During 2017, the state Legislature passed and Gov. Jerry Brown signed 859 new laws. While some were effective immediately, some will not go into effect until 2019 or 2020. Most are effective Jan. 1, 2018. One of the most well-known was a proposition passed in November 2016. Marijuana Proposition 64 legalizes adult-use of marijuana, or…
U.S. Representative Dr. Raul Ruiz’s widlfire funding bill passed the House of Representatives (251-169) before the holiday recess. Ruiz’s bill, which would change the way Congress funds the expenses to fight wildfires, was part of the $81 billion disaster-aid bill. This includes funds for victims of recent fires in both Northern and Southern California, as…
Editor’s note: Each year, the Town Crier reviews the top 10 news items on the Hill. These stories were the favorites of TC readers who attend the weekly news meetings. This week, the TC reviews five of these stories and will finish the rest the following week. Rite Aid Bear makes Idyllwild his domicile By…
A rocket passed over the Fairway market in Idyllwild. Jennifer Muir was able to capture the event in the attached video. IMG_0696
By Debra Varnados Correspondent Preliminary results of a three-year study funded by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and conducted by scientists at San Diego’s Natural History Museum, show no evidence of the Southern California Flying Squirrel in the San Jacinto Mountains, leading to continued conjecture about the cause of their apparent disappearance and possible…
Many questions arose among local residents following the unexpected Dec. 7, emergency power outage. Due the high winds and numerous falling trees, Southern California Edison decided mid-day Thursday to shut off power to the Hill in order to avert any possible fire caused by down and sparking lines. Most people confronted the outage when lights…
U.S. Forest Service volunteers saw two of the permanent bald eagles, still comfortable with their home on the shores of Lake Hemet, soaring over their water play ground and sharing a meal. Their buoyant and joyful behavior was described as “… a pair of courting adult bald eagles…” During the annual December bald eagle count,…
Last week, after Sacramento California Superior Court Judge Shelleyanne W.L. Chang dismissed its suit claiming the State Fire Prevention Fee was invalid, the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association announced it plans to appeal that decision. “Dismissal of this case was an abuse of discretion and rewards the state for creating delay,” said HJTA’s Director of Legal…
Sheriff’s log The Riverside County Sheriff’s Department Hemet Station responded to the following calls Sunday to Saturday, Dec. 10 to Dec. 16. Idyllwild • Dec. 10 — Alarm call, 3:11 p.m., 54000 block of South Circle Dr. Handled by deputy. • Dec. 11 — Found property, 9:08 a.m., 26000 block of Saunders Meadow Rd. Handled…
Only one traffic incident, a motorcycle crash, occurred on Hill roads recently. At 9:51 a.m. Monday, Dec. 18, Edwin Mejia, 25 of Indio, was riding his blue 2016 Yamaha R6 motorcycle eastbound on Highway 74 near mile marker 89 when for unknown reasons he laid his bike down in the highway, temporarily blocking all lanes….
