Gabriel Hart is a journalist and author from Morongo Valley, CA.

CMC’s Commencement Week starts today (5/22)

Copper Mountain College’s Commencement Week 2024 has arrived with several ways to usher in the end of the college school year this week. Starting tonight, Wednesday, May 22nd, Registered Nursing and Vocational Nursing programs have their Pinning Ceremony at 6 p.m. in the Bell Center Gymnasium on CMC campus.  This is an event where CMC's Nursing students celebrate their accomplishments, being "pinned" by family and friends. The main Copper Mountain College Commencement…

Skateboard legend Tommy Guerrero’s band Los Days record release this Sunday at Very Very 

Most known for being part of Powell-Peralta’s Bones Brigade, a gang of young influential skaters who changed the skateboard industry in the 1980s, then starting his own skate company, Real, Tommy Guerrero would pursue music in tandem with skating for the following decades. His latest project Los Days is a collaboration between Guerrero and Sacramento born multi-instrumentalist Josh Lippi. The duo retreats to the House of The Rising Sun, a solar-powered single room house deep in the heart of…

San Francisco 80’s punk pioneers Frightwig play Joshua Tree’s Taylor Junction tonight

This Friday (5/17), downtown Joshua Tree’s Taylor Junction is hosting a punk and space rock show featuring local psychonauts headlined by an old school San Francisco cult band whose fans included the late Kurt Cobain. Formed in 1982, the feminist punk rock group Frightwig were a formative influence on the 90s riot grrl movement and paved the way for the likes of Hole and L7; their iconography infiltrated MTV when Kurt Cobain wore their shirt for Nirvana’s iconic Unplugged performance. The…

Former Morongo Valley Fire Captain Ryan McEachen announced as new Interim Fire Chief at MVCSD meeting

Last night, the Morongo Valley Community Services District Board of Directors held their regular 6 PM meeting in Covington Park’s multipurpose room. Beginning with director reports, General Manager Brittany Chavez announced former MV Fire Captain Ryan McEachen taking over as interim Fire Chief in the wake of James Brakebill’s retirement last week. For action items, updates were made to the Schedule of Fees, including the decision to waive emergency fees for low-income residents upon their…

Recognitions and policy review discussed at last night’s MUSD meeting

Update: In a previous version of this story we reported that "As a result, two items were tabled for further reading: the bylaw updates for legal representation and adoption of a school bond election, despite a public workshop for the latter that already occurred." The MUSD clarified that the school bond was actually unanimously approved by the Board. Last night, the Morongo Unified School District Board of Trustees held their regular 6 PM meeting at Joshua Tree Elementary. The meeting…

MVCSD to approve the 2024-25 Preliminary Budget at tonight’s meeting

The Morongo Valley Community Services District Board of Directors will hold their regular 6 PM meeting tonight in Covington Park’s multipurpose room. For the meeting’s agenda, the Board will review, discuss, and approve the update of the Schedule of Fees, as well as an update to the Memorandum of Understanding negotiation team. The Board will review and discuss Resolution 24-03, which approves the assessment fee and orders the levy and collection of annual assessments within the Morongo Valley…

Twentynine Palms High School teacher/counselor awarded ‘Teacher of the Year’ at Rotary Club

From left, Rotarian John Cole joins Twentynine Palms High School Principal Mike Ruggerio and “Teacher of the Year” recipient Robert Conway at a recent meeting. (Rotary Photo) A Counselor/Teacher at Twentynine Palms High School received high honors last Wednesday at the local Rotary Club honored his selection as “Teacher of the Year.” In the wake of Twentynine Palms High School’s recent six-year accreditation from the WASC, Twentynine Palms High School Principal Mike Ruggiero selected…

School food sourcing, religious group fees, ballot transparency discussed at tonight’s MUSD meeting

The Morongo Unified School District Board of Trustees will hold their regular 6 PM meeting tonight at Joshua Tree Elementary. For the meeting’s agenda, Desiree Hernandez and Brenda Barker Andrews will be presented with School Lunch HERO awards by No Kid Hungry Representative Robin Hernandez, and Assistant Superintendent of Instructional Services Amy Woods will recognize Twentynine Palms senior Hannah Grabow, who placed 6th in the Health Occupation Students of America competition. There…

Twentynine Palms High granted six-year accreditation by WASC

Twentynine Palms High School has been granted a six-year accreditation by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges. WASC accreditation is a voluntary process that institutions undergo to demonstrate they meet certain standards of quality and integrity in education. This accreditation is highly respected and can affect things like the transferability of credits, eligibility for federal financial aid and more. This six-year accreditation awarded to Twentynine Palms High after a rigorous…

Native American Land Conservancy tends to recently acquired Morongo Valley ancestral land

Dedicated to acquiring, preserving, and protecting sacred Native land, the Native American Land Conservancy recently celebrated their twenty-five-year anniversary. In the wake of acquiring their most recent land back—a shaded creek deep in Morongo Valley— I volunteered to tend to their land last Friday and while on a break, chatted with NALC Education and Stewardship Program Manager Liz Paige. There is an unexpected soothing creek running through the former Sherman Shady Springs, a…