Idyllwild News

Night temps are now setting records for lows!

This summer’s weather has been somewhat of a rollercoaster. And thatfollows typical precipitation this winter and a cool spring. During July, the Hill suffered from high temperatures. First on the July4 weekend and then two weeks later, temperatures were high enough to setfive records between July 19 and 25. More recently, on Sept. 5, only…

Prop 3 reaffirms marriage equality in California

Proposition 3 amends the California Constitution to recognize thefundamental right to marry, regardless of sex or race. Prop 3 removesthe language in California Constitution which states that marriage isonly between a man and a woman. Since the 2015 U.S. Supreme Court decision, Obergefell v. Hodges,federal courts have already decided this issue. The U.S. Constitutionensures that…

IWD receives preliminary engineering report for Wastewater TreatmentPlant

The agenda for the September meeting of the Idylliwld Water DistrictBoard of Directors included the preliminary engineering report for theWastewater Treatment Plant project, prepared by Specialized UtilityServices Program Engineering (SUSP.) Last month the board members and GMBill Rojas expressed exasperation with SUSP’s delays in delivering thisdocument, which must be in hand before the applications for…

Corporate influence on housing market squeezes homebuyers

By Flavia Mangan ColganContributor Flavia Mangan Colgan is a former political commentator and newscorrespondent who works as a writer and in the nonprofit sector. Shelives in Idyllwild and San Diego. Corporate influence on the single-family home market is growing at adisturbing rate and is a nefarious problem that deserves more scrutiny.Institutional investors have advantages over…

Assembly began Special Session on gas prices

The State Assembly’s Special Session on Petroleum and Gasoline Supplybegan last week. Gov. Gavin Newsom issued a proclamation Aug. 31 callingfor the Session. His intent was for enactment of legislation to addressfuel price spikes next year and beyond. On Sept. 21, the average cost of a gallon of gasoline in California was$4.75 compared to a…

FVWD director raises questions about outfitting new vehicles

The Sept. 18 meeting of the Fern Valley Water District Board ofDirectors was longer than the agenda implied. Director Mike LaFataraised several questions during the discussion of the July and AugustDistrict checks and payments. His principal concern related to the service contracts which GeneralManager Victor Jimenez purchased for the recently acquired new vehiclesand one of…

Small fire empties Idyllwild Arts Academy dorm

A small fire resulted in the evacuation of a dormitory at the IdyllwildArts Academy on Sunday, September 15. A letter from Academy PresidentPamela Jordan to the Associates of Idyllwild Arts noted that allstudents were safe and there were no injuries. The displaced studentshave been moved to other dorms, “where many are housed three to a…

“And you may ask yourself… Well, how did I get here? “

“And you may ask yourself… Well, how did I get here? “

“And you may ask yourself… Well, how did I get here? “ (With a nod to The Talking Heads) Welcome to our new column! Each week we will feature how we all ended upin Idyllwild. I’ll go first: Hi. I’m Suzanne Avalon. Living in Los Angeles in the early 80’s. Disco, fast cars, celebritiesand a…

Pine Cove Water bids farewell to Field Foreman Dumas

Pine Cove Water District’s Board of Directors met on September 19, andheard from their departing Field Foreman, Chris Dumas, who will soon bethe General Manager of Arrowbear Park Water District. Dumas praisedPCWD’s board and staff but exhorted them to work with GM Jeremy Potterto make salaries competitive with those of other local districts. Among items…