Our Top Stories of 2024, Updated! Part Two
Updates on #3 - Resorts and Solar Farms and #2 - Storms as we count down to our number one story of the year
Thanks to our dedicated readers, Desert Trumpet stories received more than 171,000 views in 2024—that’s more than twice the number in 2023! Below is part two of our three part recap of articles that garnered more than 1,000 views each over the course of the last year. Coverage of controversial developments and their potential effect on the desert ecosystem and Twentynine Palms’ mixing of church and state were popular among our readers, while election and storm coverage led the list.
The coverage is grouped by topic with updates added on stories with new information. Part One was published on Sunday, December 29.
Part Three was published on Tuesday, December 31.
#3 Resort and Solar Farm Development
Ofland Resort Takes Another Shot at Winning Over Indian Cove Residents
Ofland, recently rebranded from Yonder, once again faced residents of the Twentynine Palms neighborhood of Indian Cove on February 28 to pitch their 130-cabin resort as a win for the community.
Just after releasing our 2024 Development Recap on December 7, Twentynine Palms residents were blanketed with postcards authored by the Ofland resort development team promising that they’d “listened” and had made changes to their project, originally a 130-cabin hotel development with several associated buildings—including a public restaurant—located in residential zoning in the middle of Indian Cove. The postcard also signaled that a development application and zoning change request had been submitted to the City.
A public information request (PIR) was submitted for the development plans on December 12, but no plans have been received, so information being distributed by Ofland is not verified against the plans. The percentages quoted here are approximate.
Per their website, Ofland claims a 38% decrease in the square footage of the project. However, this change appears to reflect reductions in building sizes, not in the amount of acreage being covered in an environmentally sensitive area that is habitat for the desert tortoise. With 105 projected buildings, the project is still 43% larger than the current zoning allows.
This decrease appears to consist of a 25% reduction in the number of cabins and 50% reductions in the scale of employee housing and back of house space. There are minor reductions in the sizes of other buildings with a secondary lodge noted as being “phase II.” Other reductions include a 37% decrease in the number of temporary construction and on-going jobs and a 44% downward change in promised funding for local nonprofits. The entrance, which was a point of contention for those living along a City-required extension of Lear between Highway 62 and Sullivan, has been moved so it’s closer to Highway 62. However, a second entrance off of Lear and Sullivan that would route traffic through the Indian Cove neighborhood to Indian Cove Road (and to the National Park) remains. Also still in the plan is an outdoor movie screen, which received heated criticism from residents in neighboring homes, and a stargazing area. While Dark Sky lighting is promised, still missing is modeling of the effect of 105 buildings and associated lighting on the night sky.
An Indian Cove-based group, Say No to Ofland, has organized a petition in opposition to the Ofland project that has garnered 657 signatures to date.
Our last update on the 29Palms Solar Project, included in our 2024 Development Recap is still the most current information available. A community group has also been formed in opposition to the solar project.
AGENDA PREVIEW: Twentynine Palms Planning Commission, December 17, 2024 (December 15, 2024)
2024 Development Recap (December 7, 2024)
OPINION: The Morongo Basin's Big Sky (September 26, 2024)
29Palms Solar Project: Who Benefits? (March 20, 2024)
Heads-up: Solar Field Scoping Meeting to Be Held, Thursday, March 21 (March 7, 2024)
Read more of our resort development and solar farm coverage
Disclosure: Desert Trumpet staff members Cindy Bernard, Kat Talley-Jones and Heidi Heard live in Indian Cove and serve on the executive committee of Say No to Ofland along with fellow Indian Cove residents Rich Good, Dana Longuevan and John Talley-Jones and Sherman Heights resident Melissa Grissi.
#2 Storms
UNEXPECTED STORM BLOWS THROUGH TWENTYNINE PALMS
[Update, Monday, 7/15: Encelia and all lines of Highway 62 are open. MCAGCC non-essential personnel are under a delayed arrival where employees should report to their office no later than 9…
Being online, nimble and living near the storm perimeter allowed the Desert Trumpet to be the first Morongo Basin news source to report on the dangerous flooding that hit Twentynine Palms on July 14. Our same-day coverage received more than 3,600 views.
The City released its first “Situational Report” on July 17, and residents lined up at the July 23 City Council meeting to express their dismay at the lack of City foresight and response. Mary Firestine spoke to the difficulty of finding help:
Monday morning [July 15], I came down. I called the city, gave them my name, my number, and they said they'd get in touch with me. Never heard anything. I came down Tuesday and I just wanted phone numbers that I could call to get help. We can't wait. When you're flooded and your carpet’s destroyed, your walls are destroyed, you can't wait. I didn't get a call from anybody until yesterday morning [July 22].
Toward the end of July, Team Rubicon was brought in to assist with cleanup with mixed results. While Team Rubicon members generally received good marks for their hard work, residents struggled with hauling away cleared debris and repairing the holes left by Rubicon’s removal of damp and damaged dry wall. Desert Trumpet attended their workshop on diverting water away from homes and created this guide.
By August 14 the City was ready to celebrate a successful response with recognition for residents and organizations who had stepped up to help out. However, the positive narrative spun by City Manager Stone James was tempered by comments from several residents critical of the City, with Tom Ingram summing up residents’ experiences and expectations:
We as residents expect the City to do what is needed to keep us and our homes safe. Not only did that fail during the storm, but the lack of help that we got after the storm failed, and there appears to be no action to make sure the outcome of the future storm will not be the same.
At the October 22 City Council meeting, Marjorie Smith, Morongo Basin COAD (Community Organizations Active in Disaster) chair, and representative for San Bernardino County VOAD (Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster) and the American Red Cross, speaking in public comment, emphasized the need for a coordinated volunteer network for disaster response and recommended that COAD be a part of the City’s emergency plan. However, it’s not clear that an emergency response plan exists. Item 10 of 10 on the 2022-2024 Strategic Planning Guidance Document was “Emergency Response Plan. Improved emergency management and planning for the City.”
The storm exposed the challenges facing a small city when natural disasters occur that are likely exacerbated by a changing climate. We are anticipating a lively discussion on this topic as Council begins strategic planning discussions in January. Is it possible that an emergency response plan will move up the list?
Desert Trumpet has been checking in with Mr. Ingram periodically and hopes to publish a feature on his storm experience in 2025.
Storm Updates: Twentynine Palms Assesses Damage as Residents Grapple with Flooded Homes (July 15, 2024)
Read more of our emergency preparedness and extreme weather coverage
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I as well suffered from the floods in July 2 to be exact with in 7days of each other- the city failed this community horribly - not one thing has been down in the neighborhoods other than removal of debris in the streets- still have not addressed the vacant lots that are owned by private citizens- they as well need to keep their properties from creating floods in neighboring lots with homes.