The last session of the California Legislature ended in September and Gov. Gavin Newsom had the option to sign into law more than 1,160 bills the Legislature had passed. By Oct. 2, he had signed 997 and vetoed 163. Below is a brief summary of the new laws that Californians will have in 2023. Minimum…
Although the Metropolitan Water District recently declared a “Regional Drought Emergency for all of Southern California,” Hill residents and visitors do not have to worry. While still in Stage 2 or 3 (conserve water usage), all three local water district — Fern Valley, Idyllwild (IWD) and Pine Cove — managers are comfortable with local resources…
The Office of the State Fire Marshall (SFM) has prepared a new set of fire hazard severity maps for the state. Beginning next month, public hearings will occur throughout California to explain the maps’ purpose and the areas identified as potentially hazardous. The Public Resource Code has the SFM classify lands within state responsibility areas…
Wildfire is a risk all Hill homeowners and residents must live with and accept. Living in the San Jacinto Mountains means knowing that there is a chance our home, our valuables, our keepsakes and possessions may be lost to a fire. Fire insurance is often available, not to protect us from the wildfire threat, but…
On Nov. 8, 2022, California voters approved Proposition 31, a referendum on the 2020 law that would prohibit the retail sale of certain flavored tobacco products. Less than three weeks later, attorneys for R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company, R.J. Reynolds Vapor Company and other Reynolds tobacco subsidiaries filed an emergency lawsuit in the U.S. Supreme Court…
Last week, the state took several steps to advance and to promote actions in an attempt to reverse climate change. Electric vehicles How will drivers power all those new electric vehicles that will be on California’s roads and highways in the next dozen years? In August, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) approved regulations to…
On Friday, Dec.2, Riverside County Registrar of Voters Rebecca Spencer certified the vote totals from the Nov. 8 gubernatorial election and the board of supervisors accepted the results at its Dec. 6 meeting. TurnoutIn Riverside County, about 46.1% of the 1.3 million registered voters cast a ballot in this election. The statewide turnout for the…
The five countywide elected officials — assessor/county clerk/recorder, auditor-controller, district attorney (DA), sheriff/coroner and treasurer/tax collector — had possible pay raises, between $35,000 and $60,000 annually, denied.At its Dec. 6 meeting, the Riverside County Board of Supervisors voted against raising the salaries of these five officials.The county’s Human Resources Department (HRD) submitted a proposal to…
As of Dec. 8, a month after the Nov. 8 election, Republican Greg Wallis has defeated Democrat Christy Holstege. But the race to represent California Assembly District (AD) 47 was extremely close. Wallis outpolled Holstege by a mere 85 votes out of nearly 170,000 ballots. The difference is 0.06%, less than one 10th of one…
The next step in the completion of an emergency alert and warning system for the Hill is a California Fire Safe Council award of $380,000 to the county’s Emergency Management Department (EMD). In its request for approval of the award from the Riverside County Board of Supervisors, EMD wrote, “This grant will assist in the…
