Dispatch: Week of March 15
Furstworld closes and Chipotle construction moves forward
Hello from California’s high desert. We have wind and rain on tap through the rest of today, but calmer weather will settle in this weekend.
Onto this week’s news:
In local news:
The Yucca Valley Planning Commission approved construction plans for the proposed Chipotle location in the parking lot of Vons.
The city of Twentynine Palms received $1 million in funding from San Bernardino County to help fund its sewer and wastewater treatment project.
The Town of Yucca Valley opened applications for its $100,000 nonprofit funding initiative. To apply for funding, please call 760-369-7207 or online here.
Applications close on March 17.
Yucca Valley-based artist Melissa Lakey debuted a new show of mix-mixed-media paintings and drawings at Hey There gallery last weekend that will run through April 6.
A portion of all sales from the show will be donated to the Mojave Desert Land Trust.
Local animal rescues are working to provide emergency supplies to residents of Lake Arrowhead and Crestline areas who have been impacted by record snowfall in San Bernardino County.
Hooks Home Bound Rescue and Joey’s Home Animal Rescue are collecting supplies in station wagons parked outside of the Walmart and Tractor Supply in Yucca Valley. They are accepting donations until 6 p.m. tonight. They will drop off supplies in affected communities tomorrow.
Z107.7 has the full list of requested items.
The Center for Healthy Generations and The Joshua Tree Rotary Club are celebrating St. Patrick’s Day events this Friday.
Center for Health Generations will host dinner from 5:30 p.m. until 8 p.m. and tickets are $17. To get tickets, visit the Center for Healthy Generations, located at 57121 Sunnyslope Dr in Yucca Valley or call 760-365-9661
The Joshua Tree Rotary Club event starts at 5 p.m. and tickets are $30. The event will be held at the Helen Gray Education Center located at 6601 White Feather Road in Joshua Tree, and tickets can be purchased from any Rotarian or at the door.
Furstwurld, the non-profit community event space in Joshua Tree, was closed suddenly by the county last week.
Fursworld founder Bobby Furst and the organization’s board of directors received a call from San Bernardino County Code Enforcement on Thursday, March 9, regarding a musical performance scheduled for Friday, March 10. All future performances are cancelled until further notice.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service declined to list Joshua trees under the federal Endangered Species Act, leaving the fate of potential protection measures with newly proposed state legislation.
In state news:
Portions of the state are under water after a second atmospheric river hit yesterday through today.
The state has banned salmon fishing along the coast due to declining population numbers.
A Los Angeles Times report found that Chevron was not complying with state measures to reign in gas prices.
In other news:
Silicon Valley Bank, a regional bank in Northern California, failed last week due to a bank run panic. It is in the top 20 banks in the U.S. and caused mass uncertainty given its relationship to small companies and startups that needed to make payroll Tuesday but couldn’t access their funds.
All depositors were made whole by the FDIC, so no money was lost.
March Madness kicks off on Thursday (more information on the tournament below).
Pupdate of the week: Oliver is going for his senior vet check-up today, but our older guy is still chasing Alice in circles around the yard and shredding toys like he always has.
Trail tip of the week: This is a great time of year to get out those binoculars and start looking at the birds while you’re out and about. We had a pair of hawks (not sure which species because my birding ID skills are still lacking a bit) settle into our neighborhood and it’s been an absolute joy watching them day after day.
Read of the week: I just ordered More: Life on the Edge of Adventure and Motherhood by Majka Burhardt and I cannot wait to dig in. Burhardt is one of the best ice climbers in the world, and her memoir explores her struggles and successes in balancing her intense career with motherhood without sacrificing one for the other. I’ve been generally impressed by the number of athletes starting to speak out about their experiences with a physical career and parenthood — I believe there’s no such thing as “having it all,” but I do appreciate their perspectives on how to live a fulfilling life in multiple ways without compromise.
Watch of the week: March Madness officially kicked off yesterday with two play-in games, but the wall-to-wall college basketball games really start tomorrow. If you’re making a bracket, the deadline is tomorrow morning. Here’s a great guide for how to watch all the games with or without cable. Go ‘Cats!
That’s it for this week! I hope you stay dry and get a chance to get outside when the weather improves this weekend.
- Megan