At its April 2 meeting, the Riverside County Board of Supervisorsapproved new contract extensions with two county unions — ServiceEmployees International Union (SEIU), Local 721 and Laborers’International Union of North America (LIUNA), Local 777. Supervisor Kevin Jeffries (1^(st) District) voted against the newagreements because of his concern about their effect on future costs andthe possibility…
The Idyllwild Water District (IWD) Board of Directors held a specialsession Tuesday, April 2. The two items on the agenda were discussion ofthe status of the wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) project, andexposure to litigation, the latter a closed session conference withlegal counsel. During public comments, ratepayer David Hunt spoke to “publicly commendthe interim GM [general…
Residents may have noticed a change on North Circle Drive at RiverDrive; the property previously known as Strawberry Creek Village has avery different look, and is now known as Freewyld. The Crier spoke withFreewyld founder Eric Moeller, a resident of Leucadia. Moeller cleared up an impression some neighbors had that the projectincluded two cabins across…
The April 8 solar eclipse, known as “The Great North American Eclipse,”will darken skies across 13 U.S. states, as well as Mexico and Canada,next Monday. Idyllwild will not be in the path of totality, but localswill notice, weather permitting, a darkening as the moon obscures about60% of the Sun’s disk. Those places in totality will…
Despite efforts by the state’s Department of Insurance (DOI) to revisethe rate making policies in California, on March 20, State Farmannounced it would not be renewing more than 70,000 commercial,residential and rental insurance policies in California. And theannouncement emphasized that these actions were only being taken inCalifornia. Less than a year ago, State Farm announced…
While the first three months of 2024 have not been as wet as in 2023,precipitation has covered the Hill. This past weekend was a combinationof snow, between 8 and 10 inches, and another inch of rain. No precipitation records were set during the weekend, but one weatherrecord did occur. The National Weather Service (NWS) reported…
Commissioners at the March 23 meeting of the Idyllwild Fire ProtectionDistrict (IFPD) had a lot to digest. The chief’s report included severalbig documents: the draft fiscal year (FY) 2024-25 budget, the draft ofthe 2025-30 Capital Improvement Plan (CIP), the district’s new Vehicleand Equipment Catalog (VEC), the draft 2025 update of the district’sStrategic Plan, and a summary report of…
On Sept. 27, 2023, the Wildland Fire Mitigation and ManagementCommission (WFMMC) released its 340-page report. It included 148recommendations to the Biden Administration as well Congress and state,local and tribal governments. On March 12, 2024, the U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and NaturalResources held a hearing with members of the Administration and of thecommittee. Sen. Joe…
Thursday, March 28, the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC)issued a proposed decision on how large, investor-owned utilities maycharge for electricity in California. In the future, the utility bills will include two charges. One will be aflat rate for the cost of the electric grid, for example, building andmaintaining the industry’s infrastructure, such as power lines….
