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RECAP: Yucca Valley Town Council, August 18, 2026
Residents seek accountability for a series of fires, Faith Nicholson brings the Town its first real data on homelessness, and Council cancels the…
 • The Desert Trumpet
ON THE AGENDA: Twentynine Palms City Council, August 25, 2026
A liquor license and Conditional Use Permit for Nxwhere Cafe; a Hansen Tract property gets an abatement.
 • Natalie Zuk
RECAP: Twentynine Palms Planning Commission Meeting, August 18, 2026
Nxwhere Cafe receives a conditional use permit and five nuisance properties headline the Commission’s first meeting back from summer break.
 • Kat Talley-Jones
San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors Continues Mining Ordinance Decision to October 20
Part 1 of our recap of San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors August Meetings
 • Cindy Bernard
ON THE AGENDA: Twentynine Palms Tourism Business Improvement District, August 20, 2026
The TBID board proposes eliminating standalone sponsorships for a consolidated events program and will vote on a budget that draws on reserve funds.
 • Cindy Bernard and Kat Talley-Jones

2026 Election Coverage

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City Council and Town Council Candidates on the ballot for November 3, 2026
Is democracy thriving in the Morongo Basin? Two contested districts in Twentynine Palms and one in Yucca Valley point to...maybe.
 • Kat Talley-Jones
City Councils, Water Districts, School Boards, and More: Morongo Basin Elected Offices, 2026
Serve your community by running for one of these local offices!
 • Kat Talley-Jones
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

Citizen Astronomer

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Citizen Astronomer: August 2026
How to Get the Most Out of the Perseid Meteor Shower
 • Caitlin Gill
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

Desert Developments

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Ofland Resort Project Officially Cancelled but Questions About Development Remain
The abandoned resort project raises larger questions about how to achieve balanced, sustainable development in the Morongo Basin.
 • Eleanor Whitney
RECAP: Stop Music Valley Mine Community Information Meeting
The National Parks Conservation Association and the Mojave Desert Land Trust join forces to engage the Hi-Desert Community in mine pushback -- plus a…
 • Cindy Bernard and Kat Talley-Jones
San Bernardino County Planning Commission Recommends Giving Up Local Permitting Over Mines on Federal Land
Residents from Wrightwood to Wonder Valley joined public comment; none spoke in favor
 • Cindy Bernard
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

Education in the MB

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Recap: Morongo Unified School District Board Meeting, August 4, 2026
In their first meeting after the summer break, the school board welcomes new staff and prepares for the start of the school year.
 • Eleanor Whitney
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

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 with 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

San Bernardino County Meetings

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San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors Continues Mining Ordinance Decision to October 20
Part 1 of our recap of San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors August Meetings
 • Cindy Bernard
On the Agenda: San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors, August 18, 2026
A contested mining ordinance faces final adoption despite conservation-group objections — plus a $3M Joshua Tree parks overhaul, Measure I road funds…
On the Agenda: Morongo Basin Items at the County Board of Supervisors’ August 4, 2026 Meeting
A Homestead Valley campground appeal, a Landers road-charge vote that failed again, and a scattering of County-wide items reaching into the Basin
RECAP: Board of Supervisors' June Meetings
Our recap of public meetings on June 9 and 23, and the closed session on June 11

Yucca Valley Town Hall

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RECAP: Yucca Valley Town Council, August 18, 2026
Residents seek accountability for a series of fires, Faith Nicholson brings the Town its first real data on homelessness, and Council cancels the…
 • The Desert Trumpet
ON THE AGENDA: Yucca Valley Town Council, August 18, 2026
Schooler and Abel headed for appointment without election as District 5 races to November; Yucca Valley’s new homeless coordinator make a first report…
RECAP: Yucca Valley Town Council, July 21, 2026
A brisk agenda, then a packed public comment: residents split 10–4 over reviving the Grubstake Days rodeo or banning rodeos outright, an issue not even…
 • Cindy Bernard
ON THE AGENDA: Yucca Valley Town Council, July 21, 2026
Council asked to sign on to a statewide tort-reform lobbying campaign, approve a sole-bidder concrete contract, and decide the future of the July 4th…

Wildlife Wednesday

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WILDLIFE WEDNESDAY: Psychedelic Summer Lizard
Iguana tell you about a Twentynine Palms Icon; originally published June 26, 2024
 • Kat Talley-Jones
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

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