Dispatch: Week of September 11
Selling Pioneertown, plus Campbell Hill Bakery's limited reopening
Hello from California’s very smokey, very hazy high desert. There are two fires currently burning nearby — the Line Fire in San Bernardino County and the Airport Fire in Orange and Riverside Counties — that are contributing to our poor air quality. Currently the back way from Big Bear is the only evacuation route (Route 18 through Lucerne Valley), so increased traffic on Old Woman Springs Road and CA-62 is expected until conditions improve.
In case you missed it: I went a little whimsical with last week’s essay, a trip down memory lane, of sorts. You can read it here.
And now, onto this week’s news:
In local news:
Viewers who tuned into the recent release of Selling Sunset’s newest season were in for a surprise when new agent Alanna Gold proclaimed she “owned a little town in the desert,” and revealed that, with her husband, she owned Pioneertown.
Gold and her husband, Adam, purchased several plots on Mane Street in 2020 for an undisclosed amount. In the show, Gold took several other Selling Sunset agents to Pioneertown for a “desert reset” where they stayed at a rental she also owns.
Pioneertown residents, however, dispute Gold’s characterization of the town and her role as owner, according to a statement published by the Pioneertown Gazette on Monday. They are calling for Selling Sunset and Gold to issue an apology, saying that her statements “undermine 78 years of internationally celebrated film, arts, and cultural history.”
The show also toured The Invisible House in Joshua Tree, which is currently for sale for $18 million.
In other local celebrity news, Jesika von Rabbit released the first single off her third solo album, a track called “I’ve Gotta Keep My Buzz Going.” von Rabbit is currently performing around the Basin, and has upcoming shows in Indio, San Diego, and Los Angeles.
The National Park Foundation, the non-profit that works closely with the federally managed National Park Service, received a $100 million grant from Lilly Endowment, the largest in its history, late last month. The organization plans to use the funds to make park ecosystems, including Joshua Tree, more resilient in the face of climate change.
Joshua Tree residents voiced their opposition to LoveMore Ranch, a proposed development of 64 homes on Alta Loma Road from part-time Joshua Tree resident Axel Cramer, at a meeting hosted by Cramer last week.
The Yucca Valley Planning Commission postponed discussion of retail sidewalk displays until November in order to conduct more research, commissioners said. The new regulations would affect all retailers except for Walmart and Home Depot, and would stipulate what can be displayed outside.
Copper Mountain College appointed Chuck Uyeda its newest District 4 Trustee on September 5.
The Hi-Desert Nature Museum is seeking traditional Mexican food recipes from local residents Mexican descent for inclusion in the museum’s next exhibit, Abuelita’s Kitchen: Mexican Food Stories. The exhibit will open on September 21 and run through December 15.
For recipe submission or additional information please contact Charlie Rossow, Museum Collections and Exhibits Coordinator, or Celeste Hilderbrand, Museum Supervisor at 760-369-7212.
A reminder to get your tickets for the 29 Queer Film Festival! The weekend-long event will run from September 20 through 22, and feature film screenings, panel discussions, and more.
Campbell Hill Bakery is reopening with limited hours and limited menu items as it works out how to move forward as a business. It will be open this Thursday, September 12, through Saturday, September 14, from 6 p.m. until 9 p.m. at its location in Twentynine Palms. Interested foodies can purchase pizza, cookies, and a small selection of sweets during the new operating hours.
Join climbers, off-roaders, and other desert residents in a National Public Lands Day clean-up effort at Giant Rock on September 28 from 9 a.m. until 12 p.m. Participants are welcome to camp at Giant Rock on September 27, and are encouraged to RSVP via the QR code on this event page.
Yucca Valley is hosting a 5K Glow Run on Saturday, September 21, at 7 p.m. at Brehm Park. There is also a 2K fun walk option. Registration for both events is $30 per person, and can be completed here.
The Mojave Desert Land Trust is hosting a full-day desert monitor training for folks interested in volunteering with the organization this fall. The training includes first aid and CPR certification, wilderness first air overview, topographic map overview, and software tutorials. If you’re interested in attending, you can learn more and sign up here.
In state news:
The National Guard has been deployed to help with evacuations and fire fighting operations for the Line Fire in San Bernardino County. Governor Gavin Newsom has declared a state of emergency due to the fast-moving wildfires across the state.
A new report found that roughly 186,000 people were experiencing homelessness in California last year, an increase from the same study the previous year.
In other news:
Vice President Kamala Harris debated former President Donald Trump in the first presidential debate of the year on Tuesday.
Apple announced its newest suite of products on Monday, including the highly anticipated iPhone 16 series as well as a new Apple Watch series meant to better compete with Garmin and health care devices.
Pupdate of the week: Oliver lived through many, many smokey days in San Francisco, and he seems to remember how much he dislikes it. He’s been cutting our backyard breaks short and is content with extremely short walks this week. Alice, on the other hand, seems completely oblivious and is still resisting our attempts to limit her outside time.
Trail tip of the week: It seems as good a time as any to remind folks that there is a park-wide fire ban in Joshua Tree National Park at the moment due to extreme fire danger. The brush that grew from our last few wet winters is bone dry and can ignite frighteningly easily. That means no camp fires, no grills, no stoves, and definitely no discarded cigarette butts.
Read of the week: My brain has been in need of a bit of a break, apparently, as I stared at my next book and couldn’t bring myself to open it. Instead, I opted for Lynn Steger Strong’s Flight, a relatively short novel that follows a set of adult siblings who are trying to negotiate their late mother’s assets over the holidays. I’ve compared it to my favorite holiday movie, The Family Stone, but if they all hated each other. It is a delicious, easy read that was exactly what my mind needed.
Watch of the week: The MTV Video Music Awards will air tonight from 5 p.m. PT until 8 p.m. PT. Taylor Swift is expected to win many of the categories, all of which rely on fans to vote for the winners, but several new artists are also expected to take home hardware by the end of the night. The VMAs tend to be very fun, with plenty of live performances to make you forget it’s an awards show and not just a live concert.
That’s it for this week! I hope you have a safe weekend, and I’m sending all my thoughts out to folks affected by the nearby fires. Love is thicker than smoke.
- Megan