Last Friday was the quarterly meeting of the California Newspaper Publishers Association for which I served for nine years. Since the merging of the CNPA Foundation with the California Press Association last year, the new California Press Foundation is now under the umbrella of CNPA. During my retirement, I stayed connected to the industry through…
In late January 2000, the Associates of Idyllwild Arts Foundation held Idyllwild Alive History II, a multiple-weekend event of long-time Hill residents reminiscing. I recorded the event and transcribed it for a series in the newspaper. The first panelist, and one of the most memorable to me, was Mary Sigworth whose family bought a vacation…
The more time I spend on Facebook, the less I enjoy it any longer. It sufficiently keeps me up-to-date on distant relatives and friends but only if I’m willing to spend hours unearthing their individual posts. I’m becoming less interested in doing so. I would rather spend time on the NY Times website reading news…
Robin Williams’ suicide has opened the door for more of us to open up about a dark subject. California Secretary of State Debra Bowen’s revelation that she suffers from depression is admirable, though running a department that large and important from home while she deals with this challenge is not doable. As I said, I…
In life, we tend to run with the crowd with whom we have most in common.That’s true from the time little kids find the same interests in Chutes ‘n’ Ladders, all the way up to old age playing bingo. Those crowds do change over time. We may lose interest in people who did not parent…
Our mix of news and features, I felt, needed a dose of local humor — a poke at how serious we take ourselves in the town sometimes. And I didn’t want to hear yet one more time, “Cartoons in the Town Crier are never funny.” I wanted something people would say was funny, an idea…
Remarkable upgrades occurring now and in the recent past show that Idyllwild’s artistry doesn’t just reside on canvas. The geniuses of the Rechtfertigs surprised us with The Grand Idyllwild Lodge in its Arts and Crafts and environmentally friendly design, along with the entire experience the Rechtfertigs give their guests. With Tahquitz and Suicide rocks, wilderness…
People often ask us why we report on so many government meetings when most small-town newspapers do not. It’s pretty easy to explain though not so easy to perform the task since so many boards govern various special districts and such on the Hill. Four water districts, Fern Valley, Idyllwild, Pine Cove and then Lake…
Editor’s note: Jack is taking over the column this week. The state attorney general’s office writes pamphlets for the benefit of public officials “and those who monitor the performance of local legislative bodies.” That’s us, the press. The only medium that regularly monitors the performance of Hill legislative bodies is the TC. By our count,…
When asked if Idyllwild Fire Chief Patrick Reitz had received his paramedics license yet, IFPD Commission President Jerry Buchanan said the grand jury got that wrong. Reitz’s contract does not require him to have the license. Thus dismissing the whole report. However, the job description, which the commission issued, does require a paramedics license. Wouldn’t…
