Will Rollins is a California Native who started out with a Career in Law Enforcement
By JP Crumrine Correspondent
Editor’s Note: California will hold its 2024 Presidential Election on Tuesday, November 5. Besides the races for President and the U.S. Senate, voters will have a choice between incumbent Ken Calvert (Republican) and Democrat Will Rollins for California’s U.S. Congressional District 41 seat.
Although the election is still four months in the future, the Town Crier wanted to introduce both candidates as individuals to the readers. This story and a following one with Rep. Calvert do not discuss campaign issues. Closer to the election, the Town Crier will report on those topics and the candidates and their views and opinions.
Will Rollins, 39, and his partner, Paolo, live in Palm Springs.
When asked whether the recent heatwave or the campaign were hoter, Rollins replied, “It’s a tough contest, but it’s sweltering in Palm Springs.”
He is grateful Idyllwild is in the district, “It’s only one hour from the desert to the wilderness. The only other place where I’ve experienced that closeness of two diferent environments was in Greece. From the Mediterranean beaches to the mountains reminds me a lot of Coachella Valley to Idyllwild.”
Rollins grew up in Southern California, the South Bay and Manhatan Beach areas, where he atended public high school. This is also where he began his legal career in the federal prosecutor’s ofce.
But in between, he went to the East Coast for college and law school. He graduated from Dartmouth College and his law degree was earned at Columbia University.
“I always knew that I’d make Southern California my home for the rest of my life. I loved it here,” he began when asked why he traveled so far education. “But I wanted to try something diferent. See another part of the country.”
An important lesson Rollins learned while becoming an adult and preparing for a career is the diference in climate. “That frst winter in New Hampshire was one of the coldest and I was totally unprepared,” he lamented. “I was wearing skater shoes and had no boots.”
One of the important benefts of his education was meeting and learning about people from all over the country and how they lead diferent lives than what he knew from his early years in Southern California.
See Rollins, pageA2
Calvert and Rollins in Close Election and Fundraising
By JP Crumrine Correspondent
The November Election is only four months away, but the heat of fund raising for the Congressional District 41 race is increasing, like the current outside weather.
Although most pundits still foresee a close election between incumbent Republican Ken Calvert and his second time challenger Will Rollins, through June 30, fund raising continues to favor Rollins.
All of the Hill communities reside within CD 41. Calvert is the current Representative and, is serving his 16th Congressional term. In November 2022, he defeated Democratic rookie Will Rollins in one of Calvert’s closest races, in which he captured just 52.4% of the votes.
Current elections require considerable financing for TV and other media advertising. Campaign funds are critical components of today’s elections. At least through the most recent reporting period, Rollins is ahead of Calvert significantly in raising funds for the fall campaign.
As of June 30, Rollins had more than $1 million in cash than Calvert did. In February, weeks before the Democratic Primary, they both had about $2.4 million in cash. By the end of March, after the Democratic Primary was held and Rollins won, he had $3.2 million in cash. Since Calvert had no primary opponent, his cash was $2.6 million on March 31.
Three months later, Rollins’ cash is $4.7 million, while Calvert’s total available cash is $3.6 million. There is a significant difference in the source of their contributions. More than 90% of Rollins’ $6 million in
See Fundraising, page B6
Idyllwild Rotary hosted a ribbon cutting ceremony for the Idyllwild Information Center.
From left: Steve Espinoza, Steve Perreault, a volunteer, Hiram Matthews, Information Center Director Chris Perreault, Susan Weisberg Chuck Weisberg, Rotary President Dawn Plonski, Barbara Larsh Jim Marsh Roland Gaebert, and a volunteer.
National 911 System Has Concerns, Too
By JP Crumrine Correspondent
In April, the Riverside County Grand Jury reviewed the County’s 911 system. It was a brief report, whose purpose was to explain the history and operation of 911 calls within Riverside County and emphasize how to access it if a disruption occurs.
This was initiated as the result of some troubles during last summer’s Hurricane Hilary. In the fall, other disruptions, but not outages, were caused by copper thieves.
Neither the Board nor the Sherif had major objections to the report. However, they did stress that these disruptions were limited to small geographic areas with a small number of residents. Alternative means of access to 911 were always available.
While the concerns about the 911 system in Riverside County seem to be constrained and addressed, nationwide there are bigger concerns about the system and its future.
The 911 system originated in 1957, based on a recommendation from the National Association of Fire Chiefs. The frst calls occurred in 1968 and California’s system began emergency service in 1973.
More than 240 million calls are placed to emergency call centers annually. The response to these calls initiates a sophisticated and immediate response from frst responders – medics, frefghters, law enforcement and others.
The National Emergency Number Association had Carbyne conduct surveys of 911 personnel in both 2023 and 2024.
Most emergency call centers do not have adequate funding to expand stafng. Many also have trouble flling new positions, especially when about half of applicants do not make it through probation. Regardless of the call center size, flling positions was considered a critical problem.
“Despite signifcant investment in training, only 37.5% feel adequately trained to respond to most crises. The larger the call center, the greater the feeling of inadequacy,” the survey found.
Overtime, whether mandatory or voluntary, occurs almost daily for more than a ffh of respondents.
Vacancies, turnover and burnout are the three most common issues that call centers report.
The survey found that nearly 90% of the 911 respondents love or like the job. Nevertheless, almost a third feel stress coming to and during the job each day. This stress has afected their marriages as well.
Nearly fve out of six staf have experienced some form of burnout in the past 12 months.
Many staf believe their technology is outdated and nearly 75% of centers have experienced some type of outage in the past year. Nevertheless, nearly three-quarters of respondents still described their center as technologically innovative.
“Text to 911” is the most common innovation described in the report, which Riverside County has already implemented. Although mapping improvements follow.
A more recent innovation, which respondents favor highly, is live video from the caller, or known as incident imagery. This can provide vital information which if ofen omited in a conversation, which is urgent.
It can provide more information about the location and severity of an incident, for example, a vehicle on fre might be in a garage rather than on the street. This provides more accurate and detailed information about the incident than the phone conversation.
Nearly two-thirds of the centers in the survey had this ability and staf overwhelmingly felt it was helpful for aiding the caller as well as protecting frst responders from unknowns at the scene.
Nationwide there are already eforts to improve the 911 system. Next Generation 911 will include the capability to allow users to send digital information such as photos, text messages or videos.
The State and County are already working on NextGen 911. In 2023, four states —Florida, Illinois, Montana and Oklahoma— began funding NG 911 themselves.
Funding for the 911 system comes from a 30-cent surcharge on monthly telephone bills. Congress has tried to provide additional funding but none of the legislative proposals have been successful.
The report concluded with the following thoughts: “Wellness/Mental health remains a substantial worry in this high-stress environment. Stress, burnout, and anxiety are pervasive at all levels. . . the potential of technology and cultural transformation to improve 9-1-1 performance is widely acknowledged.”
FVWD Board hears “Business is Normal”
By JP Crumrine Correspondent
The July 18 meeting of the Fern Valley Water District Board of Directors was brief. The only action was acceptance of the Fiscal Year 2022-23 Audit, which was approved unanimously. The auditor made a presentation at the June meeting and the Board discussed the results then. The fnal report was submited between the meetings.
The rest of the meeting consisted of the monthly review of expenditures, assets, and the General Manager’s Report.
The purchase of the new vehicular equipment has been completed. The District now possesses three new Chevy Trail boss trucks and the larger dump truck will arrive within a week or two, according to General Manager Victor Jimenez.
When the cost of fuel was mentioned, Jimenez stressed that the new equipment is much more fuel efcient and “. . . will help reduce fuel costs.”
As the fnancial discussion ended, Director Mike LaFata requested a copy of the District’s credit card statement to review.
Board Chair Jon Brown noted that water production for the May and June period had fallen 7.6% compared to May and June 2023. This resulted in a 4% net decrease in water sales revenue.
The May-June 2024 billing period saw a decline of about 430,000 gallons from the same period a year ago. But Jimenez commented that production was beginning to increase again. June’s production was slightly greater than June 2023. Stream water continues to be the largest source of water.
For the entire frst six months of 2024, water production has decreased about 1.8 million gallons (12.1%). The total production was 13.3 million gallons, the smallest amount in more than 20 years.
In other news, Jimenez said that he had spoken to a contractor to oversee the renovation of the District’s offce. He hopes that the foundation work can be completed before winter arrives. The current fscal year pipeline project should begin in the next few weeks, he added.
The Board decided to cancel the August meeting. The next FVWD Board of Directors meeting will be Thursday, Sept. 19.
Dear Readers, As we approach our frst six months in the transition of acquiring the Town Crier, I would like to thank you all for your loyalty and support. We have had some growing pains; online technical challenges, membership database issues, and phone service interruptions, yet here we still are. We have implemented some changes to help us work more efciently and adjust to printing deadlines. The Town Crier publishing date is now on Thursdays due to our printer moving their deadline up by one day. Thus, the online copy of the paper will be out on Wednesdays instead of Tuesdays. Our deadlines for ads remain the same on Mondays at noon. If you have had problems with geting your online edition, please bear with us. We are working to correct the glitches that have come up in the database. Our staf is working hard to bring you new and creative content and keep the legacy of the Town Crier for another 77 years to come!
Continued from A1
While there, campus politics were not his interest. He was able to apply his beach volleyball skills to being a member of the Dartmouth volleyball team, which traveled to tournaments throughout the East.
Running for Congress was not Rollin’s introduction to the Hill. Living on the coast, Idyllwild was an opportunity to see something diferent. His parents brought him here several times as a youth.
“The frst time was in winter near Christmas and I was between 8- and ten-years-old,” he said. “I felt like it was the North Pole and this was akin to Santa’s village. It was a magical feeling. I was amazed that this enchanting, mythical place was so close to my home.”
Afer Columbia, he returned to Southern California and began his career in the U.S. Atorney’s Ofce. His cases involved counterterrorism and counterintelligence.
“There’s a lot of pressure. But it was defnitely rewarding to be able to stop threats or conspiracies against our country,” he said proudly.
He mentioned two particular cases. In 2018, Rollins helped prosecute Yi-Chi Shih, a Los Angeles businessman and adjunct professor at UCLA. He was accused of selling a missile guidance chip to China, Rollins stated.
“It was a fve-year investigation to trial, and he was convicted on all counts,” Rollins said with pride. Shih was sentenced to more than 5 years in prison.
“I helped defend our country against someone using military technology against us,” Rollins said describing his feeling and motivation. “I love the practice of law and its legal and intellectual challenges.”
He also prosecuted Jesus Raul Salazar-Espinosa, an alleged drug trafcker and distributor for the Sinaloa (MS 13) drug cartel. Rollins helped secure a guilty plea that put Salazar behind bars for 15 years on drug distribution and weapons charges.
As a candidate for Congress, Rollins had to leave his prosecutorial position. Besides a career changed, he says being a candidate has also had imposed signifcant other changes to his life.
First, his professional work involved national security, whose details are highly sensitive and secretive. Now he has to be self-promotional, put himself out there to others, especially strangers.
“No mater what party an individual is a member of, it is an incredible privilege to hear stories from people about their life and troubles,” he said. “And then think that if you’re in ofce you can try to improve their life and struggles.”
Secondly, the money aspect of campaigning was totally diferent. “It is amazing how much money is needed to run for Congress. It’s disgusting and doesn’t mater which party.”
Rollins was at the Rustic Theater in June and plans to return to Idyllwild again during the campaign.
Photo by Mike Ferro
Will Rollins
Art Alliance Plein Air Festival Coming
By David Jerome Correspondent
The Art Alliance of Idyllwild will be holding their annual Plein Air Art Festival on Saturday August 3. Registration is open to members and non-members alike until this Saturday, July 27th.
Artists will have their canvas or other substrate stamped and go to work wherever they wish. They will also receive a Plein Air tote bag with “artist’s goodies, coupons and information about Idyllwild including a map” with suggestions for natural and human-shaped vistas. The work will be displayed until August 18, and participants have the option of puting their creations up for sale or hanging on to them. The exhibition will be
juried and prizes will be awarded at a reception beginning at 4 p.m., with light refreshments and wine, beer and other beverages for sale, and music by Rachel Perry.
Art Alliance of Idyllwild Plein Air Festival 2024, Saturday, August 3, 7:00 a.m. to 6 p.m.. Members $25, non-members $35, artists under 18 free but must register and have a parent or guardian. Register online (aai. clubexpress.com) before 6 pm, Sat. July 27. Show up 7-10 a.m. on Sat. Aug. 3. at Wylldwood Gallery, 54960 Pine Crest Ave #3. Reception at 4 p.m. with juried exhibition at Wylldwood, live music and bar across the street at Fern Valley Emporium. For more information call or text Jolene Paige at (949) 436-1536, or visit the website: aai.clubexpress.com.
Continued from A1
contributions have come from individuals. Calvert has garnered 70% of his $5.0 million in total contributions from individuals and the balance ($1.5 million) has come from political action committees. While Rollins has received about $480,000 in PAC contributions.
Calvert’s largest contributor is a Political Action Committee, “Protect the House 2024,” which former Speaker Kevin McCarthy established in February 2023, on the heels of the narrow 2022 Republican House victory. Calvert has received slightly more than $320,000 from this group and another $55,000 from Protect the House California.
Corporations such General Electric have given their own contributions to Calvert. GE has contributed $10,000 through last September.
Through the end of June, seven Idyllwild residents have contributed about $3,000 to Rollins campaign. The Calvert data does not show any Idyllwild or other contributions from Hill areas.
The competitiveness of this race is not seen just in the registration numbers. Political observers have also identified its importance and closeness. This month, the Cook Political Report called this race a toss-up, “These races are the most competitive; either party has a good chance of winning.”
“The Hill” calls it “lean GOP”, but still gives Calvert an 80% chance of winning the election.
Calvert won in 2022, his closest win. Both men will face off again in November. And once more this will be a close if not closer race. This closeness raises the importance of this race which will have strong bearing on which party controls the House of Representatives in 2025.
And as of this week, the number of Congressional Republicans is 220. There are 213 Democratic representatives and two vacant seats. The November Election will determine control of the House in 2025, which is why the outcome of CD 41 is important to its voters and will influence the entire country.
Life Tribute
Robert Dennis Muir
02/13/1954 - 07/13/2024
Rob Muir, 70, of Idyllwild, passed away peacefully on July 13, 2024. Born in Pasadena, California, he was the beloved son of Bob and Marge, who brought Rob and his brother, Chuck, and sister, Kathy, to Idyllwild in 1957. Rob raised his three children, Robert (48), Jeffrey (47), and Lauren (46), surrounded by family in Idyllwild, and made a name for himself as a loving, dedicated father, and grandfather to his 10 grandchildren. Rob was also known as a hardworking, successful general contractor for over 50 years on the hill. If you drive around Idyllwild or Pine cove you are likely to see the beautiful crafsmanship of many of the homes he built. In high school Rob received high honors, letered in sports, and represented his fellow students in ASB.
Rob loved riding motorcycles and raced with legends like Malcolm Smith. He was a well-respected cornerstone of the community, and at any given time could be found helping others or just driving around ofen on his Harley or in his old yellow 56 Ford, giving friends and strangers his time and love of conversation. In recent years, Rob was a Trail Angel for PCT hikers and made too many friends to count. In short, Rob lef a huge footprint in the hearts of many, in a small town. A Celebration of Life will be held at the Town Hall on August 3rd, 2024, at 2:30 pm.
LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT
From July 31 - August 4, 2024, Idyllwild Arts will welcome FWB FEST 2024 back to its campus. This is a private event on the Idyllwild Arts campus that will feature speaker sessions, workshops, culinary experiences, and live musical acts in most of IA’s performance venues, including the Holmes Amphitheater.
FWB is a worldwide group of cultural creators, thinkers, and builders who convene both digitally and in person to collaboratively shape the future of internet infrastructure (Web 3). FWB FEST will include about 700 guests, 75 FWB staff members, and approximately 20 performing artists.
FWB has a long history of creating, producing, and managing safe events for thousands of guests all over the country and working with some of the most prominent artists and promoters in the world. The event upholds the highest industry safety standards and will be conducted in coordination with all state and local authorities. Riverside County Sheriff’s Department will be on-site during the event, and, just as in prior years, Idyllwild Fire Department will once again have a contingent present to keep a watchful eye on activities. IA’s Emergency Response Team will be on campus and will help to ensure that all musical acts cease no later than 10:00 p.m., which is in accordance with the noise ordinance of Riverside County. This partnership is in alignment with our mission and goals, and we thank our neighbors for their support and understanding.
Sincerely,
Pamela Jordan President Idyllwild Arts Foundation
Rabbi Ilana Grinblat presents Gisela Stearns an appreciation plaque at the Friday night Sabbath service. PHOTO BY JOEL FEINGOLD
“ASK SPIRITUAL WORKOUT”
• Editor’s Note: Spiritual Workout is a practice of • Be Present • Choices Abound • Everything Is Energy Judgments Separate Us • Listen to Inspiration • Mind & Body Are Connected • Take Responsibility • The Law
We Are Here for a Reason • We Belong to the Planet, Not the Planet to Us. More at spiritualworkout.com.
IWD Meeting with New General Manager
By David Jerome Correspondent
The July 17 meeting of the board of Idyllwild Water District was the frst with their new General Manager, Bill Rojas. The new GM’s report covered the projects he has undertaken as he continues the housecleaning begun by interim GM Curt Sauer, and the board approved and accepted the CEQA for the Waste Water Treatment Plant project.
As the fnancial year closed, fnal fgures for water sales were 11% below budget ($1,838,909 vs $2,068,920), and expenses 10% over ($1,860,781 vs $1,682,840.) This was the situation foreseen by the board when last year’s rate hikes were passed and implemented.
The Operations report showed high water loss fgures of 13%. They had expected higher loss fgures as the accounting had, under the previous GM, included fgures that Sauer had called “fabricated” because they included questionable leak estimates and a line item for water used by IFPD at hydrants, although they had stopped using IWD hydrants for training.
This month was a busy one for leak and hydrant repair. Rojas listed leak repairs on McKinney Lane, Pine Crest (near the USFS station) Jameson (two leaks), Jeppson Corner, Deerfoot, and Ridgeview at Fratello’s. Rojas estimated that the Pine Crest leak was approximately 15-20 gallons per minute and had been going for some time before surfacing. Two hydrants, one on Tahquitz Drive and one on Country Club, were replaced afer being knocked over.
The Jameson raw water pipeline project will continue, with another 800 feet to be done by ELCO. Rojas said that he had negotiated a $15,000 discount on the project’s base price of $394,000, noting that if rock is discovered that requires more intensive work the cost will be added.
Rojas also showed photos of hydrant fushing on the IAA campus. IWD went to investigate reports of water running in culverts near the campus, and watched the work being done by a private frm hired by the Academy. Their system is supplied by IWD but maintained privately, so water from hydrant fushing is metered and paid for. Judging from the pictures, rust is a problem with their system; some of the water shown streaming from hydrants was only slightly murky, but some was a brilliant dark orange.
The completion of the Preliminary Engineering Report for the Waste Water Treatment Plant project has been pushed back to the end of this month or the frst week of August. At the beginning of May, the board heard that this would be fnished by the end of June. Rojas expressed confdence in this new deadline, and said there would be meetings in the coming week with representatives of the frm., Specialized Utilities Services Program (SUSP), which is part of California Rural Water Association (CRWA.)
For sure, it’s always good practice not to operate from anger. It’s not that your anger isn’t justifed — it is. And likely right underneath it is hurt, but I digress. Because like energy atracts like energy, it will be best to take any action from your place of concern. Then, assuming you have another atempt in you, it’s always so very helpful to talk about your Self. “I keep vacillating between concern and anger.” “I want to understand.” “I feel hurt/rejected.” “I miss you/us.” “I have things I want to share with you.” You cannot make your friend engage, but an invitation like this — talking only about yourself and, thus, eliminating the possibility of his feeling judged, might be your best shot. Please let me know how this goes.
Nothing is wrong with you. Now that that’s out of the way, I’m hearing in you a desire to be sober in spite of a history of relapses. Yes? Fantastic. A desire. Let’s make that an intention right away. Put meat on the bones of what sobriety really means to you — day to day, week to week, month to month. What’s diferent/beter when sober? Feel your energy move in the direction of what you want. What a concept! Now it’s habit-breaking time: breaking habits of thinking, habits of feeling, habits of acting — also known as addiction. When paterns and cycles like this repeat and repeat, it’s evidence that energy has stagnated. That’s usually because, in spite of all the work we’ve done to beter ourselves, in spite of some really big wins along the way, some as-yet unaddressed energy lingers in the nooks and crannies of our subconscious. That energy is virtually always a collection of old, non-serving beliefs like, for example, “I can’t,” which has been true, and which can defnitely change to ”I can.” So I say with confdence that your strong, well-articulated desire for sobriety combined with a laser focus on identifying and transforming old, non-serving beliefs into ones that serve will transform chronic relapse into sustained sobriety. Everything is possible.
Dear Reader Please send issues and questions you’d like to see addressed in this column to “dearspiritualworkout@spiritual-ments about the column itself to the editor.
Rojas’ list of projects included the rehabilitation of the South Ridge tank and “booster” station. It provides pressurized water to fre crews trying to keep fre from approaching from the southwest. Rojas reported that he discovered the station inoperable, with all the electrical boxes open and wires hanging out. An electrician did the necessary work, and IWD crews put the machinery back in order. The facility is now back online.
Parolee Arrested After Suspected DUI Accident
on 74
By DaviD Jerome CorresponDent
At about 6 p.m. on Wednesday, July 17, a 2000 maroon Mitsubishi Eclipse driven by a 28-year-old male from Indio crashed into the mountainside just east of Mountain Center on highway 74. According to offcer Johnston Torres of the Indio CHP, the car was westbound near May Valley Road and veered right. A 40-year-old female passenger was transported as a precaution due to pregnancy, and the driver was arrested under suspicion of DUI. He was also found to be on parole at the time of the incident.
poetry.
• Political letters during election season cost 10 cents per
The board did receive the CEQA “mitigated negative declaration” from Dewberry Engineers for the project, and approved it. The 163 page document was part of the obligation of CRWA. It states, in brief, that “No evidence exists that the proposed project would have a signifcant and unavoidable or adverse impact on the environment.” The report notes that the plant has received no signifcant upgrades since its construction, which lasted from 1966 to 1970. It describes the present condition of the system, the needs that the project will address, and the environmental concerns that will be addressed. It is available, as part of the agenda for the 7/17 meeting, online at the IWD website.
The next meeting will be at 6 p.m. on. August 21.
Two Accidents on 243
Ofcer Torres of the Indio CHP provided information on two accidents that occurred on the 18th on highway 243:The frst happened just above Banning at around 2:45 p.m., when a 2014 Lexus is250 driven by a 32-year-old Banning male veered of the road on a turn, due to unsafe speed, sustaining moderate injuries. The driver was not wearing a seatbelt, and was transported to Desert Regional.
The second accident happened about a mile north of Lake Fulmor at around 3:30 p.m., when a silver 2004 Dodge Neon driven by a 47-year-old male from Banning atempted a lef turn while a silver 2013 Audi A5, driven by a 67-year-old male from Idyllwild was attempting to pass. Both vehicles were towed and both parties sustained minor injuries not requiring medical transport.
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• Mountain Communities Mutual Aid food distribution, 1-2 p.m. Camp Maranatha, 54162 Maranatha Dr.
Hwy. 243.
• Narcotics Anonymous, 3-4:30 p.m. Idyllwild Water District, 54255 Pine Crest Ave.
Hall, 25925 Cedar St.
Feeding America, 10 a.m.noon. Town Hall, 25925 Cedar St. Bring box for food.
Wednesday, July 24
• Codependents Anon, noon. St. Hugh’s Episcopal Church, 25525 Tahquitz Dr.
• Fit Afer 50, noon-1 p.m. Town Hall, 25925 Cedar St.
• Philosophy Discussion Club, 5 p.m. in the Spirit Mountain Retreat Hill House, 25661 Oakwood St
• California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (bark beetle issues), 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Mon.-Fri. Mountain Resource Center, 25380 Franklin Dr., 659-3335.
• Idyllwild Area Historical Museum, 54470 N. Circle Dr., 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Fri., Sat. & Sun. (Mon. holidays.) Group tours by appt. 659-2717.
• Idyllwild Help Center, 26330 Hwy. 243, 10 a.m.-noon & 1-4 p.m. Tues.-Fri. 659-2110.
Handled by deputy.
• July 15 — Alarm call, 8:14 a.m. 53000 block of Overlook Dr. Handled by deputy.
• July 15 — Assist other department, 6:36 p.m. 52000 block of Pine Cove Rd. Handled by deputy.
• July 15 — Noise complaint, 7:34 p.m. 52000 block of Pine Cove Rd. Handled by deputy.
• July 16 — Check the welfare, 9:12 a.m. 52000 block of Pine Cove Rd. Handled by deputy.
• July 16 — Emergency notifcation, 6:02 p.m. Address withheld. Handled by deputy.
• July 17 — Civil dispute, 11:18 a.m. 25000 block of Nestwa Trl. Handled by deputy.
• July 17 — Unknown trouble, 8:16 p.m. 23000 block of Hwy. 243. Handled by deputy.
• July 20 — Follow-up, 11:35 a.m. Address withheld. Handled by deputy.
• July 21 — Battery, 2:38 a.m. 25000 block of Franklin Dr. Handled by deputy.
• Idyllwild Transfer Station, 28100 Saunders Meadow Rd., 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Turs.-Mon. (Closed New Year’s Day, Easter, Fourth of July, Tanksgiving and Christmas Day); Grinding Facility, 8 a.m.-noon & 1-4 p.m. Mon., Wed. & Fri.
SAN BERDO NAT FORS
• July 12 — Man down, 10:41 a.m. Address undefned. Handled by deputy.
• July 12 — Trespassing, 2:55 p.m. 61000 block of E. Hwy. 74. Handled by deputy.
• July 12 — Suspicious circumstance, 3:01 p.m. 24000 block of Canyon Trl. Handled by deputy.
• July 12 — Assist other department, 6:27 p.m. Address undefned. Handled by deputy.
• July 13 — Check the welfare, 2:42 p.m. Address undefned. Report taken.
• July 13 — Missing child, 8:51 p.m. Address withheld. Handled by deputy.
• July 14 — Man down, 8:59 a.m. Address undefned. Handled by deputy.
• July 14 — Follow-up, 11:37 a.m. Address withheld. Handled by
Julia’s Trail Tales
Part 4: The Mohave Desert
Agua Dulce mile-454.5 -> Tehachapi mile-566.5
Crossing the Mohave Desert over the CA Aqueduct to Tehachapi is 112-mile stretch, what was it like?
FWB Festival Tird Year in Idyllwild
By DaviD Jerome CorresponDent
When Friends With Benefits held their first festival in Idyllwild in 2022, it was the first time an outside group had been granted the use of the Idyllwild Arts Academy’s campus for an event. Members of the group came from around the world for a week of art, music, and tech talk. This year’s event will be four days, August 1-4, and while all their previous events were of members only, this year the public is invited, beginning Friday, with a discount for locals.
FWB is both a company providing professional services connected to NFTs and blockchain, and a social network adjacent to the company. a virtual community mediated by blockchain. Their tokens are not investments or instruments of speculation like Bitcoin, but represent buy-in, both with money and work, to a community of individuals working in what they call the W3 space, the emerging iteration of the internet.
The group’s physical gatherings began with single night events in cities like New York, Miami and Los Angeles, often featuring surprise appearances by musicians with global reach, but 2022 was their first weekend long festival. The communique from the event planners describe that first year as an “experiment,” to see if a diverse and global group of on line friends and colleagues could meet for a weekend in the forest. Satisfied with the success of their model, the second year positioned the fest as a “platform for other emerging tech brands and communities.” This
third year the word is “validation,” the intent is to “spotlight solutions that people may not even realize they require.”
Although the press playfully called the first FWB FEST “Crypto Woodstock,” the event was orderly and the crowd capped at 500. This year, FEST Chief Marketing Officer Steve Alinsung told the Crier, there will be 700 tickets.
Musical events will be spread across various locations. In addition to the Holmes Amphitheater there will smaller venues indoors and out, including Envelop, an outdoor surround sound set up for three-dimensional sound craft, “from deep immersive listening and sound baths, to full-on dance parties.”
FEST co-founder Paul Tao wrote of “artists representing genres from ambient to pop to R&B, dance and more, and artists of all sizes and points in their career - some artists are brand new, some are a couple albums in, and one released his first album before I was even born.” Among these he highlighted Nala Sinephro, who “plays experimental jazz with a harp;” Arushi Jain, who is a “modular synthesist;” Laraaji,”one of the godfathers of ambient music;’ and headliner G. Cook “performing his new Britpop roadshow live set.” There will be “out of the box” sessions from an LA collective called “Floating.” Their sunset performances were a highlight of past FESTs.
FWB FEST 2024, Idyllwild Arts Academy, 525000 Temecula Rd., #38. Thurs.- Sun. August 1-4. Tickets are available for $399 for Fri.-Sun.,“locals” pay $100, using “close” code LOCALSONLY. .Visit https://www.fwbfest.xyz/book
Julia and her trail family embarking on the 24 hour challenge.
PHOTO BY JAILBAIT.
by the UN General Assembly with the idea that friendship can make the world a more peaceful place.
Some young travelers have sent postcards home to family in the United States, but the senders forgot to say which country they were visiting. Can you use the geography clues to determine which country each postcard was sent from?
The names of the four countries where these postcards came from are hidden in the letters that form the border at left and right. To find out the names, circle every third letter—starting with the starred one in each row of letters.
Standards
Look through the newspaper for names of 10 different cities. Arrange these words in alphabetical order.
Follow the maze to find out how to say hello in each country.
the power to make me happy or unhappy today. I can choose which it shall be. Yesterday is dead, tomorrow hasn’t arrived yet. I have just one day, today, and I’m going to be happy in it”.
LOST PET (Dog or Cat) Call ARF, 659-1122. Also, you may call Living Free Animal Sanctuary at 6594687 or Ramona Animal Haven at (951) 654-8002, 1230 S. State St., San Jacinto, CA 92583. July 25th Aug 1st
pick up.
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SouthBound and Company rocked the crowd last Thursday at the Idyllwild Summer Concert.
PHOTO BY JOEL FEINGOLD
Jennifer Singer
PHOTO BY PAWEL LAPPO
Past Tense
Reginald Pole, distinguished Shakespearean actor, was in Idyllwild for the summer. He was developing a cultural lecture series on the Hill.
A burn-the-mortgage campaign was underway to wipe out the remaining $1,500 indebtedness on Town Hall.
Ansel Adams, renowned photographer, was back at ISOMATA to head the staff of the photography workshop.
Ceremonies and an open house were held forcurity First National Bank.
Dr. Timothy Leary
was free on bail in connection with a drowning on Fobes Ranch in Garner Valley. An autopsy had revealed LSD in body, but Leary denied giving the drug to the girl.
A Riverside Mountain Rescue Unit practice exercise on Suicide Rock turned into the real thing when a 20-year-old hiker fell 100 feet down the sheer face of the rock. All 16 RMRU members on the training mission helped with the rescue.
Riverside County Road Department crews were doing extensive repair and maintenance work on Fern Valley and Idyllwild streets.
A meeting at Town Hall was called by Supervisor Kay Ceniceros to discuss the formation of a local advisory council and plans for the almost-full dump.
The 50th class of Junior ROTC women graduated from the Idyllwild Institute-Fies-
Alandale Property Owners Association sent a survey to owners of Alandale properto see the name of the community changed.
Idyllwild Water District reported that the 1998-99 weather year had the third-lowest rainfall since 1929.
In the aftermath of containing the Verbenia Fire came the discovery and eradication of a huge marijuana grove in the Black Mountain area. More than 25,000 plants were destroyed by Forest Service and RivDepartment personnel.
Austin, Texas based Guaranty Financial Group, parent companyanty Bank branch, said that it was likely to fail. was in talks with potential buyers and at least one investor group for a possible recapitalization.
State parks conducts two rescues – a 25-yearold from Huntington
Beach and two juvenile females from Pico Rivera.
The Desert Sun newspaper in Palm Springs and the Poynter Institute for Media Studies in St.
Petersburg, Florida, published whole feature stories on the Idyllwild Town Crier and its Membership model. And the Los Angeles Times picked up the Desert Sun story.
Creature Corner is looking for sponsors! If you’d like to be a sponsor, please contact ARF. Be sure to keep up with the animal antics of Days of our Nine Lives each week. And please stop in to say hello to the entire adoptable cast at the ARF House, 26890 Hwy 243. ARF is open Saturdays 10-3, Sundays 10-2, and during the week by appointment. Please call 951-659-1122.
Mt. San Jacinto State Parks performing trail work n Round Valley in the wilderness and trees needed to be cleared prior to packing in supplies by pack-stock.
A beautiful sunsest in Idyllwild
PHOTO BY JOEL FEINGOLD
was a study in concentration at bat during a softball game with the Pipe Wenches in July 1975. The Pony Shop won 10-3. FILE PHOTO
Soul on the Rocks: Te Art Alliance of Idyllwild
Art Alliance of Idyllwild to Launch Young Artists of Idyllwild Initiative Call of the Wild Concert at Town Hall Eye of the Artist
