22 meeting of the Fern Valley Water District’s (FVWD) Board of Directors was brief with no specific actions on the agenda. Directors reviewed the financial status and discussed water meter problems. Expenses were high in August. But that was due to the first payment to El-Co of $245,000 for the pipeline project in…
By JP Crumrine Correspondent Riverside County Registrar of Voters Rebecca Spencer has been placed on paid administrative leave from her position. At the Tuesday, Sept. 12 board meeting, the supervisors met in closed session for a “Public Employee Performance Evaluation/Title: Registrar of Voters.” On Wednesday, Spencer’s administrative leave was revealed in a story from the…
By JP Crumrine Correspondent At its Sept. 12 meeting, the Riverside County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved an initial three-year contract with TELE911 that will allow the county’s emergency response agencies real-time telemedicine evaluation. Several months ago, in response to a county jury report on hospital transfer time, the county Emergency Medical Services Agency (EMS)…
Until the public restrooms planned for North Circle Drive in front of the Mile Hi Plaza are completed, 4th District Supervisor V. Manuel Perez and Riverside County have arranged for restrooms in the Fort to be available temporarily to the public. At their Sept. 12 board meeting, the supervisors unanimously approved allocating $25,000 for operating…
The litigation filed against Riverside County opposing its December 2021 redistricting of the five supervisorial seats has been settled and no changes to the current boundaries of the supervisorial districts will occur. Thursday, Sept. 14, Yaoska Machado, senior public information specialist for the county, provided the following statement, “The County has entered into a settlement…
Beginning Sunday, Oct. 1, vehicular access to Humber Park will be restricted to hikers coming down Devil’s Slide Trail or coming from town along the Ernie Maxwell Trail. Since last month, Riverside County has been doing major road work, including reconstruction and repaving, on several roads in Idyllwild. This includes Fern Valley Road, the only…
