Dispatch: Week of June 12
Juneteenth event in Twentynine Palms, plus two summer initiatives for MUSD students
Hello from California’s high desert, which is feeling particularly flammable these days. Consider the recent handful of fires a good reminder to pull those pesky weeds you’ve been putting off before they dry out and become fuel.
In case you missed it: Though I wouldn’t say that I’ve yet found my people here, I have found something that ties a lot of folks together, something I’m curious about and hoping to cultivate more in myself. So, naturally, I wrote about it for last week’s essay.
And now, onto this week’s news:
In local news:
Global Women of Color 29 is hosting a Juneteenth celebration this Saturday, June 15, from 12 p.m. until 8 p.m. at Knott Sky Park in Twentynine Palms.
The event features a march, live music, and an educational component for folks that are unfamiliar with Juneteenth. Games and food will also be available.
The Airbnb gold rush is over, according to local real estate agents quoted in a story from SFGate this week.
As if their ears were burning, San Bernardino County officials added short-term-rentals back to their agenda for Tuesday’s meeting, and suggested they would continue to look at their impact on affordable housing availability in the Morongo Basin.
Hi-Desert Artists, a new non-profit formed by artists after the Joshua Tree Art Gallery was shuttered last year, has found a new home in Yucca Valley and plans to open the gallery to the public later in June.
The Morongo Unified School District is hosting a free summer BBQ event this Friday, June 14, from 11 a.m. until 1 p.m. at Luckie Park in Twentynine Palms to kick-off its free summer food program for students.
The Bureau of Land Management is hosting a community meeting on Friday, June 14, to discuss the proposed Chuckwalla National Monument and other public lands issues in Southern California.
The meeting will run from 10 a.m. until 12 p.m., though doors open to the public at 9:30 a.m. It will be held at the Riverside County Fairgrounds, 46263 Oasis Street (Gate 11), Indio, CA 92201.
All students are able to ride Basin Transit for free starting in July, with the program running all the way until June 2025, the transit authority announced. Students will have to present a school- or government-issued ID to ride.
Desert Trumpet staff, along with guests Chris Clarke, Paul Razo, and Carrie Williams, are hosting a community Town Hall for Twentynine Palms residents interested in creating an affordable and sustainable city.
The event will also cover topics such as how to balance development within the desert ecosystem, how to create an inclusive community, and positive change. The town hall will begin at 3 p.m. on June 29, and will be held at the Twentynine Palms Community Center at 6547 Freedom Way.
A reminder that Hi-Desert Pride is June 22. The Dispatch will have the full breakdown of parties and events next week.
In state news:
A state regulator has accused Tesla of false advertising for its assertion that Autopilot and Full-Self Driving worked as advertised, and another state judge upheld the accusation, setting Tesla CEO Elon Musk up to potentially face the accusations in court.
Lord Maynard Llera won a James Beard Award for the restaurant Kuya Lord in Los Angeles.
It was a light year for California representation at the “Oscars of the food industry,” as Axios dubbed it. Mandalay in San Francisco was the only other winner in the 2024 American Classics section.
COVID cases are again rising across the state thanks to the new FLiRT variants, a collection of highly contagious and evasive variants. Here are the new symptoms to watch for, and please continue testing and staying home when sick.
In other news:
Apple held its annual unveiling event on Monday, where it showcased new AI technology it will build into the next edition of its mobile operating system.
It also will let iMessage users react with different emoji, and added a calculator for iPad users.
Hunter Biden, son of President Joe Biden, was found guilty of three felony counts related to the purchase of a gun in 2018.
The Port of Baltimore shipping channel has reopened following the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge when a ship crashed into it nearly three months ago.
Pupdate of the week: The dogs managed in last week’s heat, but are antsier than ever. This feels like a bit opposite of traditional cabin fever, but is just as crazy-making!
Trail tip of the week: If you hike anywhere near where mountain bikers frequent, be sure to always keep to the right of the trail and keep your ears tuned, as those bikers like to come up out of nowhere right behind you at the worst times! They often have right of way, so be sure to step off the trail entirely if you’re able to and let them pass. Some bike parks will have separate trails for hikers entirely to ensure everyone has safe access, but if not, it’s always good to be a little cautious.
Read of the week: I am working my way through Wandering Stars, a searing novel by Tommy Orange and the follow-up to his Pulitzer Prize finalist novel There There. Wandering Stars follows characters past and present before and after the main events of There There (which I won’t give away in case you want to read both, on my recommendation!). Orange is a masterful storyteller, and skillfully integrates each character into a much larger, generations-old story that continues to unfold. His books often take time to sit with and digest, but have always been worth it.
Watch of the week: I am captivated by Ren Faire, a wholly strange documentary series on HBO that follows a man who founded and runs one of the most successful renaissance faire companies in the country. But he is also a bit off, some things not entirely adding up when he decides who will take over the company after his retirement. He also owns a town in which he lives and operates, further complicating matters. Even if it sounds like a stretch, I was sucked in before I had a chance to blink. An odd must-watch!
That’s it for this week! Stay cool, stay safe, and stay outside.
- Megan