The boundaries of Riverside County’s five supervisorial districts have been challenged in litigation filed June 14. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) filed the suit on behalf of Inland Empire United (IEU) and six individuals. The first hearing about the litigation will be Aug. 15 in Riverside. The suit alleges that the redistricting plan the…
Below are the results of the statewide June primary. The top two vote getters for each office will be the candidates on the November election ballot. Regardless of party, the two candidates with the most votes will face off during the fall campaign. Even if one candidate polls more than 50%, the top two move…
Below are the results of the races in the Riverside County June primary. The top two vote getters for each U.S. and state elected position will be the candidates on the November Election ballot. Regardless of party, the two candidates with the most votes will face off during the fall campaign.For Riverside County elected positions,…
La Niña is expected to continue through 2022 and into 2023. The drought’s end is not in sight. Last week, state officials issued drastic limitations on water withdrawals from the San Joaquin watershed. But it is the middle of June and the Fourth of July holiday weekend approaches. Our annual celebrations will offer some relief…
Idyllwild is surrounded by the San Jacinto Ranger District in the San Bernardino National Forest. According to Cal Fire, this area is a very high fire hazard area. And with a history of wildfires — Mountain Fire (2013) and the Cranston Fire (2018) — fire insurance is important and good protection.However, fire insurance companies view…
Rainfall since Oct. 1, 2021, the beginning of the current rain year, has been 11.4 inches. In the five months since Jan. 1, 2022, Idyllwild has received 3.5 inches of rain. The long-term average rainfall from October to June is 23.2 inches, about twice what has fallen this year, the third consecutive drought year. The…
On Friday, May 20, Randy Moore, chief of the U.S. Forest Service (USFS), announced, “… Today, because of the current extreme wildfire risk conditions in the field, I am initiating a pause on prescribed fire operations on National Forest System lands while we conduct a 90-day review of protocols, decision support tools and practices ahead…
On May 13, Gov. Gavin Newsom released his revised fiscal year (FY) 2022-23 budget. For the first time, the state budget exceeded $300 billion. His January proposed budget was $286.5 million. Total expenditures approach $227.4 billion and revenues are forecast to be $222.6 billion.The estimated $15.4 billion surplus from FY 2021-22 plus new revenues is…
At the May 17 meeting of the Riverside County Board of Supervisors, County Executive Officer Jeff Van Wagenen reported that at the end of June, the county’s projected deficit in discretionary funds for fiscal year (FY) 2021-22 would be $3 million, significantly less than the projection when the budget was adopted nearly a year ago.He…
On Wednesday, May 18, after hours of public comments, both in the board room and online, the Riverside County Planning Commission unanimously approved a revised Ordinance 927, “Regulating Short Term Rentals” (STR). The revision will be sent to the board of supervisors next month for adoption. The commission reviewed a draft of a revised ordinance…
