Dispatch: Week of May 24
Memorial Day Weekend event round-up, plus Arthur Davies' trial delay
Hello from California’s high desert, where the wind remains strong and temperatures relatively low. It beats May Gray, that’s for sure.
Onto this week’s news:
In local news:
Memorial Day Weekend is just about here, so here’s a quick round-up of events for the long weekend:
Furstworld Problems? Furstworld Solutions is a fundraiser for the arts and events space Furstworld, which has hit permitting snags with San Bernardino County. The fundraiser runs from 4 p.m. until 10 p.m. on Saturday, May 27, at Giant Rock Meeting Room’s Annex off Route 247. Tickets are still available for purchase here.
Yucca Valley’s Grubstake Days kicks off tomorrow evening with a mixer at the Joshua Tree National Park Association office in Old Town. A full run-down of the weekend’s events is here.
Spaghetti Western is hosting a disco dance party on Saturday, May 27, with DJ Uncle Abe, from 9 p.m. until 12 a.m.
The Palms Wonder Valley is hosting a Night of Joy on Saturday, May 27, starting at 8 p.m. The event will feature burlesque and circus performers, among other acts.
Officials have pushed Arthur Davies’ trial another week, with a tentative start date currently set for May 30.
Davies was arrested in 2018 during the investigation into the murder of his then-girlfriend’s one-year-old son, but extensive delays have held the trial up for several years.
The Groves Cabin Theatre in Morongo Valley is closing its doors after nearly 40 years, its director announced Friday.
“Santa’s Little Helpers” and “Hang Ten,” two rock climbs in the Echo Cove Area of Joshua Tree National Park, are closed until July 15 to protect nesting owls in the area.
The Joshua Tree Art Gallery, also known as “JTAG,” is closing permanently due to budgetary constraints within the Board of the Morongo Basin Cultural Arts Council.
An artist collective, led by Ed Keesling, is considering taking over the gallery space as an independently operated co-op.
Yucca Valley Planning Commissioners decided against Black Bear Diner’s requests to install two bear statues when the restaurant takes over the old Sizzler building as part of the restaurant’s pre-construction review.
The Little Free Libraries in Joshua Tree and Twentynine Palms have put out a request for book donations to fill their locations around town.
The massive solar farm in Riverside County off I-10 was the subject of a deeply reported piece in The Guardian about how to better balance renewable energy generation with delicate ecosystems in need of conservation. Read it here.
In state news:
California has agreed to cuts in a new management plan for the Colorado River with Arizona and Nevada. The New York Times has a great explainer on what the deal means for the state going forward.
Santa Clara’s Levi’s Stadium was selected to host the 2026 Super Bowl. The stadium is home to the San Francisco 49ers and most recently hosted the Super Bowl in 2016.
Governor Gavin Newsom spoke out against Target’s move to limit some Pride Month merchandise in its annual collection following pressure from GOP critics in other states.
In other news:
Following a merger with Discovery’s streaming service, HBO Max is now just Max. It’s a separate app, so handy tip is to download it while you still have HBO Max installed so you don’t get locked out of your existing account.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis plans to officially announce he is running for President during a Twitter Spaces conversation with Elon Musk Wednesday evening.
REI’s annual sale is going on now through Monday, May 29.
Pupdate of the week: Both dogs are hoping to sniff out the neighborhood cat that is using our backyard as a litter box, but they haven’t had much success so far.
Trail tip of the week: I’m not saying this is from personal experience, but it’s always a helpful reminder to share that yes, you can get sunburnt even when it is cloudy outside.
Read of the week: I really enjoyed Iliana Regan’s new memoir Fieldwork, which covers her decision to open a small bed-and-breakfast in Michigan’s upper peninsula right as COVID closures really kicked off. She covers her childhood, where she learned to forage and cook with items in the forest, and how that influences her life in Michigan as well as her long-running anxiety she inherited from her father.
Watch of the week: There is a new episode of everyone’s favorite guilty pleasure Selling Sunset currently out on Netflix, and I am enjoying the drama just as much as every other season. This year, there is also a two-episode detour to Palm Springs, so see if you recognize any of the houses they tour or restaurants they stop at for a fun treat.
That’s it for this week. I hope you have a fabulous Memorial Day Weekend and get a chance to relax outside!
- Megan