We were saddened to hear last week of the passing of Bruce Watts, a man who drank deeply of nature, immersed himself in it, knew its mysteries as few others do, and communicated his knowledge and love to readers, audiences, and other fellow creatures. His columns in the Town Crier were hyper-local, exploring not just…...

Idyllwild Fire will begin inspecting all properties within their jurisdiction for compliance with local Ordinance 19-01 on April 15. This is known as the second inspection, because all homeowners are expected to perform a self-inspection first and do the necessary abatement. CAL FIRE is also restarting their inspections in Pine Cove and other CAL FIRE…...

The County of Riverside has announced its schedule for the Fiscal Year 2026-27 community budget workshops. Beginning, Tuesday, April 7, there will be a workshop in each supervisorial district. The County has also made available “Budget 101: The County Budget Explained,” which is a guide for citizens attending the session to better understand how and…...

(Editor’s note: As of Tuesday, March 31, it has been widely reported that Bianco has paused his effort to count the seized ballots.) Riverside County Sheriff, Chad Bianco, has begun an investigation of alleged voter fraud in the November 2025 special election for Proposition 50. Statewide, nearly 65 percent of voters supported Prop 50, which…...

Last week, the Riverside County Assessor-Clerk-Recorder’s Office warned property owners about possible false notices requesting payments, especially for property records, property profiles, or copies of recorded deeds. In the past few weeks, the Office has been alerted to fictitious mailings to county property owners. Several fortunately have called the ACR Office for confirmation and been…...

In February, Riverside County’s Planning Department announced that it will begin accepting applications for Short-Term Rental certificates in the Idyllwild area in March. Obtaining the certificate is required before advertising to rent any STR. The application process opened Tuesday, March 24 and will close midnight, Wednesday, April 22. This is the second Tier 2 application…...

Another week of scorching record setting temperatures was felt on the Hill. For six consecutive days – a whole week — from March 23 through March 29, Monday through Sunday, record highs were set. This followed the record setting period March 17 through March 21. During this two-week period, the absolute record high of 88…...

In Idyllwild, some roles aren’t assigned—they just appear, and everyone agrees they were always there. Such was the case with Sofía Landis, the chocolate princess of Idyllwild.  Sofía didn’t grow up going to school in the morning and coming home in the afternoon. She was raised behind a chocolate counter. El Buen Cacao, tucked into the…...