This week, Riverside County supervisors approved a final budget for fiscal year 2014-15 (which began July 1) totaling $637.4 million, $13.9 million more than the preliminary budget approved in June. “Updated fiscal data used to develop final budget recommendations continues to support economists’ optimistic forecasts of long-term economic growth for the county,” wrote Executive Officer…
On Tuesday, Sept. 16, the Boards of Supervisors for Riverside and San Bernardino counties were to meet in a joint session to discuss issues that face both counties, from the changing health-care system to a shift that sends more state prison inmates and parolees to counties for local supervision. “So many issues are important to…
Covered California has been contacting about 98,000 families that must resolve eligibility inconsistencies in their 2014 enrollment documents. The consumers will need to submit documents showing they are lawfully present in the United States as U.S. citizens, U.S. nationals or individuals with eligible immigration status, in order to continue their health insurance through Covered California….
Pharmacist Barry Shapiro of Idyllwild Pharmacy alerted the Town Crier last week to new federal regulations moving medications containing hydrocodone from Schedule III to Schedule II. This includes pain medications such as Lortab, Norco and Vicodin, and cough medicines such as Tussionex. This change in schedules is part of a program to cut down on…
The California Department of Motor Vehicles is alerting drivers about a new law requiring them to give bicyclists, traveling in the same direction, 3 feet of clearance when passing. The Three Feet for Safety Act takes effect Sept. 16 According to the new law (AB1371), which Gov. Edmund G. Brown, Jr. signed a year ago…
The murder trial of Robert Pape and Cristin Smith for a triple homicide in Pinyon in 2006 has become both suspenseful and slowly and cautiously procedural. While the defendants are being prosecuted for murder, the defense is alleging that evidence was misrepresented to the grand jury, exculpatory evidence was omitted and local politics played a…
Last month, Covered California announced that it is offering family dental plans in 2015. However, “You need to enroll in a Covered California health plan to be eligible for their dental plans,” affirmed Larry Hicks, Covered California spokesperson. Individual health plans will include pediatric dental benefits starting in 2015. “This is great news for families…
The California Public Utilities Commission will hold a series of Public Participation Hearings throughout the state to hear directly from members of the public about cases related to electricity rates. Restrictions on residential rate design were lifted after the signing of Assembly Bill 327 in October 2013, and utilities can now propose residential rates that…
Nearly a year after California Attorney General Kamala Harris released her first report on “In School + On Track,” the state legislature responded to her plea to change the pattern of truancy in state schools. In September 2013, Harris released the report as an effort to draw attention to the problem of truancy of school-aged…
Gov. Jerry Brown and State Attorney General Kamala Harris have appealed the Superior Court ruling that the state laws on teacher tenure and seniority are unconstitutional. In the one-page appeal, Harris provided three reasons. The first was the state Constitution requires a higher court, either the Court of Appeals or the state Supreme Court, to…
