The Nov. 8 ballot will include an important bond measure, as well as numerous races for state, federal and local representatives. On July 31, the Hemet Unified School District Board of Trustees approved a resolution to place a $150-million bond measure on the ballot. The board gave unanimous consent to asking voters for their approval….
People losing faith in board’s willingness to inform public The Idyllwild Water District directors held a special meeting Wednesday, Aug. 8, to discuss the current water-quality concerns. Last month, IWD notified its customers that the sampling results for byproducts from the disinfection process were too high. These chemicals — trihalomethanes (such as chloroform) and haloacetic…
Editor: I am a “flatlander” and frequent visitor to Idyllwild. On Aug. 12, 2018, I walked from a downtown restaurant to my friend’s home on the south end of town. I passed the billboard in front of the fire station that announced that the fire danger was “very high.” A half-mile down the road I…
Editor: To wish all the residents well as Idyllwild recovers from the Cranston Fire, we’d like to share the story of our experience with Ambassador Sully. Idyllwild is justly famous for being a dog-friendly town, but we also found it to be a friendly dog resort. Our party of four met Chris and her dog,…
Editor: We discovered the bees swarming in our backyard on Sunday, Aug. 5. There were hundreds of them flying wildly below the branches of a cedar tree. Knowing that bees are so endangered, we watched through the evening hoping they would move on. Monday morning, I discovered a small blob of bees in the branches….
Editor: Numerous hydrants were red tagged by fire crews during the fire. One red tag on Saunders Meadow was even labeled “Broken stem puts out 5gpm.” Red tags are bad regardless of the reasons tagged. These are old Mueller hydrants. Most every hydrant found on these service lines are painted orange. By definition, that means…
By Jack Neworth Santa Monica At the end of last week’s column, I was describing myself (circa more decades ago than I care to admit) staring in horror at my wonderful U.S. Forest Service garbage truck fully engulfed in fire. Instead of being a hero in detecting a possibly catastrophic forest fire, it turned out…
Early renewals climbing The Charter Membership list, which comprises readers who become Members during our first year of the Membership Model, is open until and including Friday, Aug. 31. We would love to add another 21 new Members to the charter list by then. Meanwhile, existing Charter Members are continuing to renew their Memberships into…
Drivers (above) await the lifting of the evacuation order in Garner Valley Wednesday afternoon. Below, Hurkey Creek after a rainstorm moved into the area Wednesday afternoon. Photos by Jenny Kirchner UPDATE 4:53 p.m.: The evacuation order was just lifted for Mountain Center residents in the #cranstonfire burn area and Highway 74 has reopened. From earlier:…
Riverside County has issued a warning of possible scattered heavy rain in the Cranston Fire area. Residents and travelers should be careful and cautious this afternoon and through Friday, Aug. 17. At 3:40 p.m., the National Weather Service reported the heaviest rainfall had occurred near Highway 74 in the Garner Valley area, or about 5…
