The U.S. Forest Service announced that it is planning to proceed with its scheduled prescribed burn on Thomas Mountain in Garner Valley next week. The project’s goal is creation of community-scale defensible space and enhanced forest health. “On Monday, fire crews plan to conduct a test burn and, if all goes well, they…
After the Wednesday Caltrans press conference, the media was escorted to Highway 74, over the rupture at milepost 51 and east to the bottom of the Hill, where major work is being done to re-slope the hillside and reduce chances of significant rock or boulder slides. The following is brief photographic tour of…
After the Caltrans regional director and geotechnical official described the extensive damage and difficulty of repairs, Caltrans asked other local and federal officials to speak, especially about the social and community effects of the road closures. Riverside County Sheriff Lt. Alfonso Campa, of the Hemet Station, added that, because of the increase in…
Wednesday morning, March 20, Caltrans held a press conference at the U.S. Forest Service’s Cranston Fire Station to discuss the road situation and the county’s efforts to promote our town so the broader public knows it is still able to visit the mile-high hamlet of Riverside County. Only two days after the Mountain…
The winter of 2019 has been wet and cold, perhaps more typical of historic winter weather than recent winters. For example, the 2017-18 rain year was one of the driest on record in Southern California. In contrast, since the middle of January, the U.S. Forest Service’s Keenwild Station has recorded nearly 20 inches of rain….
In April 2017, after five years of little rain, the winter storms were more than sufficient for former Gov. Jerry Brown to rescind the state of emergency, which he declared in January 2014, because of the statewide drought. However, drought conditions persisted throughout the state, even though the worst seemed over. Then, the winter of…
Last week, Secretary of State Alex Padilla released the latest voter registration data as of Feb. 10, and 79.1 percent of eligible Californians have registered to vote. Four years ago in February 2015, 72.7 percent of eligible voters were registered. Last month, 19,978,450 Californians were registered to vote, an increase of about 280,000 voters since…
The principal news from the March 13 Pine Cove Water District meeting was the 40-percent increase in water production caused by many pipe leaks on customer property. In other business, the board unanimously adopted its annual resolution setting the standby charges at $30 per acre, per year for each acre or portion, which has been…
As expected, Garner Valley residents, who are customers of the Lake Hemet Municipal Water District, have filed a lawsuit opposing the board’s December decision to raise water rates. On Dec. 20, 2018, the LHMWD adopted water rate increases for all of its customers — in Hemet, Valle Vista and Garner Valley. The district did recognize…
At the March 26 meeting of the Idyllwild Fire Protection District commission, a revised fee schedule will be on the agenda. The district will consider increasing many fees for reviewing construction plans, water systems and mitigation efforts, and adding some new fees. Capt. James LaMont developed the new fee amounts. He assessed the time needed…
