Robert Haydon is the Online News Editor at Z107.7 He graduated from University of Oregon's School of Journalism, with a specialty in Electronic Media. Over the years, he has worked in television news, documentary film, and advertising and marketing.…

Two Medicare clinics at Twentynine Palms Senior Center starting tomorrow

A healthcare counselor will be holding two Medicare clinics at the Twentynine Palms Senior Center in November - the first one taking place tomorrow morning (11/7) from 11AM to 3PM. Organized by the Health Insurance Counseling and Advocacy Program, these two events will help senior and disabled residents of the hi-desert get medical coverage through Medicare. A counselor will be available to help individuals understand benefits and enrollment; prescription drug plan coverage; Medicare advantage…

Reminder: Set your clocks back an hour Sunday morning

As a convenience of the modern age, most of us don’t have to worry about rolling back all the clocks an hour on Sunday morning for Daylight Savings Time. However if you still have time-keepers that need to be changed the old-fashioned way - here’s your yearly reminder to Fall-back an hour on Sunday morning. This may magically grant you an extra hour of sleep, but it also means shorter days are on their way with the darkness of night creeping closer and closer to the evening hours until it peaks…

Kangaroo Rat variant added to California’s list of endangered and threatened species

The San Bernardino Kangaroo Rat is a subspecies that lives in approximately 3200 acres of habitat west of the Morongo Basin – ranging from the San Bernardino Valley to Menifee Valley in Riverside County. According to the US Fish & Wildlife Service, those areas include the historical floodplain along the upper Santa Ana River wash and San Jacinto River. Facing the ongoing threat of climate change and land development, the diminutive subspecies has officially been listened as endangered by the…

Come out to the Weed Show this weekend, the hi-desert’s oldest and most unique folk art show

Listen here: If this is your first time hearing about the Twentynine Palms weed show, the name may be slightly confusing... “This is not about smoking weed... this is a unique thing in it's 83rd year. It's been going on for a really, really long time and it's our own special thing that we do here." That’s Dana Bowden - she’s President of the Twentynine Palms Historical Society who’s putting on the Weed Show this weekend at the Old Schoolhouse Museum. Unique to the hi-desert,…

Joshua Basin Water District regular meeting today (11/1)

Directors at the Joshua Basin Water District meet in regular session at 5:30 p.m. today (Nov. 1, 2023) at the district office on Chollita Road in Joshua Tree. Following routine reports the board will consider a new appointment to the Citizen’s Advisory Council. There are no other items on the action agenda. The public may attend in person, via Zoom, or by telephone. Links and instructions for attending today’s meeting may be found on the agenda, available here: JBWD Agenda (PDF Link)

Giant $1 DVD sale this Saturday to benefit Yucca Valley Library

Evenings are getting longer, which means more time for cozying up on the couch and putting on a movie. If streaming isn’t your thing, here is a sale you’ll want to spin up this saturday. The Friends of the Yucca Valley Library will be holding another gigantic DVD sale at the Yucca Valley Branch this Saturday, with the already low $1 prices being lowered to FREE if you bring in small electronics to donate. The library has started an electronics recycling campaign for small gadgets - we’re talking…

List of Hi Desert Trunk or Treats

Although we have pretty distinct neighborhoods here in the hi desert, old fashioned trick or treating isn’t always guaranteed here. COVID put a dent in door-to-door candy solicitation, and to put it plainly: neighborhoods don’t have as many full-time residents as they used to. Trunk or treats have quickly become the norm for kids to get candy while in costume, and there are plenty of possibilities for sweet-toothed sugar seekers as we come up on the Halloween weekend. We’ve compiled a list of…

Morongo Valley Music Festival raised money and spirits at a new Fall tradition for the hi desert

Listen here: Last weekend’s Morongo Valley Music Festival and Halloween Extravaganza took place on Friday, Saturday and Sunday -  and had 25 different bands play through the day and into the evenings at Covington Park. I spoke with organizer Lisa Black, who along with partner Paul Forester compose JT City Limits, who put together the entire music lineup and even built the stage that supported over 100 musicians over the weekend. Lisa says the music festival went off “without a hitch” and they…

Young poets and artists share a unique perspective of the desert in latest issue of Cholla Needles

Listen here: The 10th edition of the Cholla Needles Young Writers and Authors issue is out now. It includes poetry and art created by 138 students from Yucca Valley Elementary, Cesar Chavez Elementary San Jose Charter Academy and La Contenta middle school. Mary Cook-Rhyne is the Education Programs Manager at the Mojave Desert Land Trust, and she runs their Desert Discovery Field Studies Program - a once a week visit over 8 weeks where she teaches students about the desert that surrounds them,…

Midnight Starlink launch will dot desert sky with satellites tonight

It’s unavoidable - more satellites will be launching into orbit from SpaceX, providing internet and other services to us earth-dwellers. Late tonight near midnight there will be a 67 million dollar launch of Starlink mini satellites launching out of Vandenberg Air Force base on the coast of California, about 300 miles west of Joshua Tree. On previous launches the satellites can be seen as a dotted line across the sky - seemingly appearing out of nowhere and spanning across the horizon. Spotting…