Fern Valley Water District Board Member Mike LaFata resigned at the end of the Board’s Feb. 20 meeting. He felt that his colleagues did not share his sense of detailed “fiduciary duty.” During his 14 months as a director, LaFata mostly concentrated his attention on reviewing the District’s monthly expenditures, especially the credit card charges….
Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco is seeking to become the next Governor of California. At a launch party for his Republican nomination, Monday, Feb. 17, Bianco said, “I am running for Governor of our beautiful state which I absolutely love because our head is heading down the wrong track and has been for years.” Gov….
Dear Spiritual Workout:I know that you like to use tapping in SW and I have been experimenting with it for a few weeks. I think I’m getting a handle on it, I am beginning to sense some changes, good ones, but my question is will I have to tap every day for the rest of…
Within every passage of time, there is a certain space reserved for reflection as well as restitution. This is especially true in small communities — here on the Hill, we find more than our share of small groupings with large and ever-expanding possibilities and pursuits. Some of the truth of this matter was on display this past…
The latest atmospheric river has finally offered some precipitation to the Hill communities. The fall and early winter drought is being slightly relieved. Last week, through Friday at noon the National Weather Service reported 4.1 inches of rain fell in Idyllwild from Wednesday through Friday. The Keenwild Ranger Station recorded 4.06 inches of rain during…
There is now a second petition on Change.org intending to make Highway 74 safer from Palm Desert to 371. The first petition sought action from Caltrans to repair the many potholes in the asphalt. The new one seeks to limit the use of 74 by heavy trucks, enforce the prohibition with a weigh station. The…
California’s Insurance Commissioner Richardo Lara has declined to immediately approve State Farm General’s request for an emergency rate increase. Instead, in a letter to SFG officials, including Dan Krause, President and Chief Executive Officer of SFG, Lara requested that they, along with representatives from Consumer Watchdog, an intervenor to the SFG request, meet with him…
The Directors of Pine Cove Water District met on Wednesday, February 12. They heard from General Manager Jeremy Potter that he is ready to start a pilot program to address poor data transmission from the recently installed “smart” meters. Board president Robert Hewitt appointed Vicki Jakubac and Becky Smith to an ad-hoc committee to review…
In December, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service proposed listing the monarch butterfly as a threatened species under section 4(d) of the Endangered Species Act. But that action may be too late for the venerable and beautiful creature. On Jan. 30, the Xerces Society, which has organized survey counts of the Monarch for the past…
Mark Yardas and Mara Schoner, founders of the Idyllwild Forest Health Project, conducted a workshop at the Library on Tuesday, February 11, hosted by the Friends of the Idyllwild Library. The IFHP, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, was created to be an open platform, discovering and matching needs and the resources to address those needs within our…
