Hello from California’s high desert. The flowers are starting to bloom and the sun is shining well after 6 p.m. It is really starting to feel like spring.
In case you missed it: I wrote about what it feels like to live with anxiety for last weekend’s essay. I tested out my extended metaphor skills, and I hope you enjoy it.
And now, onto this week’s news:
In local news:
Civil rights groups are calling for the release of body camera footage after a San Bernardino County sheriff’s deputy shot and killed a 15-year-old boy holding a gardening tool in Apple Valley on Saturday.
Methods + Rituals Spa is hosting a cacao ceremony and sound bath on Thursday, March 21, from 6 p.m. until 7:30 p.m. at Sacred Sands in Joshua Tree.
Registration for the event costs $44 per person, and can be done online here.
Tripod, our local coyote celebrity, got the full Oscars treatment with a full feature story in the Los Angeles Times. Well worth the read, including how residents can ensure Tripod remains happy and healthy even with his celebrity status.
A new study found that the four most polluted national parks are Joshua Tree, Sequoia, Kings Canyon, and Mojave National Preserve. Yosemite and Death Valley rank among the top 10 most polluted.
The Joshua Tree Music Festival announced the line-up for its spring show, which will run from May 16 through May 19. Performers include Fantastic Negrito, Moon Hooch, Telmary & HabanaSana, Madison McFerrin, and Q.Varo. You can purchase tickets to the festival here.
The city of Twentynine Palms is hosting an event planning and permitting workshop on Thursday, March 14, at 5 p.m. in City Hall. Residents, business owners, and organizations interested in throwing events in Twentynine Palms are encouraged to attend.
Please contact the Community Events Coordinator Scott Clinkscales by phone at 760-367-7562 or by email at sclinkscales@29palms.org for more information.
Basin Wide Foundation’s 9th Annual Golfing for Charity Scramble Tournament will be on Friday, April 5, at Hawk’s Landing Golf Club in Yucca Valley.
Tickets are $75 per golfer, and sponsorships are also available starting at $75 and go up to $1000. For more information about sponsoring or golfing in this year’s tournament, call the Basin Wide Foundation at 760-365-7219.
The Town of Yucca Valley’s 32nd Annual Healthy Hearts 5K Run and 2K Walk is happening on Saturday, March 23, at 9 a.m. at Essig Park. Registration is now open for both events, and day-of registration is available.
In state news:
State Proposition 1 is still too close to call, with roughly 50.5% of voters approving the measure as of Monday. There are roughly 2.5 million ballots statewide left to count.
At least 300 people are expected to have been exposed to measles at an El Dorado County hospital after a child with a confirmed case visited the hospital.
State utilities regulators approved a large rate hike for Pacific Gas and Electric customers shortly after approving a 20% hike, the largest in state history.
In other news:
Oppenheimer took home the prize for Best Picture at the Academy Awards on Sunday. Christopher Nolan won Best Director for the film, and Cillian Murphy took home Best Actor.
The other must watch of the night was Ryan Gosling’s incredible performance of “I’m Just Ken” from Barbie.
Conspiracies are flying after a photograph of Kate Middleton with her children was removed from global wire services like Associated Press and Reuters due to evidence the photo had been manipulated. Middleton has not been seen in public since she underwent abdominal surgery in December.
Pupdate of the week: Alice also found a squirrel hole in the yard this week, and has made it her personal mission to find out where it goes. Oliver is not bothered and would prefer to sunbathe in peace, thank you very much.
Trail tip of the week: Now that we’re about to be in the busiest part of the season and the flowers are on their way, it’s a good time to remind folks to stay on marked trails and avoid creating social trails. Social trails create confusion for other hikers and contribute to erosion, which can harm delicate plant life like the very flowers you want to photograph!
Read of the week: I am happily married, and I still thoroughly enjoyed Lyz Lenz’s incredible memoir-slash-manifesto This American Ex-Wife. Lenz is unflinching in her look at how marriage in the U.S. largely benefits men, and how women often lose themselves in favor of a happy union, as told through her own divorce and life after divorce. I am particularly keen on her ending argument, that community can solve so many issues we try to foist on traditional marriages, and the idea that the “it takes a village” mantra does not end with children.
Watch of the week: I have to recommend both Oppenheimer and Barbie, if you haven’t already seen either movie. They are very different, but incredible movies in their own rights, well worth the time to watch at least once. I also enjoyed Anatomy of a Fall, and cannot even now tell you whether the main character is guilty, the acting was that great.
That’s it for this week! I hope you have a wonderful week with plenty of chances to get outside.
- Megan