At its March 22 meeting, the Riverside County Board of Supervisors approved a request from the county fire department to purchase a dip-tank and a tilt-trailer to move it. Battalion Chief Robert Fish wrote in the justification to the board, “This will significantly improve response times for helicopter firefighting operations by reducing turn-around time for…
The Riverside County Planning Commission unanimously approved revisions to the site plan at Camp Ronald McDonald in Mountain Center. The site in Mountain Center has been used as a youth camp since the early 1950s. Camp Ronald McDonald for Good Times purchased the property in 1994. At its March 23 meeting, the commissioners heard from…
In California Sunday, March 20, the average price for a gallon of gasoline was $5.85, 37% higher than the national average. In Riverside County, it was $5.86 per gallon, but in other areas of California the price per gallon exceeded $6 per gallon and approached $6.50 in Mono County.While the Russian invasion of the Ukraine…
Editor’s note: Riverside County’s Planning Department has proposed major changes to Ordinance 927, “Regulating Short Term Rentals” (STRs). The draft is available for public comment. The March 10 edition of the Town Crier describes the significant differences between the current ordinance and the revised draft. The March 17 issue has a story discussing the draft…
Tuesday, March 15, the U.S. Senate approved “The Sunshine Protection Act of 2021” Florida Sen. Marco Rubio introduced last year. The bill would make daylight saving time (DST) permanent. Beginning in 2023, we would no longer have to remember which Sunday in March is “spring forward” or when we “fall back” in November. While we…
Friday, March 11, was the deadline to file and qualify as a candidate for elected office in California. For those offices with more than one qualified candidate, the June 7 primary election will determine either a winner or the two candidates who will compete on the November ballot.A winner is a candidate who garners more…
Riverside County’s Planning Department has proposed major changes to Ordinance 927, “Regulating Short Term Rentals” (STRs). The draft is available for public comment. (See the March 10 edition of the Town Crier for details on the proposed changes.) The existing ordinance was approved six years ago when STRs were raising hackles mostly in the county’s…
Riverside County Executive Officer Jeffrey Van Wagenen Jr. presented his midyear review of the fiscal (FY) 2021-22 budget to the board of supervisors at the March 1 meeting.Through the first six months of the FY, county spending has been consistent with initial projections and no unexpected or major problems have been identified.Consequently, the board found…
Last week, the Riverside County (RC) Planning Department released for public comment a revised draft of major changes to Ordinance 927, “Regulating Short Term Rentals” (STR). The current ordinance is five pages long. The revised draft is 17 pages, more than three times the length of the existing ordinance. Among the major changes to current…
Caltrans is in the early stages of planning significant work on Highway 243 from Mountain Center to Banning. Planning is underway and funding has not been confirmed for the project. If it is approved, the work is likely to be lengthy and traffic control will be necessary, according to Terri Kasinga, chief of Public and…
