Dispatch: Week of November 30
Local election updates, Climb Smart Festival comes to Joshua Tree, and the weekend's holiday events
Hello from California’s high desert. The forecast for tomorrow’s storm has shifted a bit and it looks like we’re going to miss out on most of the rain for now. Of course, that means we’ll still have plenty of wind. Welcome to winter in the desert.
Onto this week’s news:
In local news:
Republican Greg Wallis has a 12-vote lead over Democrat Christy Holstege in the race for State Assembly representative after Riverside County released more vote tallies on Tuesday. San Bernardino County is expected to release its next batch at 4 p.m. today.
Riverside County has approximately 500 mailed ballots and 500 provisional ballots outstanding, while San Bernardino County has roughly 3,200 mail ballots, as well as 1,000 provisional ballots and conditional voter registration provisional ballots remaining.
Octavious Scott leads incumbent Karmolette O’Gilvie by five votes in the race to represent District 4 on the Twentynine Palms City Council.
Final results are due to the state by December 9.
Friends of Joshua Tree is hosting its annual Climb Smart Festival this Friday through Sunday in Joshua Tree National Park.
Climb Smart is FOJT's biggest fundraiser of the year, and benefits several programs like Joshua Tree Climber Stewards and Climber Coffee in and outside of the Park.
Tickets are still available to purchase here.
Thought Theatre Morongo Basin is holding auditions for its upcoming production of “True West” by Sam Shepard.
Auditions are Sunday, December 4, from 5-7 p.m. at Groves Cabin Theatre in Morongo Valley.
Mara’s Christmas Wish is hosting a “fill-the-bus” donation event this weekend for its upcoming drive-through holiday gift giveaway.
The toy drive will run from 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday at Big Lots in Yucca Valley and Dollar General in Twentynine Palms.
The annual Yucca Valley Light Parade is this Saturday, December 3, but is still accepting applications for those interested in participating. Z107.7 has more information if you are interested in applying.
In state news:
A new state report found that roughly one-fifth of all of California’s water agencies could see water shortages if the drought persists.
Representatives from oil and gas companies skipped a meeting with state officials earlier this week that was supposed to investigate the reason behind high gas prices across the state.
Recent federal legislation has allocated roughly $250 million over four years to help clean up the Salton Sea and surrounding areas.
RSV, a respiratory illness that primarily affects children, is still rising across the state and straining hospital resources.
In other news:
If you are a Spotify user, today is the day you can see how many minutes you’ve listened to music on the app, which artist was most popular for you, and other fun tidbits from the year. You can access your 2022 Wrapped from the Spotify mobile app.
The U.S. House of Representatives passed legislation Wednesday that would force a tentative rail labor agreement and avoid a national strike. The legislation headed to the Senate for a vote Wednesday afternoon.
Pupdate of the week: Both dogs know they have some birthday/adoptiversary gifts hiding in the house because there is a certain door they keep sniffing at regularly. We’ll see if I can hold out until the end of the month (unlikely, but I’ll try)!
Trail tip of the week: A reminder for folks that hike without gaiters — if you want to avoid blisters on your feet, be sure to remove any rocks, pebbles, or sand from your shoe as soon as you notice it. It’s tempting to let it be, but the increased friction is a top cause of those nasty foot blisters, so it is worth the extra few minutes every time!
Show of the week: USA beat Iran 1-0 on Tuesday and earning an advancement to the round of 16. The USMNT will play the Netherlands at 6 a.m. PT on Saturday. See you bright and early!
That’s it for this week! I hope you have a wonderful weekend full of chances to get outside.
- Megan