Eutiquio Ramirez, 48, of Indio, a well-regarded and longtime employee of Griner Construction in Idyllwild, died in a single-vehicle crash reported at 5:42 p.m. Friday, April 8. According to the California Highway Patrol report, Ramirez was driving his white Toyota T100 pickup truck east on Highway 74, when for unknown reasons he veered to the…
Planning a Lilac Festival in spite of the vicissitudes of climate and weather patterns is a perilous endeavor. Just ask Gary Parton, who has fathered this celebration since 2009 and continues to propagate and promote Idyllwild as a lilac tourist venue. Each year, Parton and his committee set the date for the festival, hoping the…
Bob Lewis, former Town Hall recreation director under the Idyllwild Community Recreation Council, returned Friday, April 1, to a slightly reconfigured job. Lewis, a long familiar presence in community recreation, was hired by the Riverside County Parks and Open Space District, the current recreation managers under contract with the county. He began a one-year probationary…
Richard Barker is not a painter or a visual artist. But he has developed a theory about how art can influence and shape us. In his talk, Barker will review recent history and the future direction of art, using painting as the medium for his discussion. Barker speaks as part of the Idyllwild Community Center…
Jazz aficionados will mark their summer calendar for the 23rd-annual Jazz in the Pines, which is Aug. 19 to 21. Many favorites, such as Casey Abrams, Chuck Alvarez, Graham Dechter, Yve Evans, Lisa Haley, Greg Jones and Harry Pickens, will return and perform over the weekend. Two important jazz figures also will return to the…
This year, Idyllwild Arts celebrates 70 years of providing arts education to students and adults alike. In 1946, the Summer Program was the first building block of the dream that would become a full-time residential arts school for ninth- through 12th-grade aspiring artists and a summer arts program offering programs for youth and adults. Pamela…
The natural gas leak at the Aliso Canyon underground storage facility may affect Hill residents this summer. Reduced availability of natural gas may create power outages during peak days this summer. The California Energy Commission and three other public agencies released a report last week and held a public workshop Friday to address how the…
Despite rain showers and clouds for most of the past five days, the dreaded El Niño has not drenched the Hill. The rain that has fallen since Thursday is barely half of the historic April showers on the Hill. Pine Cove has recorded 1.56 inches this week, while the Keenwild Ranger Station has recorded 1.46…
The Riverside County Sheriff’s Office received a call at about 10:45 a.m. Sunday from some hikers who saw a body along Highway 74. Shortly after, the California Highway Patrol also was called. The body of a female was found, and her decomposition had proceeded such that her race was not identifiable from observation. The Department’s…
Beginning Sunday, April 10, Cal Fire in cooperation with California State Parks will be conducting a prescribed burn in the Mount San Jacinto State Park. The burn consisting of brush and slash piles will be above Thousand Trails Park in Pine Cove. The project will continue throughout the week, weather permitting. The final burn date…
