Hello from California’s high desert. I hope you had an enjoyable start to the summer season and end of the school year, even if it was a bit hotter than we expected.
It’s been a few weeks, so please let me know what you think. Sometimes time apart helps highlight things you love — or things that are less than ideal — and I want to hear about it.
With that, onto this week’s news:
In local news:
San Bernardino County issued a pause on all new short-term rentals in unincorporated parts of the county including Big Bear, Landers, Joshua Tree, and Morongo Valley in a meeting on Tuesday.
The 45-day interim urgency ordinance takes effect immediately after it was approved by San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors.
The county will continue to accept and process applications for STRs, but no permits will be issued until after the 45 days. The pause on new permits does not apply to applications submitted before the ordinance took effect or to applications to renew existing STRs.
Supervisors also approved amendments to the county’s existing STR ordinance, including: a limit of one STR on parcels under 2 acres and two STRs on parcels over 2 acres, and occupancy limits of 4 people for a one-bedroom or studio unit, with two additional guests allowed for each additional bedroom up to a maximum of 12 total guests.
Supervisors also capped the number of STR permits for any individual person, corporation, personal or family trust, LLC, or LLP at two permits — those with more than two STRs will be grandfathered in to keep their existing rentals.
Joshua Tree’s Pride celebration is Saturday, June 18.
The Station at 61943 Twentynine Palms Highway in Joshua Tree will host a Pride party with a DJ from noon to 4 p.m. It will be the splashdown point for the Mermaid Parade from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m.
The Beatnik Lounge at 61597 Twentynine Palms Highway in Joshua Tree will host “Queerated Gallery Show” from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
“Queer Voice: The Feminist, Queer and Otherwise Radical Open Mic” will be performed from 5 to 7 p.m. at the pavilion by the pond at the JT Lake RV and Campground at 2601 Sunfair Road in Joshua Tree.
The Tiny Pony Tavern at 57205 Twentynine Palms Highway in Yucca Valley will host a Pride dance party from 8 p.m. to midnight with a full food and drink menu.
The Morongo Basin Unified School District is sponsoring free breakfast and lunch for children in the area through the summer.
The full list of distribution areas can be found here.
In state news:
Governor Gavin Newsom designated this week California State Parks Week (June 12 through 18).
A complete list of the week’s community events and in-person and virtual programming can be found at CAStateParksWeek.org.
COVID-19 cases are still surging across the state. Official counts are likely underreported due to at-home testing.
Amazon wants to start delivering your packages via drone, and it wants to start service in Northern California this year.
The Sheep Fire near Wrightwood has consumed nearly 1,000 acres and was 35% contained as of Tuesday evening.
The County issued a smoke advisory for the Victor Valley and mountain communities Tuesday afternoon.
In other news:
The Golden State Warriors face the Boston Celtics in Game 6 of the NBA Finals tomorrow. Golden State is up 3-2 on the series, and the game airs on ABC at 6 p.m. PT.
Speaking of sports, the Tampa Bay Lightning and Colorado Avalanche face off in Game 1 of the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs tonight at 5 p.m. PT.
Fun fact: Can you name all the sports teams whose mascots are not plural? (Hint: two are above, there are nine total).
The drought is doing really bad things to the Colorado River, and it’s about to hit another historic low.
Pupdate of the week: I have been traveling a lot — for work and for fun, at least — so the dogs are velcroed to my side at all times when I am home. I hate leaving them for so long but really enjoy all the snuggles we get when we get back.
Trail tip of the week: We had a big start to fire season the other week with the wildfire in Yucca Valley, so I have a few fire-related reminders for you this week. First, hiking in poor air quality is strongly discouraged due to the health risks overexertion can cause. You can always hike at a later date when the air quality is not as heavily impacted by wildfire smoke. Second, do not start fires in fire season! No campfires! No fireworks! No flames! Sorry to sound like a bit of a buzzkill, but we are not in a place to play with fire.
Watch of the week: The latest season of Stranger Things is out on Netflix and I cannot recommend it enough. I binged it on one of the aforementioned flights, but it deserves a real-sized television and good sound system to do it justice. It is the first half of the fourth season, with the second half coming later this summer. If you want to know why Kate Bush’s discography is trending again, this is why.
That’s it for this week! I hope you have a great rest of your week, stay cool, and get a chance to get outside.
- Megan