While drought conditions still overlay most of Riverside County, the past four weeks have taken a toll on the dry weather. This weekend more than a foot of snow fell on the Hill and some more is expected this week. This is in contrast with the warm weather at the end of February, when Idyllwild…
On March 1, President Donald Trump signed two more Executive Orders. One is intended to increase timber production on the forested lands of the U.S. Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management. Its purposes are to increase timber production and to improve land management. The EO specifies a schedule of actions, with which both…
Six months, after Planning Director John Hildebrand gave the Board of Supervisors a six-month report on the implementation of revised Ordinance 927.2, “Regulating Short-Term Rentals,” he is now asking for an urgent interim ordinance. This time neither the Hill communities nor the Wine Country are responsible or involved. Hildebrand requested a 45-day temporary moratorium on…
Editor’s Note: in our Feb. 27 edition, we reported on the status of Raymond Lee Oyler’s appeals of his March 2009 arson and murder convictions. He was found guilty of arson, igniting the Esperanza Fire in October 2006. The jury also found him guilty of the murder of five U,S. Forest Service firefighters who died…
On Feb. 24, local Assemblyman Greg Wallis introduced Assembly Concurrent Resolution 37 to honor three Cal Fire firefighters, Cal Fire Assistant Chief Josh Bischof, Cal Fire Captain Tim Rodriguez and helicopter pilot Tony Sousa, who all died in a 2023 helicopter crash. Bischof was an Idyllwild native. Joining Wallis in developing and introducing ACR 37…
In January, less than three years since joining the Fern Valley Water District Board of Directors in June 2022, Kevin Scott was elected Board President. Scott, 36, grew up in Orange County and is a graduate of California State University, Fullerton. He and his wife, Nadia, lived in Orange County until 2020. Both are avid…
Last week, the State’s Assembly Republicans introduced an array of legislation to address the cost of gasoline and utility rates and to provide much-needed relief to working families. Local Assemblyman Gregg Wallis is the author of several bills in the package. “For years, Californians have been struggling under the weight of high taxes and skyrocketing…
On Feb. 23, Governor Gavin Newsom announced the launch of an innovative program, “Engaged California,” designed to obtain views and ideas from state residents that will improve state programs or create needed new programs. Using technology, Newsom hopes to “bring Californians together to engage, interact, and share ideas to help shape government services and collectively…
At its Feb. 28 meeting, the Riverside County Board of Supervisors reviewed the status of its current Fiscal Year 2024-25 budget. At the middle of the fiscal year (which started July 1), the County Executive Officer, Jeff Van Wagenen, reported, “Overall discretionary revenue was increasing, as of now the contingency is holding, and the bottom-line…
n Feb. 20, the California Air Resources Board announced that the Office of Administrative Law had disapproved the proposed amendments to the Low Carbon Fuel Standard Regulation, which the CARB had approved in early November. While the Board’s vote was 12-2, this was a controversial decision. The OAL letter to the CARB indicated two reasons…
