Verne Lauritzen, 3rd District Supervisor Chuck Washington’s chief of staff, confirmed that Washington has decided to reconstitute the County Service Area 36 Advisory Council (Idyllwild). The council, which operates to inform the supervisor on specific matters, has been at the point of dying without regular meetings. By reconstituting the council, residents of CSA 36 will…
Pam Elias, Riverside County Office of Auditor/Controller property tax division chief, spoke to CSA 36 residents’ concerns over mistakes in a recent property tax billing. District residents recently received a corrected tax bill with the right CSA 36 line item billing for lighting, parks and recreation. An initial tax bill contained an incorrect line item…
Editor’s note: This is the first in a series of articles regarding the U.S. Forest Service’s Adventure Pass and where and when it is required to be purchased and displayed. The U.S. Forest Service says it still requires cars parked at Humber Park to display an Adventure Pass or equivalent pass. This, despite a February…
Last Friday, Gov. Jerry Brown declared a state of emergency due to the number of dead and dying trees resulting from the four-year drought. He also wrote U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack seeking help to mitigate this forest crisis. “California is facing the worst epidemic of tree mortality in its modern history,” said Brown…
Terri Kasinga, Caltrans District 8 public information officer, confirmed stops signs have been installed by Caltrans on Southern California Edison’s Highway 243 project in the center of Idyllwild. Kasinga noted stop signs now require northbound motorists exiting the one-way lane on Highway 243 to stop before continuing north or turning right or left. Residents of…
At about 1:55 p.m. Sunday, James Thomas, 57, resident of Pinyon, was riding his mountain bike downhill on a dirt trail near Pinyon. Thomas was two-tenths of a mile southwest of Highway 74 and Pinon Flats Transfer Station Roda when, according to Riverside County Coroner Sgt. Brent Sechrest, he hit a rocky patch and was…
On Thursday, Oct. 26, Richard Latka, 56, of Hemet, was convicted by a federal jury in U.S. District Court of threatening a federal officer. Latka threatened to kill a U.S. Forest Service law enforcement officer who came to the man’s home to ask about trash dumped in the San Bernardino National Forest. In October 2014,…
The Hill has received more rain and for longer periods than Monday night but the 0.76 inches that fell in Pine Cove was the most throughout Southern California, according to the National Weather Service. Idyllwild received about 0.64 inches, which was the eighth greatest amount that night. Vista Grande followed with 0.63 inches, whereas the…
Whatever the current financial situation of the Idyllwild Fire Protection District, the commission is confident there are sufficient funds to continue to cover its payroll through December when its first property tax receipt arrives. Commission President Jerry Buchanan established a committee composed of commissioners Rhonda Andrewson and Nancy Layton to prepare a strategic plan for…
In our Thursday, Oct. 15 edition, we reported that property tax bills mailed to Idyllwild residents of County Service Area 36 contained a significant error — a billing for $35 for streetlights in CSA 27 which is in Cherry Valley. That error had come to our attention on Friday, Oct. 9. We began contacting county…
