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Sanctuary Church proposal for Community Resilience partnership denied by City Council
We dive into the questions raised — Part 2 of our recap of the July 28, 2026, City Council Meeting
 • The Desert Trumpet
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: Twentynine Palms City Council, July 28, 2026, Part 1
Council tables citywide sewer ordinance, rescinds Ofland Resort zoning entitlements, splits 2-2 on Hope Center partnership.
 • Natalie Zuk
Citizen Astronomer: August 2026
How to Get the Most Out of the Perseid Meteor Shower
 • Caitlin Gill
WILDLIFE WEDNESDAY: Psychedelic Summer Lizard
Iguana tell you about a Twentynine Palms Icon; originally published June 26, 2024
 • Kat Talley-Jones

2026 Election Coverage

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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
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

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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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
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

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

San Bernardino County Meetings

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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
On the Agenda: Morongo Basin Items at the County Board of Supervisors' June 23, 2026 Meeting
Two solar items, a water rate ordinance taking effect, and $13.7 million in sheriff contracts — a guide to Morongo Basin items buried in the county's…
An Experiment in Citizen Coverage: The June 9 San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors Agenda
A few weeks ago, as an experiment, we’ve used our AI, Anthropic’s Claude, to produce a breakdown of the San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors (BOS…
 • Cindy Bernard

Yucca Valley Town Hall

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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…
RECAP: Yucca Valley Town Council, June 16, 2026
Council OKs BMX lease and a shelter partnership; residents turn out for a Grubstake rodeo revival and looser backyard-chicken rules; Edison outages draw…
ON THE AGENDA: Yucca Valley Town Council, June 16, 2026
Two weeks after its marathon budget session, the Council returns with a lighter load: a closed session on the town attorney, a 2nd read on gas at…

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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