Dispatch: Week of April 13
Costco hours change, Desert Hot Springs gets a makeover, and Coachella is upon us
Hello from California’s high desert where we’ve had a few brisk mornings in a row. Hopefully all your spring blooms are hanging in there!
And now, onto this week’s news:
In COVID-19 news:
COVID-19 cases are on the rise in the US, but many states and counties are vastly undercounting the surge due to the reliance on at-home tests — which aren’t counted in official tallies — and shuttering of local testing sites.
The CDC extended the national mask requirement for planes and other forms of public transportation for at least two more weeks amid the rise in cases on Wednesday. It will now expire on May 3.
The requirement was currently set to expire on April 18.
All California Costco locations will roll back their COVID hours on April 18. All Costcos previously had a special hours policy for customers ages 60 and up, healthcare workers and first responders.
High-risk individuals that are uncomfortable visiting Costco in person are able to shop online.
Mask requirements in parts of DC and Philadelphia are coming back amid the surge in cases on the East Coast.
California officials haven’t indicated whether they would reimpose a mask mandate statewide.
In local news:
The Morongo Basin Transit Authority signed a deal with a Newport Beach renewable natural gas supplier to purchase roughly 750,000 gallons of natural gas to power 24 transit buses.
Desert Hot Springs hired a hospitality specialist to revitalize its downtown area in an attempt to draw more tourists to the area.
The initial focus of the project’s is narrow and focused on a small area of the city’s historic downtown on Pierson Boulevard between Cactus Drive and West Drive.
There have been mountain lion sightings in Joshua Tree National Park, which park officials say is a good sign of the ecosystem’s health.
A group of unidentified investors from Las Vegas have purchased Nipton, on the northeastern end of Mojave National Preserve.
The town, which counts 20 full-time residents, was last listed for $2.75 million, but the deal’s value was undisclosed.
A group of four Sikhs are suing the Marine Corps over its restrictions on beards, something required of a faithful Sikh, saying the corps’s refusal to grant a religious waiver is arbitrary and discriminatory and violates the constitutional right to free exercise of their religion.
The lead plaintiff is Marine artillery captain Sukhbir Singh Toor out of Twentynine Palms. He has steadily accumulated victories against the strict dress standards, and wants other Sikhs to have the same opportunities granted to him.
Coachella officially starts Friday, so best to avoid the low desert at all costs this weekend and next.
Awe Bar (the old Gadi’s location in Yucca Valley) is officially open for business. The bar is hiring for most positions and is accepting reservations for its limited tables all week.
Tonight is the last ever trivia at Swordfish Pub in the Joshua Tree Sportsman’s Club. If you have any tabs, tonight is the night to cash in.
Doors open at 6 p.m. and trivia starts around 6:30 p.m.
In state news:
A California state legislator wants the state to designate the date shake as the official milkshake of California.
It would join the California grizzly bear as official state animal, denim as official state fabric, the California poppy as official state flower.
PG&E will pay more than $55 million and avoid facing criminal charges for two of the three major wildfires started by its power lines since 2019, prosecutors announced Monday.
The settlement covers the company’s role in starting the 2019 Kincade Fire and 2021 Dixie Fire, both in Northern California. The utility still faces manslaughter charges for the 2020 Zogg Fire.
In other news:
Beloved comedian Gilbert Gottfried, known for his voice roles in Aladdin and several cable cartoon shows, died Tuesday at age 67 after a long battle with type II myotonic dystrophy, a kind of muscular dystrophy.
Jeep unveiled its Wrangler Magneto 2.0 concept vehicle on Friday. The all-electric vehicle is allegedly capable of up to 850 foot-pounds of torque to the wheels and 625 horsepower.
And it looks really rad.
The baseball season officially started last Thursday with a Chicago Cubs win over the Milwaukee Brewers.
Pupdate of the week: Alice made friends with our visitors’ dog last weekend and had a blast chasing balls in the backyard. Oliver is more of a grumpy old man and did not partake in playtime.
Trail tip of the week: Make sure to keep an eye out for poodle brush when hiking in areas that have had wildfires recently. It is a bright green, low-lying shrub that will have purple flowers, but is a major irritant along the lines of poison ivy or poison oak with reactions lasting several weeks.
Book of the week: I am admittedly very behind on my reading this year and haven’t had as many opportunities to sit down and quietly enjoy a book. If you have any recommendations for books that got you back on the wagon, I’d love to hear them!
Show of the week: Next up on my list is The Dropout on Hulu. Though I’ve watched a bunch of Theranos documentaries and have read Bad Blood, I cannot get enough of this weird fraud story. Amanda Seyfried has a great performance as Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes, and the wardrobe is straight out of the early 2000s.
That’s it for this week! I hope you have a great weekend and are able to get outside.
- Megan