We're not out of the woods yet
Registration for aspiring songwriters now open, student backpack giveaway is coming up, and calling all Girl Scouts.
Hello from California’s high desert. The monsoons finally arrived in the Morongo Basin, first earlier in the week and then again this afternoon. Hoping everyone in Twentynine Palms is staying dry — if anyone has videos or photos of Rattlesnake Canyon out near Indian Cove, I’d love to see them! I love seeing how the rain completely transforms that area.
I was really hoping that I was mostly done writing about the coronavirus pandemic, but it looks like we aren’t out of the woods yet. This afternoon, the California Department of Public Health recommended universal masking indoors after a CDC calculation designated nearly 90% of the state’s counties as substantial risk or higher in terms of community transmission rates.
The announcement followed another on Monday when Governor Gavin Newsom reversed course by recommending that everyone, including vaccinated folks, wear masks indoors in areas with “substantial” community transmission. San Bernardino County is squarely within the substantial category, and Riverside County is in the highest tier of concern. State employees are also subject to vaccination requirements or daily testing, and the UC system announced that all students and faculty are required to be vaccinated prior to the start of the next academic year.
Masking has remained one of the most effective tools to reduce transmission, according to numerous studies and guidances. In fact, it is second only to vaccinations, which have also been lagging in Joshua Tree, Yucca Valley, and Twentynine Palms. With the more contagious delta variant now the dominant coronavirus strain in California, public health experts increased the threshold of how many people need to be vaccinated to reach herd immunity above the previously assumed 70%. As it currently stands, just 47.8% of Yucca Valley residents are fully vaccinated, 37.7% of Joshua Tree residents are fully vaccinated, and 21.7% of Twentynine Palms residents are fully vaccinated. Morongo Valley and Landers are similarly within those bounds as well (here is the handy county website I’ve been using to track this data).
We’ve gotten a glimpse of what a return to normal could look like — mask-free live music, indoor dining complete with karaoke and small talk, getting on a plane to see loved ones in other states. But that scenario feels more and more like it’s slipping away. I don’t think another full lockdown is likely at this point, but I do see a future in which outdoor dining becomes our best option and schooling remains a mixed bag of remote and in-person instruction.
The good news is that it’s still not too late to reverse course, yet again, and resume our return to normal before the wave of busy season brings tourists back to town from all corners of the country.
All Americans ages 12 and up are currently eligible for the vaccine at no cost. Here is a list of all local pharmacies and centers currently offering the vaccines, and you can sort that list based on which vaccine you prefer.
The Morongo Basin Healthcare District is currently offering $50 in incetives redeemable at a variety of stores. You can call 760-820-2614 to book an appointment, and many other locations nearby accept walk-ins.
And now, onto this week’s news:
The BaHOOTenzie SongSchool is a deep-dive into songwriting with Steve Poltz, Tim Bluhm, and Lindsay Lou for aspiring songwriters of all levels.
The session is limited to 40 participants and runs from September 28 through 30. FolkFest tickets for the following weekend are included for all SongSchool attendees.
Attendees will receive 16 hours of instruction in everything from developing rhythm techniques to outright performances. The group will camp together at the Joshua Tree Music Festival venue in Sunfair Heights.
Tickets are $995 per person and include camping accommodations.
Lighthouse’s annual backpack giveaway is returning for the upcoming school year on August 7.
JT Lighthouse Christian Center is hosting its annual backpack giveaway on Saturday, August 7, at 10 a.m.
All children entering kindergarten through 6th grade are able to attend the event, which includes games, snacks, and raffle prizes.
An adult must accompany any child in attendance. There are a limited number of backpacks that will be distributed on a first-come-first-served basis.
The giveaway will be held at 5475 Sunburst Street in Joshua Tree. If you have questions, you are encouraged to call (760) 366-2466.
Girl Scout Troop 1030 is now accepting members in PreK, kindergarten, first grade, and second grade for the upcoming year.
The troop is located in Joshua Tree and can accept members anywhere in the Morongo Basin as long as they are able to travel to troop meeting locations in Joshua Tree.
A reduced membership fee of $35 is available through Friday, July 30. The membership runs through September 2022.
For more information about troop meeting locations and time, please contact troop leaders Heather Williamson (hwilliamson@gmail.com) or Jessica Fish (docswifey88@gmail.com). You can register at gssgc.org/join and search for Troop 1030.
Pupdate of the week: Alice decided she is absolutely not a fan of thunderstorms, but she is a big fan of puddles in the backyard. After years of living in Northern California, Oliver rediscovered that going outside in the rain is also not his idea of a good time.
Trail tip of the week: With rain comes tons of critters, including tarantulas! The non-aggressive spiders come out around dusk to eat in the days after a big rain, so keep an eye on the ground if you are out admiring the sunsets this week. They usually leave humans alone and are more concerned with other, smaller spiders for dinner. Live and let live, even if you’re a little nervous around them!
Book of the week: I held off on reading Severance by Ling Ma when it took off in early 2020 because the premise — a highly contagious fungal infection effectively catapults the United States into a post-apocalyptic free-fall — felt a little too close to home in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. It still feels a bit too on the nose, but the eerie storytelling and rich characters made for a thought-provoking read. I had to take some time off and sit with the story a bit after finishing, but I highly recommend it nonetheless.
Show of the week: The Olympics kicked off last Friday and run for the next 10 days or so. Swimming and women’s gymnastics have been the big headlines over the last week or so, but track and field debuts next week as do bouldering and sport climbing! You can watch live events on NBC Sports online or catch the biggest events on NBC Channel 4 during primetime. Other NBC channels are also broadcasting events all day.
Small business of the week
I have a thing for dive bars, especially those with a fantastic beer selection. Enter Landers Brewing Company. It’s a hole-in-the-wall for sure, and the proprietor Phil exclusively stocks local and independent beers on tap. It’s rough around the edges in the way that the best dive bars can be, and hosts local music most weekends if the heat is tolerable.
Given the nature of our local real estate market, however, Landers Brewing Company is at risk of closing. Julia Jackson has organized a GoFundMe to help Phil save the bar from outside investors, which has raised roughly $4,400 of its $20,000 goal. Donations are extremely appreciated if you are so inclined.
Landers Brewing Company is located at 1388 Golden Slipper Lane in Landers in the shadow of Goat Mountain.
That’s it for this week. Stay safe, and get outside this weekend!
- Megan
Do you have any more information about the Landers Brew situation? I like that place and I don’t want it to close, but I can’t figure out what their plan is and how an extra $20K will help. Their Instagram post says that money will be used to hire a lawyer. But if the landlord wants to sell, how can a tenant stop them?