Dispatch: Week of April 24
Mojave desert tortoise receives new protections, plus this weekend's events
Hello from California’s high desert. Wishing you all luck and patience on the roads on this last weekend of festival season.
In case you missed it: Last weekend I wrote about one of my favorite desert plants to celebrate spring’s arrival, even though many out-of-towners think it’s dead when it’s not in bloom. You can read the piece here.
Now, onto this week’s news:
In local news:
The Mojave desert tortoise was officially added to the endangered species list by the California Fish and Game after being considered “threatened,” a lesser designation, since 1989.
Slipknot is playing a one-night show at Pappy + Harriett’s on Thursday, April 25, and proceeds from the show will benefit the Joshua Tree No-Kill Shelter and the Boys and Girls Club of the Hi-Desert.
Doors open at 5:30 p.m. and the show begins at 8 p.m. Tickets sold out quickly when they went on sale at 12 p.m. Tuesday, April 23, and resale is not permitted for the will call-only show.
The Joshua Tree Gem and Mineral Show returns this week at its new location in the Joshua Tree Lake RV and Campground.
The show runs from Wednesday, April 24, through Sunday, April 28. The free event is open from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday; it runs from 9 a.m. until 4 p.m. on Sunday.
The Morongo Basin Healthcare District and the Town of Yucca Valley are co-hosting a free health and community resource fair on Saturday, April 27, from 9 a.m. until 1 p.m. at the Yucca Valley Community Center.
The all-free fair includes blood pressure and glucose screenings, COVID vaccinations, on-site “ask a doctor” segments, and an on-site blood drive.
The San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors approved a $250,000 acquisition of land in Yucca Valley. The land is expected to be the location of a new fire station to serve the growing area.
The 4th Annual Grand Old Pioneertown festival starts this Friday, April 26, at the Red Dog Saloon and features live music starting at 4 p.m. The celebration is free to attend and runs through Sunday, April 28.
The Alchemy Arts Collective is hosting a live dance performance and film adaptation called “Chasing the Light” at the Sanctuary at the Joshua Tree Retreat Center on Saturday, April 27. Tickets are available at the door and the show begins at 7 p.m.
Registration is now open for girls’ volleyball summer camp hosted by the Town of Yucca Valley. The camp runs the entire week of June 24 and is available to girls in seventh and eighth grades for $75.
You can register online at yucca-valley.org or in person at the Yucca Valley Community Center, Monday through Thursday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Friends of the Desert Mountains and the Coachella Mountains Conservancy returned 417 acres of land to the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians (h/t to the 90 Miles from Needles Podcast for the news).
In state news:
A new bill in the state legislature seeks to ban Clear, the popular line-cutting service popular at most of the nation’s airports, including Palm Springs. State lawmakers are calling the bill a way to address an “equity issue” since Clear allows passengers to pay to skip to the front of the TSA security line.
Tesla is laying off more than 3,300 workers in California amid a broad company restructuring after it reported disappointing earnings on Tuesday. The layoffs affected 2,266 employees in the company’s Fremont assembly plant and 486 employees at its engineering headquarters in Palo Alto. It also had several affected employees located in Burbank and Lathrop.
The automaker’s profits fell roughly 55% in the first quarter of the year, it said during the earnings call with investors.
The state’s newest state park is slated to open on June 12. Dos Rios State Park is located roughly eight miles west of Modesto in the San Joaquin Valley and seeks to protect and restore the area’s floodplain.
In other news:
Firefighters were largely able to save the historic Timberline Hotel in Oregon — made famous in the movie The Shining — after a fire broke out inside the building last week.
The FTC banned noncompete clauses, which are binding agreements companies often required outgoing employees to sign in an effort to stop those employees from going to work for rival companies.
Apple’s spring event where it is expected to announce upgrades to the iPad, is scheduled for May 7.
Pupdate of the week: Oliver got to join Alice at boarding last weekend and is still sleeping it off. Alice is already fully recovered from several days of nonstop play and is ready to go back.
Trail tip of the week: This week, I am asking you for tips! I am looking for an easy way to plan meals, hikes, and gear for group camping trips for the summer. Do you have a Google Sheet you use, or a template you found online? I’d love to hear about it!
Read of the week: I revisited Helen MacDonald’s work of art H is for Hawk recently, and found it just as moving as I did the first time. The memoir follows Helen’s attempt at training a goshawk following her father’s death, and moves steadily through grief and how, in that grief, we can lose ourselves to the wildness that lays dormant just below the surface. It is as educational as it is emotional, a stunning work of literature that continues to stand well on its own.
Watch of the week: I spent last weekend in Canada and so am now following the NHL playoffs more closely than I have in years. My home team didn’t have much to show this year — or many of the previous ones, to be honest — so I was completely reinvigorated in a city full of fans apprehensively excited to cheer their own team on as they go for the Stanley Cup (the trophy, not the beverage holder).
That’s it for this week! I hope you have a wonderful weekend with plenty of time outside.
- Megan
I loved “H is for Hawk”. Quite a moving story. Thank you for shouting it out.