So long, 2021

Redistricting maps are nearly final and two solar projects in Riverside County move forward

Hello from California’s high desert. We have another storm moving in tomorrow afternoon, with parts of the Basin looking at nearly 2 inches of rain before it wraps up on Friday. I am wishing you safe travels over the holiday weekend if you are hitting the road!

This is the last edition of the Dispatch for the year, and I just wanted to take the opportunity to say, again, how grateful I am for this community. It’s been a bit of a rollercoaster of a year, and I am continually surprised and humbled by the response these little emails get every week. There is nothing like a supportive community, and I am thankful every day that I get to be a small part of this one.

I have some big ideas for next year both online and off. I am setting some steep goals for myself because I have spent enough time in the last two years feeling burnt out, stretched thin, and generally uninspired. I want to pour myself into the relationships that fill my heart and devote a non-nominal amount of time to the activities that light a fire somewhere inside that has been on pilot mode, at best, over the last couple years.

I hope you too get some time to rest and reflect this season, and I hope we all can take a little more of whatever we need in the coming year. We cannot show up for others, for our community, for work, for anything really, if we can’t show up for ourselves.

And now, onto this week’s news:

---

The final redistricting maps were approved on Monday, but are still accepting feedback until the end of the day Thursday before they’re finalized

• California’s redistricting process will soon come to an end, as long as the approved maps remain unchanged through Thursday.

• The final map has the Basin in an Assembly district with low-desert communities like Palm Desert, Palm Springs, La Quinta, and Cathedral City. Indio and Coachella are in a separate district. The new district follows the I-1o corridor west through Yucaipa.

• The new State Senate district follows the same perimeter to the south but extends north towards Ridgecrest and east towards the Arizona border.

• The Committee is still accepting feedback on the final maps through Thursday. If no changes are made before Thursday, the maps will be finalized.

• You can submit feedback here and view the approved maps here.

Two major solar projects in Riverside County were approved by the Biden administration on Tuesday

• The Bureau of Land Management approved the Arica and Victory Pass solar projects in Riverside County, the agency announced Tuesday. A controversial third, Oberon, may gain approval in the coming days.

• The two projects are expected to generate a combined 465 megawatts of energy. If Oberon is approved, the three projects will generate enough electricity to power about 275,000 homes.

• The newly approved projects are the first on public lands to move forward under the 22.5 million-acre Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan.

• All three of the solar developments would require some destruction of habitat in exchange for land set-asides elsewhere, the Oberon project has been strongly opposed by a coalition of environmental groups. Its developers are seeking to build a 500-megawatt project on acreage originally designated for 300 megawatts.

• “Our organization has never been against solar power. We just believe there are better locations," Kevin Emmerich of Basin and Range Watch told The Desert Sun.

---

The yearling.

Pupdate of the week: It’s Alice’s birthday today, and Oliver celebrates his “adoptaversary” next week, so there will be plenty of toys and treats for them both over the next week. A big shout-out to Rosemary who recommended some great indestructible dog toys a few weeks back, the pups love them and the toys have survived a record-breaking two days! And of course, a happy happy birthday to the other #lucky13.

Trail tip of the week: The next two weeks are bound to be busy in Joshua Tree National Park with the holidays, so I recommend getting out during the week if at all possible to enjoy a bit of solitude and get a taste of winter in the high desert. If we get as much rain as they are predicting, Barker Dam will be a sight to behold!

Book of the week: In a fitting way to close out the year, I am recommending Out of Office: The Big Problem and Bigger Promise of Working from Home by Anne Helen Petersen and Charlie Warzel. The book is a little bit of everything, style-wise, but takes a deeply critical look at the ways in which modern offices were designed and what we can gain by centering ourselves in the discussion of work. It’s not exactly a self-help book, but if you are like me and have a hard time disconnecting at the end of the day or pushing work out of your mind on the weekends, it has some great advice going into a new year.

Show of the week: I am nearly through my annual run of Christmas movies, but am still due for a Little Women viewing before the end of the week. I grew up with the Kirsten Dunst version, but I absolutely love Greta Gerwig’s version that came out in 2019. It was one of the last movies I saw in theaters before everything shut down in early 2020, and it remains just as good on a smaller screen. If you are looking for a family-friendly heartwarming movie this week, I highly recommend it!

---

Small businesses of the year

I am so thankful for our community of small businesses that have been put through the wringer over the last 20 months, and I want to toast you all for making it through another year. There is so much to be excited about in 2022, and I hope that there are easier times ahead for everyone.

A selection of fabulous small businesses of the week from past editions: Boo’s Organic Oven, Route 62 Vintage Marketplace, Joshua Tree Coffee Company, Joshua Tree Bottle Shop, Joshua Tree Brewery, Pie for the People, Cactus Mart, Roadrunner Grab and Go, Kama Collection, Nomad Ventures, Frontier Cafe, and so many others.

---

Thank you, as always, for your support. It has been quite a year, and I am grateful for those of you that have welcomed the Dispatch into your inboxes over the last year. I will see you again in 2022, but I hope you get to enjoy some time outside in the meantime!

- Megan