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BREAKING: County Moves to Give Up Local Permitting for Mines on Federal Land. Hearing Thursday, July 9
Hearing tomorrow at 9 am. Local public comment: Joshua Tree Community Center, 6171 Sunburst Ave.
 • The Desert Trumpet
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR: What if the government is overreaching?
We publish two letters ahead of the July 9 Flock roundtable: Concerns about Flock cameras and Questions for the San Bernardino Sheriff's Department
The Coolest Room in Town
What a movie ticket buys you in the desert right now
 • Liz Lapp
Summer is here and the meetings are...light
Our compilation of the Twentynine Palms, Yucca Valley and San Bernardino County 2026 summer meeting schedule
 • Cindy Bernard
Citizen Astronomer: Milky Way
The Milky Way doesn't suddenly appear. It slowly reveals itself.
 • Caitlin Gill

2026 Election Coverage

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RECAP: California Primary Election, June 2, 2026
Primary election results for Congressional District 23 and 25 and State Assembly Districts 34 and 47.
 • Eleanor Whitney and Kat Talley-Jones
California State Assembly Districts 34 and 47 Primary Preview 2026
District 34 candidates Charles Hughes and Randall Putz and District 47 Candidates Jason Byors and Leila Namvar respond to our candidate questions about…
 • Kat Talley-Jones
California District 23 and District 25 Congressional Primary Election Preview 2026
Voter and candidate information. District 23 candidatesTessa Lynn Hodge and Pat Wallis respond to our candidate questionnaire about issues impacting the…
 • Eleanor Whitney
HOW TO RUN FOR CITY AND TOWN COUNCIL (2026)
Our guide to the forms required to run for office in Twentynine Palms and Yucca Valley
 • Cindy Bernard

Citizen Astronomer

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Citizen Astronomer: Milky Way
The Milky Way doesn't suddenly appear. It slowly reveals itself.
 • Caitlin Gill
Citizen Astronomer: June 2026
The Milky Way Returns and Summer Stargazing Begins
 • Caitlin Gill
Citizen Astronomer: May 2026
Spring Galaxies, a Meteor Shower, and Summer on the Horizon
 • Caitlin Gill
Citizen Astronomer: April 2026
April’s Night Sky: Galaxy Season, Lyrid Meteors, and Spring Constellations
 • Caitlin Gill

Desert Developments

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BREAKING: County Moves to Give Up Local Permitting for Mines on Federal Land. Hearing Thursday, July 9
Hearing tomorrow at 9 am. Local public comment: Joshua Tree Community Center, 6171 Sunburst Ave.
 • The Desert Trumpet
Solar on Twentynine Palms' Doorstep: How the County Approved a Project Its Own Rules Should Have Stopped
Is the Lear Solar project a warning for unincorporated communities across the Basin?
 • Cindy Bernard
Return of the Rabbit Virus? Updated for 2026
Good News / Bad News about Dead Rabbits in the Morongo Basin
 • Kat Talley-Jones
Letter to the Editor: E-Group PS Solar Project
Long-time Twentynine Palms homeowner Chris Tiffany expresses opposition to the project—the public comment period ends Thursday, January 22

Education in the MB

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At MUSD Board Meeting, Parents Raise Questions About Budget and Trust
On June 16, 2026, the Morongo Unified School District Board approved a new contract with the Morongo Teachers Association and salary increases
 • Eleanor Whitney
MUSD: Enrollment Committee recommends against closing schools at June 9, 2026 Board Meeting
Parents, community members, and teachers turn out to advocate for keeping schools open. The decision now rests with the school board.
 • Eleanor Whitney
Possible School Closures Dominate May 5, 2026, MUSD Board Meeting as Community Pushes Back
“What may appear as a simple line item in a budget," said one parent, "is in reality a place with a true heart and soul.”
 • Kat Talley-Jones
RECAP: Morongo Unified School District Board of Education Meeting, April 21, 2026
In heartfelt and deeply researched public comments, parents and community members speak out against and dispute the necessity of potential elementary…
 • Eleanor Whitney

Flora Fridays

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Wedding Crashers
Parasitic plants cruising the desert for free drinks and eats
 • Miriam Seger
Flora Friday: Sleeping Beauties
A love letter to earth plants kissed awake by rains
 • Miriam Seger
Flora Friday: Three Rogues of the Apocalypse
Weed before they seed: invasive thistles, mustards, and grasses
 • Miriam Seger
Gone to Seed
As summer flowers fade, seeds go a' wandering
 • Miriam Seger

National issues / Local impacts

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OPINION: Five Days and Nights in Minneapolis
Mutual Aid in the Shadow of the Surge
OPINION: Five Reasons I'm Going to Minneapolis
By Jordan Hollingsworth
Government Shutdown: Day 36, Twentynine Palms Feels the Squeeze
Morongo Basin residents see SNAP benefits impacted, local organizations and businesses step up
 • Natalie Zuk
Twentynine Palms Faces Federal Shutdown
What does it mean for the community and for Joshua Tree National Park?
 • Kat Talley-Jones

Sad Trombone

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The Coolest Room in Town
What a movie ticket buys you in the desert right now
 • Liz Lapp
When Commerce Meets Culture: Art Fairs in the Desert
A special Sad Trombone features a conversation between Cindy Bernard and Bernard Leibov and 90 Miles From Needles Host Chris Clarke
 • The Desert Trumpet
She's Been Here the Whole Time: And the Game Has Never Been Better
Plus a short list to lean into the WNBA
 • Liz Lapp
Love Is More Powerful Than Hate — What Bad Bunny’s halftime did for me
And a short list to lean into connection
 • Liz Lapp

Wildlife Wednesday

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WILDLIFE WEDNESDAY: Hidden in the Midden
The unexpected superpowers of the packrat
 • Kat Talley-Jones
Wildlife Wednesday: Bighorn Sheep in Spring
The Dudes May Have the Sexy Horns, but the Ladies Keep It Running
 • Kat Talley-Jones
WILDLIFE WEDNESDAY: Flutter By
The Real Butterflies of the Morongo Basin
 • Kat Talley-Jones
WILDLIFE WEDNESDAY: Long Gone
Uncovering the Ice Age secrets of the Hi Desert
 • Kat Talley-Jones
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