Get involved and build a little community this holiday season
Month-long indoor mask mandate resumes statewide, San Bernardino County approves redistricting map, and the Basin has hottest November on record
Hello from California’s high desert, where we got a much-needed soaking yesterday. According to NWS in San Diego, parts of the San Bernardino Mountains got more than five inches of rain yesterday, and top wind gusts were around 40 miles per hour. Upper elevations got snow overnight, including my own backyard. Winds took out a power pole in Joshua Tree near Copper Mountain College Tuesday afternoon, leaving many residents without power until well into the evening. As of Wednesday morning, 2,489 customers remained without power, most of which were in Wonder Valley.
Last week, I highlighted a few opportunities to give back this holiday season and your response was great! You also gave me a bunch more ideas, so I am compiling everything here this week.
Here are some upcoming and ongoing volunteer opportunities to give back this year:
Morongo Basin Humane Society and Barstow Humane are accepting items off their respective wish lists through their partnership with Real Time Rescue. You can shop for Morongo Basin here and for Barstow Humane here. You can also support Real Time Rescue’s efforts in the Basin and Los Angeles County here.
AAP Food Samaritans is seeking volunteers 18 or older to assist with administrative and event-related tasks. They need greeters, auction helpers, and more. Proficiency with computers helpful but not essential for all tasks. Contact Jim Poutre at (760) 325-8481 or email jpoutre@aapfoodsamaritans.org.
American Red Cross is seeking volunteers to help your neighbors prepare for, respond to and recover from disasters and emergencies like home fires, wildfires, floods, earthquakes and more. Volunteer opportunities can match a wide range of interests and time commitments. Get started with an online application at redcross.org/volunteer.
Assistance League Coachella Valley is looking for volunteers who want to make a difference in the lives of school children, seniors, and the military in our community. The organization clothe 3,000-4,000 school children each year, provide entertainment to nursing home-bound seniors, grant scholarships in the performing arts to high school students, and hold a baby shower for first-time mothers at Twentynine Palms Marine Base. For more information, contact membership@alcoachellavalley.org or call (949) 848-0084.
Coachella Valley Volunteers in Medicine is seeking bilingual Spanish volunteers for medical office placement, providing patient care, medical translation, reception, and data entry, depending on experience and training. Call today and join our team to provide care to uninsured residents of the Coachella Valley. Call Mica at (760) 342-4414 or email mica.mendez@cvvim.org. Online application at cvvim.org.
FIND, the desert’s regional food bank, needs volunteers to help feed every family and person experiencing food insecurity. We welcome volunteers 18 and over to sort and package food in our warehouse or distribute food at our drive-thru distributions. You can coordinate a special youth volunteer day for a group of 14 to 17 year olds to help out in our warehouse. Contact Erin Lucas, volunteer programs manager, at (760) 775-3663 ext. 123.
The Living Desert Zoo & Gardens is seeking volunteers to fulfill a variety of unique roles throughout the zoo. Volunteers are trained to interact with guests of all ages, to interpret the zoo’s animals and plants, and inspire guests to take conservation action. Visit livingdesert.org/support/volunteer to learn more information or contact Justin Carmichael at (760) 346-5694 ext. 2503 or via jcarmichael@livingdesert.org.
Read With Me is a 16-year-old nonprofit that has assisted local children from low-income, limited English-speaking families in their development to improve their skills to read, comprehend, and speak English. We are accepting part-time and full-time volunteers to tutor children, either via Zoom or on campus if fully vaccinated. For more information or to obtain an application about this rewarding volunteer opportunity please visit readwithmevolunteers.com.
The Transgender Health and Wellness Center provides healthcare and social services to transgender, gender non-conforming and intersex persons in the Inland Empire. We also work with families to help them have a nurturing environment so LGBTQ+ youth can reach their highest potential. Call (760) 202-4308, visit trans.health or email info@trans.health for additional volunteer information.
Twentynine Palms Historical Society needs volunteers for the society’s Old Schoolhouse Museum to welcome visitors, give exhibit tours upon request, and assist in gift shop purchases. Volunteer assistance is also needed for behind-the-scenes activities, such as office assistance, checking in visitors at events, and grounds-keeping. Most behind-the-scenes activities take place Wednesday mornings. Call (760) 367-2366 or email volunteers@29palmshistorical.org for more information.
And now, onto this week’s news:
Masks are back for all indoor venues, including restaurants, regardless of a person’s vaccination status starting today.
Governor Gavin Newsom reinstated the mandate, which will run for at least one month, due to growing concerns about the Omicron variant first detected in South Africa.
It is not yet known whether the variant is more deadly, but early studies from South Africa and the UK indicate that it is more transmissible than the Delta variant and has the ability to evade immunity from prior coronavirus infections.
On Tuesday, San Bernardino County announced that it had detected its first Omicron case in a male resident of Redlands who was fully vaccinated with a booster shot. He had traveled to a conference out of state and returned with COVID-19 symptoms, according to a press release from the county. So far, Los Angeles County has detected at least 15 Omicron cases in the two weeks since the first case was identified.
Cases of COVID-19, not just Omicron variant cases, in California have risen by almost 50% in the last two and a half weeks. Hospitalizations are up by nearly 15%, the Los Angeles Times reported. The US surpassed 800,000 deaths due to COVID-19 on Tuesday evening.
The San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors approved a new redistricting plan at the December 7 meeting. The map was adopted on Tuesday, ahead of the December 15 statewide deadline.
In the approved plan, the Morongo Basin is part of District 3. The large proposed district also includes Barstow, Grand Terrace, Highland, Loma Linda, Needles, Redlands, Yucaipa, portions of Colton and San Bernardino, and San Bernardino mountain communities including Crestline through the Big Bear valley, including the City of Big Bear Lake.
The plan now goes in front of the Advisory Redistricting Commission for final approval. The maps will be enacted prior to the 2022 election cycle.
As it currently stands, District 3 Supervisor Dawn Rowe would remain in her position.
The Morongo Basin just saw its warmest November on record with no recorded rainfall
It was a dry and warm November in the Morongo Basin last month. Anecdotally, I usually break out my big jacket and boots in November, but only just broke them out this past week.
There was not a single drop of precipitation recorded in the Basin in November, a troubling start to what is supposed to be the wettest part of the year. On average, the Basin gets 0.3 of an inch in November.
Yucca Valley set new all-time temperature records in November with average temperatures of 86 degrees for the high and 36 degrees for the low. A typical November is closer to 66 degrees for the average high and 37 degrees for the average low.
Joshua Tree, Landers, Twentynine Palms, and Morongo Valley all saw average high temperatures above 80 degrees in November.
Pupdate of the week: Alice was not at all a fan of Tuesday’s storm. She barked at the wind, refused to go outside, and paced around the house nervously all day. Oliver, on the other hand, has lived through winter in Chicago and storms in Lake Tahoe, so he hunkered down under some blankets and had himself a day.
Trail tip of the week: We went hiking up in a more remote part of the desert last weekend and had a great time away from the hustle and bustle. It was well worth the drive out to get a little quiet time, but we had to plan our fuel stops and other emergency contacts ahead of time given the remoteness of our location. We luckily had service in the event of a true emergency, but the mapped trail on AllTrails wasn’t totally accurate around that area so we could’ve easily made mistakes during our trip. Consider this your evergreen reminder to always, always triple-check trail maps and local forecasts before setting out, especially if you’re away from the crowds.
Book of the week: If you are looking for a gift for pretty much anyone that loves dogs, I highly recommend Dogs on the Trail: A Year in the Life by Blair Braverman and Quince Mountain. I’ve loved Braverman’s other books and her daily dog updates on Twitter, and this book is essentially all of that plus high-resolution photos of her and Mountain’s team of mushing dogs. They live in upstate Wisconsin and race the dogs in the winter, but every single being, dog and human, is rich with their own personalities and quirks as they prepare for the season. It’s written for anyone, so it makes a great gift for young dog lovers or future adventurers just as much as someone like me!
Show of the week: I lived in a big city for several years, and there’s something inexplicably fun about the variety of people you encounter in a place like that. If you are similarly utterly transfixed by human nature, may I present to you HBO’s How To with John Wilson? It’s a one-man comedy show based in New York City where Wilson has shot video every day for the past several years. He does the voice-over as well, and the pairing of some of his footage with the topics he covers, such as how to make small talk with strangers, is hilarious. (Small editor’s note: this is not a family-friendly show, but it is still delightful once the kids are in bed).
Small business of the week
I wanted to draw your attention to Mojave Underground this week. While not exactly a business, it’s an online gathering place of sorts where any business can promote new events, openings, or yoga classes to Basin locals. It is an Instagram account run by two folks in the Basin and posts daily updates and links to concerts, holiday markets, and menu specials, if that’s your thing. Right now, Mojave Underground is collecting tips about New Year’s Eve and I already have a list of things I’m hoping to explore thanks to them. The team also hosts quarterly Locals-Only meet-ups throughout the year, so they are worth a follow even if for that alone.
Mojave Underground is an Instagram account. You can message or follow their page at @mojaveunderground
That’s it for this week! I will be back in your inboxes next week before taking some time off around the New Year. I hope you have a fabulous weekend and get the chance to get outside!
- Megan