What national news misses
Pfizer's kids' vaccine now available, Yucca Valley approved 45-day STR moratorium, and Greenleaf Scholarship applications are open
Hello from California’s high desert, and welcome to November! A short reminder that we set out clocks back an hour this weekend for the end of Daylight Saving Time. I am extremely jealous of those of you who do not have dogs and therefore get an extra hour of sleep. Unfortunately, the concept of time is lost on them and they will be expecting breakfast promptly at 5 a.m.
I’m sorry about missing last week’s newsletter. I got taken out by a pretty gnarly cold after my week spent traveling and ended up sleeping it off most of the day. The good news is I feel much better now, and no signs point to a COVID-19 infection. All’s well that ends well, but I recognize that my absence was unannounced and unplanned. For that, I am very sorry, and I pledge to be more communicative about any other disruptions going forward.
As I’m sure you’ve noticed by now, our little desert has been getting a good amount of national attention as of late. NBC News, The Los Angeles Times, and several other media outlets have all featured the ways in which our community is changing due to the influx of new residents during the pandemic.
While I think there is a lot to unpack in all of these articles, some of which seem designed to generate a barrage of terrible comments on Facebook, the thing I take most issue with is the people that the reporters writing these stories tend to interview.
This is probably a journalist-specific gripe, but as a local reporter, it really stings to see folks that have very obvious financial incentives (real estate agents, town council members with STR holdings) be the only voices featured in stories that are written for a national audience. This is not to say that those people should be left out; to the contrary, I think their involvement is a crucial part of the rapid change that is captivating so many reporters. But there are artists, folks decamping to Wonder Valley to escape rising rents, business owners, and young families that also have opinions on what is happening here and aren’t getting quite the same megaphone to discuss their concerns.
Reporting is always a balancing act between different viewpoints. I know this firsthand, and I truly empathize with the national reporters that are sent on assignment to cover an area they’ve never been to. But I’m concerned that the incredibly nuanced issues taking root here are being oversimplified in a way that can be hard to come back from.
As the people who live here day in and day out, we understand the different shades and seasons best. It’s not always feasible to capture that feeling — that something is off but you’re not sure why — in a 600-word article packaged for an audience that may never set foot here. It’s a hard thing to grapple with when something you desperately love and is deeply a part of the person you’ve become becomes a talking point, nothing more, for people far outside the community. It’s frustrating, sure, but it hits on something even deeper that is more of a feeling, less of a reportable fact. It’s understandable and logical, but also unsettling. It is hopefully temporary.
Every community is unique in its challenges, its different communities, and the inevitable changes it will ultimately face. I think our coverage should reflect that, and I hope I have at least made a dent in that crusade.
And now, onto this week’s news:
Following FDA approvals, the CDC officially gave the all-clear for Pfizer’s vaccine for children ages 5 to 11.
The vaccine is roughly one-third of the dosage given to teens and adults. It still requires two shots three weeks apart, but the needles are smaller and the vaccines come with orange caps to distinguish them from the larger doses.
Pfizer’s study of 2,268 kids found the lower-dose vaccine is nearly 91% effective at preventing symptomatic COVID-19. The younger children experienced similar or fewer reactions — such as sore arms, fever, or achiness — than teens or young adults get after larger doses.
Parents are encouraged to talk first with their pediatrician to try and schedule an appointment, but pharmacies like Walgreens also have smaller doses available and are allowing appointments starting this week.
At its regularly scheduled meeting on Tuesday evening, the Yucca Valley Town Council approved a measure that would place a 45-moratorium on new short-term rentals while it evaluates its current policies.
During the moratorium, which is effective immediately, Town Council will consider permanent changes to the municipal code to further regulate short-term rentals. While several changes have been discussed, specific details of what those regulations could look like are unconfirmed.
The moratorium does not extend to those with pending short-term rental permits, existing permits, or permit extensions for existing units. No new permits will be issued during the 45-day period.
The Town has committed to sharing a written summary of its findings and proposed changes at least 10 days prior to the end of the 45-day timeframe.
Applications are now open for the 2022 Greenleaf Scholarship to Copper Mountain College
Copper Mountain College is now accepting applications for the 2022 Greenleaf Scholarship.
The full-ride scholarship is available to all graduating Morongo Basin high school seniors. It applies starting at Copper Mountain College and carries through a bachelor’s degree in any field.
Applicants are encouraged to have volunteered or been otherwise involved in their communities and must provide a 100-word description of their efforts.
The scholarship application also asks that potential awardees commit to living and working in the Morongo Basin after completing their degrees.
Applications close on Wednesday, February 23, 2022. You can find the application for download here.
Pupdate of the week: The dogs did not appreciate their Halloween costumes last weekend (see above), but they did mostly cooperate with the trick-or-treaters that stopped by! Alice got to witness her first major sports championship on Tuesday and was mostly unimpressed by Atlanta’s victory over Houston.
Trail tip of the week: If you’ve been by Joshua Tree National Park’s West Entrance any time over the last two weeks, you’re well aware that busy season is starting early this year. That means it’s a perfect time to check out some of our lesser-known parks and preserves to avoid the long lines and Disneyland-esque feel of the national park. Big Morongo Canyon is a great alternative, as is Sand to Snow National Monument or Mojave National Preserve. Since these areas are less frequented, make sure you tell someone where you plan to be, when you plan to return, and check in often when you have service. If you are really getting out there, a GPS device is a must for navigating the washes and valleys of those spaces.
Book of the week: This isn’t a new book exactly, but someone asked me for a recommendation earlier this week, and Educated by Tara Westover immediately came to mind as one of those memoirs that has stuck with me years after I finished it. The incredibly well-written book follows Tara’s life in a remote town in northern Idaho with her survivalist family. Her fight for an education, first as a homeschooler and then onto college, is contrasted heavily with the gritty reality in which she grew up. It is an incredible work that received tons of praise and even a few awards when it came out, so I definitely think it is worth revisiting if you haven’t already taken a look.
Show of the week: I feel like we’ve been watching nothing but baseball for several weeks. Now that that’s run its course and Atlanta broke its curse, I’m looking forward to digging into some of the newer shows like You and Squid Games on Netflix. I’ve heard both are a little unsettling but extremely good, so I will report back once I’ve binged a few hours’ worth of non-sports TV.
Small business of the week
Yucca Valley has a new small-scale grocery in Holistic Ranch General Stores’s new spot. The couple runs a horse rescue and rehabilitation center in Yucca Valley, and opened the store in Old Town Yucca on October 15 to help the community that’s been so supportive of them. They offer locally grown produce, organic teas and herbs, and tons of other homewares that you can’t find anywhere else. The space is also beautifully designed, and one of the Ranch’s residents oversees the whole operation from behind the counter!
Holistic Ranch General Store is located at 55818 Twentynine Palms Highway in Yucca Valley (next to the old dance studio). It’s open every day from 9 a.m. until 7 p.m.
That’s it for this week! I hope you have a great first weekend of the month and are able to get outside.
- Megan