Dispatch: Week of February 15
Dispatch: Week of February 15
Joshua tree decision postponed in wake of proposed law and Love Your Park fundraiser wraps up
Hello from California’s high desert. If you look closely, you can spot the last of yesterday’s snow on the hills in southern Yucca Valley.
Onto this week’s news:
In local news:
The California Fish and Game Commission voted unanimously last Wednesday to postpone a decision on whether to permanently protect western Joshua trees under the California Endangered Species Act.
The commission agreed to wait to see whether a new bill proposed by Gov. Gavin Newsom’s administration becomes law.
The “Love Your Park” dining tour of the high desert runs through February 19. Proceeds from participating restaurants will be donated to the Joshua Tree National Park Association through this weekend.
Tiny Pony is hosting a send-off party on February 19 with limited specials and a snake experience with the Basin’s own Danielle Wall.
A full list of participating restaurants can be found here.
Today is the vote deadline for the proposed rate increases for the Joshua Basin Water District. Voting closes at 5:30 p.m. and last-minute voting instructions are here.
A historic building in Twentynine Palms was destroyed in a fire on Monday evening. The building on the 5700 block of Adobe Road was built in 1938.
If you’re looking for some post-Valentine’s feel-good news: Joshua Tree residents Adrian Rios and Joe Cox got engaged on-ice at the January 8 Coachella Valley Firebirds game in Palm Desert.
In state news:
Senator Dianne Feinstein announced Monday that she would not be seeking reelection in 2024 after several policymakers announced their intentions to run for her senate seat.
Feinstein is 89 and the oldest member of the U.S. Senate.
State lawmakers proposed a law that would raise the minimum wage to $25 for healthcare workers.
In other news:
After an exciting game, the Super Bowl came down to one call at the end of the game that cemented the Kansas City Chiefs’ win over the Philadelphia Eagles.
But the biggest reveal came at half-time when performer extraordinaire Rihanna revealed she is pregnant with her second child.
Ohio residents are skeptical of officials’ claims that the air and water is safe near where several train cars spilled toxic chemicals in a large derailment.
The gunman in a racist massacre at a Buffalo supermarket last year was sentenced to life in prison without the chance of parole on Wednesday.
Pupdate of the week: Alice LOVED the snow Tuesday afternoon. She got the zoomies as soon as she stepped outside, while Oliver did his business as quickly as possible so he could go back inside.
Trail tip of the week: Wash your gear. When was the last time you washed your gear? Doesn’t matter, it’s been too long. Wash your gear.
Read of the week: In what may be my nerdiest recommendation here to date, I cannot say enough great things about Ed Yong’s An Immense World. It’s a beautifully written but also highly informative masterpiece that explores the different types of senses animals have and what that means about how us humans perceive the world.
Watch of the week: There are three “After the Altar” episodes of Love is Blind out now on Netflix. The new episodes follow Season Three’s couples one year after they got married as part of the show’s experiment. Be aware of spoilers if you Google too much!
That’s it for this week! I hope you have a great weekend with plenty of chances to get outside.
- Megan