The Board of Commissioners of Idyllwild Fire Protection District approved Chief Mark LaMont’s draft budget for the Financial Year 2025-2026 at their March meeting. The total draft budget, $3,975,249, is about 10.6% higher than last year. IFPD’s budget is divided into three categories: General Fire Protection, Emergency Medical Services, and Mutual Aid. General Fire Protection…
The April 17 meeting of the Fern Valley Water District Board of Directors was busy, productive and long – two hours! The major piece of business was the selection of Dan DeVoy as the new director. He replaces Mike LaFata, who resigned in February. DeVoy lives in El Centro and has a home in Fern…
Last week, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration jointly published a proposed change to their regulations for implementing the Endangered Species Act. They are proposing to limit the definition of “taking” a threatened or endangered species to the language in the original law. Section 3(19) reads, “The term…
The Idyllwild Community Center’s free annual Easter Egg Hunt returned to the County Park after last year’s snow cancelation. The sun cooperated this time,and the meadow and parking area were dry enough. The Riverside County Parks and Open Space District provided the manpower to direct parking, a bounce house, and a children’s craft table, supervised…
In March the Town Crier presented an interview with Mike Feyder, the president of Mountain Disaster Preparedness (MDP), the first in a series profiling the different working groups within MDP. This week we share a conversation with Ron Sabala, who is director of the group’s CERT program, the Community Emergency Response Team. CERT groups help…
Activity for the 2026 Congressional Election for District 41, which is still 18 months in the future, continued last week. Tim Myers, a lifelong Southern Californian and Grammy-nominated musician-turned-entrepreneur, announced his candidacy for the Democratic nomination in California’s 41st Congressional District. In his press release, Myer wrote, “I was born and raised in Corona –…
Dear Spiritual Workout: I did a lot of work last year to get out of a job that was so stressful because of being overworked and underpaid. I was feeling like I was being taken advantage of, and I got really angry and resentful. The new job started out just fine and I was proud…
St Hugh Episcopal Church will present its second annual Arbor Day Celebration on Saturday, April 26th. The event will offer live music, craft activities for kids, a silent auction, a raffle, and food and drink. There will also be “nature-inspired education” at a booth from the Idyllwild Nature Center. Music will be provided by wandering…
California’s Assembly is considering Assembly Bill 435, which would change when and where 10–13-year-old children and smaller frame teens may sit in a moving vehicle. It raises the minimum age for vehicle child passenger restraints from eight to 13 years old and replaces the current age and height exemption with a 5-Step test. Beginning January…
Last week, the National Weather Service’s Climate Prediction Center announced that the current La Niña weather conditions, which formed in January, have already dissipated. La Niña conditions are associated with cooler surface water temperatures in the Pacific Ocean and stronger trade winds. Typically, this results in drier weather in the southern and southwestern parts of…
