Dispatch: Week of September 27
COVID-19 boosters and tests updates, plus Yucca Valley reconsiders cannabis businesses
Hello from California’s high desert. A cooling trend is on tap for this weekend, with highs in the upper 60s, lows in the upper 40s, and a generous helping of wind.
Onto this week’s news:
In local news:
Appointments are now available for updated COVID-19 booster immunizations at our local Walgreens and Rite Aid locations.
You can make appointments for the boosters, as well as the annual flu vaccine, online. Most insurance plans cover the full cost of the vaccine.
Representative Raul Ruiz is pushing for the creation of Chuckwalla National Monument, a federally protected area that would expand the boundaries of Joshua Tree National Park while also honoring culturally important areas.
You can show your support for the new monument by signing this online petition.
The Town of Yucca Valley is considering updating its zoning code to accommodate certain medical marijuana retailers ahead of a state order that goes into affect on January 1, 2024.
The town will hold a public hearing to consider relaxing its laws around cannabis businesses as part of the October 10 planning commission meeting.
The Sky’s the Limit Observatory and Nature Center and the Joshua Tree Residential Educational Experience are back with their annual Night Sky Festival on October 13 at Luckie Park.
This year’s event lines up with a solar eclipse, which you can view with the event’s experts and astronomers in real time. Tickets are required for some festival events and can be purchased here.
The Joshua Tree Gem and Mineral Show is back this weekend at a new location: the Joshua Tree Lake RV and Campground on Sunfair Road.
The show opens tomorrow, Thursday, September 28, and runs through Sunday, October 1. It is open each day from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m., but closes early on Sunday.
The Mojave National Preserve is holding volunteer events in October to help restore and reestablish Joshua trees that were decimated during the 2020 Dome Fire.
More information on the volunteer events, including camping and access information, is here.
The Joshua Tree National Park Association’s Bighorn Benefit Dinner and Auction raised roughly $13,000 for the park’s bighorn sheep monitoring program.
In case you weren’t sick of the rain just yet, it looks like we have a wet winter heading our way thanks to El Niño.
The County is handing out free sandbags this Saturday starting at 3 p.m. at the Joshua Basin Water District in Joshua Tree and will also show residents how to use them properly for flood aversion.
Lifestream is holding a blood drive today from 1 p.m. until 6 p.m. at Twentynine Palms Community at Little Church of the Desert.
Lifestream has updated its donation guidelines in accordance with the FDA and will no longer ask donors of their sexual orientation prior to donating.
Two community clean-up events will take place this weekend in Whitewater and Cabazon.
The Whitewater location will accept household and bulky waste from 8 a.m. until 12 p.m. Saturday on the dirt section off of Haugen-Lehmann Way and Tamarack Road. This location will not accept tires, e-waste, appliances, or hazardous waste.
The Cabazon location will accept those items at the James A. Venable Community Center on Carmen Ave.
In state news:
Governor Gavin Newsom signed a law yesterday that bans people from carrying firearms in most public places while also doubling taxes on gun and ammo sales.
The increased revenue will help fund safety measures at schools.
Gov. Newsom also signed a law that requires all schools implement gender-neutral bathrooms by 2026.
The onslaught of moisture has brought more mosquitoes to the state, which has led to an uptick in West Nile Virus cases.
Minimum wage will increase to $16 statewide on January 1, 2024.
In other news:
Households can now order four new COVID-19 tests for free through USPS. The change comes as COVID-19 cases are surging nationwide.
You can place your order for more tests here.
Over on the other coast, lawmakers are battling to avoid a government shutdown this Saturday, but remain at odds on budget bills that are required to pass before October 1. If the government does shut down, all federal land — including Joshua Tree National Park — will be closed.
FEMA is starting to ration recovery funds in anticipation of the shutdown, which would limit any future aid it could deploy for natural disasters, including cleanup from Hurricane Hillary.
The FTC sued Amazon this week, alleging it operates a monopoly via its online marketplace.
Pupdate of the week: The dogs went to their last boarding trip of the season while we got in an epic hike in Washington state last weekend, so we are all recovery with lots of naps and sunshine this week.
Trail tip of the week: This week, we’re talking cairns. Cairns are human-made piles of rocks that typically form a pyramid. It’s important to never build cairns on or around a trail, as some trail crews use cairns for route finding and trail navigation. An errant cairn can send unsuspecting hikers off route and into sketchy territory. Building cairns also disrupts the native ecosystem by removing the rocks under which many critters like to make their homes.
Read of the week: I’m on a bit of a reading hiatus while I’m working on a bigger project, so if you have recommendations you’d like to share with Dispatch readers please leave them in the comments section! I will link two of my evergreen recommendations, in case you are in the market for a weekly dose of thoughtful essays or social commentary on internet trends.
Watch of the week: The writers’ strike is officially over as of 12:01 a.m. today, with production expected to resume on shows and movies almost immediately. The actors’ strike, however, is continuing, so some movies and shows with union actors will still be held up while negotiating continues.
A quick question for you all before you go: I’m thinking about offering a paid version of this newsletter that would focus more on essays or creative writing, liking hitting your inboxes on Sundays for a nice weekend read. The news version will always remain free, but I wanted to see if there was any interest in the more creative stuff before setting that in motion. Feel free to reply and let me know what you think!
That’s it for this week! I hope you have a great, albeit chilly, weekend with plenty of time outside.
- Megan
Thanks for the invitation to tell readers about books. Since I lived on Yucca Mesa for a few years and my writing has always emerged from place, you'll find your desert. home in these books. My novel, "29," is set in 29 Palms, J Tree and on Yucca Mesa: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18528074-29. My short story collection, "The Talker ", includes stories from the Mojave. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/29633748-the-talker?from_search=true&from_srp=true&qid=0d8ADO4ozH&rank=1. S