Contributed

Christmas came early this year for three local teachers, bringing tidings of great joy in the form of $100 teacher grants, courtesy of the California Retired Teachers Association (CalRTA) Division 33, which serves Hemet, San Jacinto and surrounding communities. Vice President Sue Breyer says, “This year has been such a tremendous challenge for educators, our hope is that these $100 grants will help bring a little holiday cheer to these teachers and their students.”

The formal invitation from the Ramona Humane Society to a 2021 No Year’s Eve Party reads: “You’re Invited to….Stay Home!” In what it touts as its first, and hopefully last, socially distanced party, the nonprofit animal shelter is requesting donations in lieu of what would have been spent on an admission ticket. The non-event is being held whenever and wherever “guests” wish.

Dr. Rose Soza War Soldier has been hired as a tenure track Native American Studies assistant professor in the Ethnic Studies department at California State University, Sacramento. She will begin teaching there for the spring 2021 semester alongside Drs. Annette Reed (Tolowa) and Brian Baker (Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa).

Western Municipal Water District (Western) and Eastern Municipal Water District (EMWD) entered into an interagency agreement this month to partner on efforts to enhance water supply reliability for March Air Reserve Base (March ARB). The North Perris Groundwater Basin Program participation agreement between Western and EMWD supports a commitment to remedy and protect groundwater resources, providing a new local water supply for the area.

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) announced today that it has administered initial COVID-19 vaccine doses to more than 5,000 Veterans residing in its Community Living Centers and Spinal Cord Injury and Disorders Centers and more than 50,000 health care employees in its first two weeks (Dec. 14-Dec. 27) of providing COVID-19 vaccines.