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…
“Will in the Woods: A Shakespeare Collage” is the latest production from Idyllwild’s Stratford Players. Sunday’s rain didn’t dampen the event since the players moved the St. Hugh’s Episcopal Church outdoor performance to the Christian Science Church across from Town Hall. But for those who missed Saturday’s outdoor event, the Stratford Players will be performing…
Beginning its 13th year, smARTS has returned the arts to local students. What started as a small project with only classes for four grades, now serves the entire Idyllwild School — from kindergarten through eighth grade. Nearly every Friday, teachers find time to accommodate the arts in the school’s curriculum. But smARTs is a PTA-sponsored…
Last month, Steven Taylor Rutherford, 49, of Banning, pleaded guilty to 10 felony counts of arson. On Friday, Sept. 5, Riverside County Superior Court Judge Becky Dugan sentenced him to 45 years in prison. Rutherford was initially charged with 13 counts, but three counts were dismissed as part of a plea agreement with prosecutors. “Serial…
Hurricane Norbert, which formed last week and evolved from a tropical storm into a hurricane on Sept. 3, moved north from Mexico and Baja along the California coast. As Norbert weakened, it drew significant moisture into the atmosphere and over the local mountains. The storm’s intensity varied through the local area and region. Sunday afternoon,…
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…
Seventy-six is an attractive number, especially in the United States. It brings up the Declaration of Independence (1776), or perhaps the 76 trombones Professor Harold Hill wanted the town folk to imagine in “The Music Man.” But for us at the Fire Safe Council, 76 refers to the current number of houses that have been…
Last month, Gov. Jerry Brown signed Assembly Bill 2609 that local Assemblyman Brian Nestande authored, allowing home brewing associations, such as the American Homebrewers Association and the California Homebrewers Association, to hold a maximum of two conventions per year. Legislation in 2013 inadvertently prohibited the annual home-brewers festival from accepting donations of beer for resale…
