Dispatch: Week of July 5
Joshua Trees win full protection, plus Covington Flats reopens
Hello, and welcome back! I hope you’ve had a great start to the summer, and enjoyed a safe holiday on Tuesday. I spent a few weeks in Alaska back in June, so I’m having to develop my summer skin all over again now that we’re hitting those high temperatures regularly.
On to this week’s news:
In local news:
The Western Joshua tree is newly protected after the California legislature passed protections in its state budget in June. The protections went into affect July 1.
Western Joshua trees were protected on an interim basis as a candidate species for threatened status under the California Endangered Species Act, but permanent protections have been subject to delays and ongoing hearings.
Under the new law, the trees will retain those protections indefinitely. The Hi-Desert Star has the full run-down of what those protections include.
The Covington Flats area in Joshua Tree National Park is set to reopen to the public today. It was closed after the Geology Fire burned in the area in June and fire risk remained high.
A mountain lion was found dead with injuries consistent with a vehicle strike on a property in Yucca Mesa last week. It is unclear where the animal was struck.
Twentynine Palms Public Arts Advisory Committee secured $100,000 in grant funding for a series of free art-focused workshops at Freedom Plaza.
You can reach out to artinpublicplaces29@gmail.com for more information on the upcoming workshops.
Saturday was the hottest day of the year so far for cities in the high and low deserts. Luckily a cooling trend is well on its way before we heat back up again by mid-July.
A group of dog owners protested a design change on the Essig Park project in Yucca Valley on July 5. The town planned to pave part of Essig Park in a move that protesters say was not part of the original upgrade plans.
In state news:
If you hit the road this week you may have noticed a price increase at the gas station. A new gas tax increase went into effect July 1 across the state, and now clocks in at $0.58 per gallon.
Thousands of hotel employees are on strike across the state to fight for a $5 per hour increase in wages.
If you’re planning to spend time at the beach this summer, be on the lookout for sea lions. A new report found the sea lions are acting more aggressively towards people, and a toxic algae bloom off the coast may be to blame.
Wildfire season is here. Local agencies recommend California residents download Watch Duty, a website and mobile app, for updates, evacuation orders, and firefighting efforts now that many agencies can no longer rely on Twitter.
In other news:
Badwater 135, dubbed the “world’s toughest footrace” left from Badwater Basin in Death Valley National Park at 8 p.m. on July 4. The 100 racers have 48 hours to run 135 miles from the lowest point in North America to Whitney Portal, which sits at 8,374 feet. The race is posting updates on its Facebook page.
Wimbledon, a widely followed tennis tournament, began this week and runs through July 16.
Taylor Swift’s Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) is out this Friday, July 7.
Pupdate of the week: The dogs are not fans of fireworks, so it’s been a rough week. We’re doing our best to distract them and tire them out before the sun goes down, but I’m still counting the days until the fireworks are over.
Trail tip of the week: I picked up a new trick while hiking in Alaska last month that’s newly relevant this year’s hiking season in California. For stream crossings, be sure to shuffle your feet across instead of taking normal steps. This avoids crossing your feet and throwing you off-balance if the current is especially swift.
Read of the week: If you’re looking for a bit of creative inspiration, I highly recommend Mary Oliver’s Upstream, a collection of essays that cover writing, nature, and what it means to be an artist. It’s a great collection of Oliver’s work, though she’s better known for her poetry, that delves into the writers that most influenced her work and the places from which she draws her inspiration.
Watch of the week: The WGA strike is still ongoing, so there’s not too many new shows debuting right now. The good news is that season two of Hulu’s The Bear finished production just under the wire before the strike and debuted in June. The bad news is I finished it in less than a week and now have to wait who knows how long for next season. The Chicago-based series follows a chef that comes home to take over a small neighborhood restaurant after his brother dies. Season two expands on the family dynamics at play while also exploring a new life for the old Italian beef shop.
That’s it for this week! I’m glad to be back in your inboxes this summer, but remember to log off and enjoy some time outside. That’s a reminder for you as much as it is for me.
- Megan
Strongly agree with Upstream by Mary Oliver...or anything by Oliver, really