Dispatch: Week of February 1
More details on Friday's car accident on CA-247 and next week's Hi-Desert Food Tour benefitting JTNPA
Hello from California’s high desert, and welcome to February. The shortest month always flies by, and I’m sure this year will be no exception.
Now, onto this week’s news:
In local news:
The Morongo Basin Healthcare District Board of Directors plans to transition to district-based elections instead of at-large elections, which it currently uses.
Registration is currently open for Yucca Valley’s Healthy Hearts 5k Run and 2k Community Health Walk on Saturday, February 25. Early registration runs until February 13 and costs $20 per entrant.
A 55-year-old Perris woman died after a head-on crash around 6 p.m. Friday on Old Woman Springs Road at Terra Vista Road. A 59-year-old Yucca Valley man suffered major injuries in the same collision. The two identities have not yet been released and the cause of the accident is still under investigation.
The San Bernardino County point-in-time-count of people experiencing houselessness identified 54 unsheltered people in Yucca Valley and 28 unsheltered people in Joshua Tree.
The Joshua Tree Philharmonic is holding member auditions for is Spring 2023 session on Monday, February 6. Z107.7 has more information here.
The Joshua Tree National Park Association is hosting its first Love Your Park Hi-Desert Food Tour from February 11 through 19. Participating restaurants will donate a portion of proceeds from a specialty food or drink item to NTNPA.
Participating restaurants include: The Copper Room, Frontier Café, Food for Thought Café at the Joshua Tree Retreat Center, Pappy & Harriet’s, The Red Dog Saloon, The Restaurant at 29 Palms Inn, Roadrunner Grab + Go, Sky High Pie, Spaghetti Western Saloon, The Tiny Pony Tavern, and 2 Guys Pies Brick Oven Pizza.
Albert Okura, the owner of the the town of Amboy and its iconic Roy’s Café and Motel, passed away early in the morning of January 27. He was 72.
In state news:
State lawmakers say they are considering a new host of gun control legislation in the wake of two mass shootings across the state last month. Specifics of the legislation have not yet been released.
Several of the state’s Representatives have announced bids for Dianne Feinstein’s Senate seat, which is up for reelection in 2024.
In other news:
A rare “green comet” will reach its closest point to the Earth later this week for the first time in more than 50,000 years. The comet is currently near Polaris — the North Star — just to the left and at about the same height. It is visible tonight and tomorrow night.
Quarterback Tom Brady announced he is retiring — for real, this time — after coming out of retirement to play this past season with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Speaking of football, the Super Bowl match-up is set. The Philadelphia Eagles will take on the Kansas City Chiefs on February 12 in Glendale, Arizona.
Pupdate of the week: Alice makes a great nurse when one of us is sick. Oliver, on the other hand, is more inconvenienced than understanding. We love him anyway.
Trail tip of the week: Joshua Tree National Park is instituting a backcountry permit system starting March 1, so be sure to do your research when heading out there or in any of the other federally managed parks that require permits. Lottery season for the summer usually wraps up in March.
Read of the week: If you’re looking for a beautifully descriptive novel, I highly recommend The New Wilderness by Diane Cook. It starts off by following a group of people that have won a lottery to leave civilization for an unnamed Wilderness State, where they can learn to live off the land and escape the toxicity of the cities they left behind. It takes place in a distant future, which you can really barely tell, and has a great arc throughout following the group’s first child and her journey through the experience.
Watch of the week: I sped through Netflix’s Wednesday earlier this week after repeated recommendations from friends, and it was as great as they said. It’s quick and fun, and Jenna Ortega is phenomenal throughout the comedy series based on the Addams Family. If you’re looking for something on the lighter side, I highly recommend!
That’s it for this week. I hope you are staying healthy and get a chance to get outside this weekend!
- Megan