Oct. 13, 2023, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill 446. Now cursive writing or joined italics will be included as part of the educational program for grades one through six. Although it was never formally dropped, writing instruction, particularly for cursive, waned as the use of laptop computers and tablets grew within the school environment….
At its first meeting in 2024, on Jan. 9, the Riverside County Board of Supervisors elected new officers for the year. 3rd District Supervisor Chuck Washington is the board’s chair for 2024 and 4th District Supervisor V. Manuel Perez is the new vice chair. He served as chair during 2020. Washington last served as chair…
Gov. Gavin Newsom released his proposed fiscal year (FY) 2024-25 budget last week. Total expenditures will be nearly $291 billion, of which $208.7 billion will be the General Fund accounts. This is about $22.2 billion less than is available for the current fiscal year, which ends June 30. Throughout his news conference, Newsom stressed that…
Another lawsuit has been filed against Riverside County, the County’s Sheriff’s Department (RCSD) and Sheriff Chad Bianco over an in-custody death in the county’s jail. On April 28, 2022, Alicia Upton, 21, of San Jacinto, hung herself while in-custody at the Robert Presley Detention Center in Riverside. On Dec. 31, 2023, her parents filed a…
The 2024 election season started in 2023. Before the Secretary of State could print the voter information guides for the March Primary, Matt Dobler, chair for the Republican Party of Riverside County, challenged Democratic candidate Will Rollin’s description of his profession on the ballot, which has to be three words or less, according to state…
The last session of the California Legislature ended in September and Gov. Gavin Newsom signed hundreds of bills the Legislature had passed into law. Many new laws went into effect Jan. 1, 2024, and some are effective later in 2024, such as in April, June or July. Most of these were enacted and signed in…
After more than 20 years with the Riverside County Registrar of Voters Office, Art Tinoco is now the registrar. “I’m a public servant at heart,” he said with pride. “My commitment lies in fostering processes founded on integrity and accuracy, ensuring every step from inception to completion aligns with these core values.” He was born…
The Riverside County Board of Supervisors has approved some major changes to its Ordinance 927.2, “Regulating Short Term Rentals” (STRs). Some of those changes include caps or limits on the number of STRs in Idyllwild (and Pine Cove) and the Wine Country. Also, there will be a minimum distance required between future new STRs. The…
In May, the Legislative Analyst’s Office (LAO) expressed pessimism about the state’s revenue projections for fiscal year (FY) 2023-24. And this month, Legislative Analyst Gabriel Petek confirmed that the state “faces a serious deficit” approaching $68 billion. The state’s revenue was affected by several different economic conditions and problems. As inflation grew in late 2021…
On March 5, 2024, California will hold its presidential primary. But many other offices also will be on the ballot that day. Many of these are for state or local positions such as the county’s board of education and supervisor. The most obviously local position is the vacant seat on the Idyllwild Water District Board…
