The public is being invited to take part in a special edition of the Z107.7 “Up Close” show this Friday. This week’s Up Close show (6/13) will be an early candidate’s forum for candidates for the California 23rd District Congressional seat. Under California’s “Top Two” rules, a non-partisan primary will be held on June 6, of 2026.
The top two vote-getters, regardless of party, will then go to the general election on November 3, 2026.
The field is already up to five candidates:
Jay Obernolte – Incumbent (R) Edwin Alonzo (D) Paul Chakalian (D) Alexis Claiborne (D) Tess Lynn Hodge (D).
All five were invited and while Obernolte was unable to attend, the other four will be on the show.
Host Gary Daigneault will ask all four challengers questions generated by social media. The rules for submitting a question are simple, it must be a question that can be answered by all candidates.
Please submit your question to [email protected]. The show will air live from 10:00 am – 11:00am this Friday and then be podcast at z1077fm.com.
The deadline to submit questions is 5:00pm Thursday, June 12, 2025.
Five buses and over ten different military vehicles drove through Highway 62 on their way toward Los Angeles. Photo: Anthony Gutierrez
An estimated 700 Marines were deployed from Camp Pendleton and the Twentynine Palms Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center (MCAGCC) yesterday, on orders from President Trump to “stop Los Angeles from burning down.” The marines are expected to join the nearly 2000 National Guard who have been deployed against the wishes of California Governor Gavin Newsom who said the state would be pursuing legal action against the deployments, calling the President “deranged” and “dictatorial.”
On Monday afternoon (6/9) at around 2:00 pm in Joshua Tree, a growing group of ten to twelve people gathered in the shade of the Mel Benson Real Estate Building at the intersection of Park Boulevard and Twentynine Palms Highway. The group says they were creating signs after hearing that the Marines would be coming from the combat center located 15 miles east of Joshua Tree in neighboring Twentynine Palms. Shortly after 4:L00 p.m. a man identifying himself as a representative of the property owner asked the group to leave the property. The small office has two “NO TRESPASSING” signs in the window, and as the group moved across Highway 62 to the opposite corner, the man stayed on the phone with the Sheriff’s office and briefly spoke to Z107.7:
Todd, property owner of Mel Benson Real Estate: “They want to protest? I’ve got no problem with that. Stand in the (expletive) highway. Get hit by a car, I don’t care. You’re not going to do it on my property. They’re mad because the military is going? Ok, great. Be mad. But it doesn’t give you the right to stand on people’s property and do what you are doing.”
The group stood on south side of the intersection with signs that read “U.S. in Distress,” “Keep America Free 4 Every One” and “ICE – this is a MORAL MOMENT.”
Earlier in the afternoon white transport buses were spotted traveling east toward Twentynine Palms, and as word spread that those same busses were heading back west toward Joshua Tree, the small but growing group moved back to the north side of the street, this time staying on the sidewalk.
Demonstrator: “The purpose of taking a stand and standing out here in the heat… it may not seem like we are doing much but we’re not going on with ‘business as usual.’ The cars are seeing it, we are right here next to a National Park, they are seeing that the people are not happy and we’re going to stand up in every town, everywhere.”
Around 5:00 p.m. the convoy of buses and military vehicles appeared on Highway 62 and were escorted by CHP through the intersection. A few people in their cars honked and shouted at the police and military as they rolled through Joshua Tree.
The San Bernardino County Sheriff’s department told Z107.7 that Deputies were requested to escort the Marine convoy to the Riverside County line, as a “precaution in case any issues arose.”
As the convoy made its way through Yucca Valley and approached the grade, one person was arrested during the escort after they stopped their pickup truck in the roadway near Hess Boulevard, briefly blocking the convoy and other traffic from traveling down the hill. Cy Earl, 28, was arrested and released for Obstruction of a Public Officer.
The San Bernardino Sheriff’s department continued the escort until the Riverside County line, where Riverside County deputies took over the escort as the convoy continued toward Los Angeles.
As of 6:00 a.m. on Tuesday morning, there were reports of some arrests overnight in Los Angeles, and the Los Angeles Times characterized the protests as “calmer” than Sunday night’s demonstrations. Here in the Morongo Basin there were unconfirmed reports of more buses of troops being deployed overnight. Z107.7 reached out to the Twentynine Palms Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center for comment, but as of Tuesday morning we’ve yet to hear back.
We will continue to update this story as more details become available.
The extensive Caltrans improvement project that involves repaving and widening the road continues along Highway 247. The section between Aberdeen Drive and the wash south of Reche Road will have twenty-four hour flagging operations until June 13 and on into the following week.
San Bernardino County Battalion Fire Chief Viloria reported that there is currently a “no burn” order, including bonfires or trash burning. Barbecues and contained fires are permitted for cooking, but stay vigilant. Assistant Fire Chief Villarino said that Fire station 19 used to be a “Paid Call” station manned by volunteers, but this intensive training program no longer exists.
Morongo Basin Sheriff’s Station Sergeant Naylor informed the meeting that the investigation into the death of Lorraine Bird, the woman missing from Twentynine Palms who was found dead by the painted rocks in Johnson Valley, has been taken over by the homicide detail.
He said her car had been found but he could divulge no further details.
The San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors meets in regular session Tuesday morning at 9 a.m. Though no items on their agenda are specifically relating to issues or areas in our Morongo Basin, the Board’s general activity is of interest to every resident of San Bernardino County.
Live and archived meeting videos can be viewed at: www.sbcounty.gov/Main/Pages/ViewMeetings.aspx or via the San Bernardino County YouTube channel at www.youtube.com/@SBCountyPIO/streams.
The Yucca Valley Planning Commission will hold three public hearings at this week’s meeting, one of which concerns an overlay district for senior mobile home parks.
The Yucca Valley Planning Commission meeting will begin with three public hearings. The first concerns a variance request for a single-family residence at 57461 Bandera Rd.; the applicant requests to reduce the front setback line to 20 feet from the 50 feet required by the Development Code.
The second hearing concerns a proposed ordinance that would amend the Development Code to add a Senior Mobile Home Park Overlay District. In December 2023, the Town Council adopted a 45-day moratorium on the conversion of seniors-only mobile home parks to all-ages, defined in which 80% of full-time residents are age 55 or older. The moratorium has since been extended twice while town staff researched a permanent zoning solution. Four of the town’s seven mobile home parks currently meet the threshold requirements for a seniors-only park: the Country Club Mobile Estates, the Aztec Mobile Home Park, Gates of Spain Mobile Estates, and the Apache Mobile Home Park. The proposed ordinance would create an overlay district consisting of the four parks.
The third hearing concerns an ordinance that would update zoning districts and maps to reflect the current Local Responsibility Area Fire Hazard Severity Zone Map from CAL FIRE, which identifies zones as “Very High, High, and Moderate.”
The Planning Commission will also receive the Land Development Update.
Tonight’s meeting is open to the public and begins at 6:00 p.m. at the Yucca Valley Community Center.
A proclamation will recognize Juneteenth Independence Day and the month of June will also be recognized as LGBTQ+ Pride month.
There will be a presentation to the Twentynine Palms High School Boys baseball team and to the Twentynine Palms Rotary for their participation in the Cash for Trash and Recycling program.
The City Council is being asked to approve the amendments to the Master Citywide User Fee schedule for the reprint of a hardcopy business license, and to the parks and recreation fees on private swim parties for more than 100 people.
Council is also being asked to approve the General Fund Budget, the Special Revenue Funds Budget, the Project Phoenix funds, and the sewer funds for fiscal years 2025-26 and 2026-27.
Located at City Hall, 6136 Adobe Road in Twentynine Palms, the meeting begins at 6:00 p.m.. As always the public is encouraged to attend.
Gregory Lloyd Barber, 68, of Twentynine Palms, passed away unexpectedly on May 27, 2025.
Greg was born on November 21, 1956 in Ohio. He was a lifelong resident of Twentynine Palms, and graduated from Twentynine Palms High School. While there, he played many sports, including baseball, football, basketball, and track and field.
Greg joined the US Coast Guard in 1977 and retired as a Telephone Technician Petty Officer First Class in 1997 after 20 years of service. During his time in the Coast Guard, Greg sailed the world to include Antarctica, Europe, Asia, and Alaska. These journeys earned him his Golden Shellback, Domaine of the Golden Dragon, Domain of the Antarctic, and Imperivm Neptvni Regis certificates, which he proudly displayed. Greg also obtained multiple awards and medals to include three Good Conduct Awards, Commandant’s Letter of Commendation Ribbon, and the Coast Guard Achievement Medal with two gold stars.
After the Coast Guard, Greg returned to Twentynine Palms where he began work for the school district. Greg became a permanent presence at the High School, first as the Attendance Clerk, then later as the Administrative Assistant. Greg retired from the Morongo Unified School District in June of 2023.
Greg was known as a practical joker, sparing no one. He had an infectious smile, cheerful demeanor, and was supportive to all those around him. He loved his Green Bay Packers and New York Yankees, and he regularly wore his team’s logos and colors with pride.
Greg is survived by his sons, Andy and Jeff; his brothers, Ed and Scott; his sister, Gayle; and his father, Harold. He leaves behind five grandchildren, ages 16 to 3 years old.
A memorial service is planned for Saturday, July 12, 2025 at 10:30 a.m. at First Baptist Church, located at 6414 Split Rock Ave, Twentynine Palms, CA 92277.
Known as the ‘unofficial mayor of Joshua Tree,’ the Morongo Basin has lost one of its brightest lights with the passing of assemblage artist Bobby Furst late Saturday evening. News of his death spread quickly on social media as Furst loomed large in the community, not just as an artist but as the developer of a fertile atmosphere of art and acceptance.
An assemblage artist of note, Furst created with found objects – industrial discards, household items, weapons, shell casings, musical instruments, letter blocks – anything ‘unwanted’ that could be repurposed into statement art, with environmental concerns and the futility of war being favored topics. Furst had a gift for breathing new life into the discarded and forgotten as he moved through his unique life with curiosity and compassion.
Born August 7, 1953, in Long Island, New York, Furst was just 18 months old when the family moved first to Hollywood, California, before again moving to nearby Laurel Canyon in 1959 just prior to the turbulent Bel Aire fires. The new neighborhood was a hotbed of colorful characters like Joni Mitchell and Frank Zappa – musicians, artists, poets, activists – and the new arrival soaked it all up. Exploring his new hometown, young Furst brought home sticks, bones, rocks, and a lifelong love of collecting began.
Coming of age in the 60s, Furst was inspired by the work of his stepfather, Peter Furst, an anthropologist and art collector, who documented the life and art of the Huichol Indians of Mexico. In his early teens, the family frequently traveled south of the border, often camping in Baja, where his collecting habits flourished. At one point, the family formally relocated to Guadalajara to continue his stepfather’s work which included shooting a documentary on the tribe’s ancient 40-day peyote ritual, which Furst participated in … at age 15.
In 1971, the family moved to upstate New York, where Furst quickly realized he was, indeed, a Californian in every sense. After turning 18 and dutifully registering for the draft, Furst flew straight back, arriving in Hollywood with $4.89 in his pocket. Furst then picked up his own camera to capture musicians, concerts, street people, and ultimately returned to Mexico to document renowned potter, Juan Quesada. In 1998, he studied under assemblage artist George Herms at the Santa Monica College of Design Art and Architecture.
After a wild initial visit to Joshua Tree involving mescaline and breakfast with George Van Tassel (creator of the Integratron) in 1972, Furst returned to LA, working in carpentry, and exploring his own art instincts. Somewhere along the way, he befriended Noah Purifoy, who undoubtedly inspired and encouraged Furst to explore his assemblage leanings. Furst bought a house in Laurel Canyon in the late 80s and his neighbor, singer Victoria Williams, deliberately put Joshua Tree back in his mind. On a return visit to the Hi Desert, he unexpectedly reconnected with numerous artist friends happily living here and enjoying a freedom that was unattainable in the big city. A decision was made.
After an exhaustive search for the ideal location – visiting 70 properties over 18 months – he finally found the spot for his vision near the border of Joshua Tree National Park off Desert Shadows Road. Furst officially moved to Joshua Tree around Thanksgiving 2008 amidst a rare snowstorm and landed on the community radar when he opened his steel Quonset hut studio/gallery for the Highway 62 Open Studio Art Tours.
After an impromptu performance of Gram Rabbit for a birthday party at the new space, word spread and the concept of Furstwurld was born. Furst was now welcoming artists, locally and globally, in all manner of events – music concerts, comedy performances, fundraisers, fashion shows, live theatre, film screenings, and so on. He would often shake his head and marvel, “I still have never asked anyone to perform here.” In truth, it was always the other way around.
For a man small in stature, he loomed large, both in the scale of his art and in the generosity of his heart. In creating Furstwurld, he thought beyond himself and saw how it grew organically out of the community. Indeed, as Furst stated to Gary Daigneault on the “Up Close Show” on January 27, 2023, Furstwurld will “be left to the community.” The details of how exactly that might happen will likely be revealed in the weeks and months ahead.
“Connecting people through music, voice – be part of the solution. Get involved. You gotta make yourself happy before, you know, you go out, otherwise, everything you share is anger, frustration, being pissed off, and it brings everybody to a stuck place. That’s my message. Get over it. Make it happen.”
The Hi-Desert Medical Center’s (HDMC) annual cereal drive begins Monday (June 6) and runs through Friday (June 13). Called “Healthy Over Hungry Cereal Drive,” the HDMC is collecting boxes of cereal to benefit the Way Station in Joshua Tree. They are also accepting monetary donations which will benefit FIND Food Bank.
Last year, the HDMC provided nearly 28,000 servings of cereal during their drive.
You can drop off boxes of cereal at the Hi-Desert Medical Center located at 6601 White Feather Road in Joshua Tree.
Morongo Valley artist Matt Elson invites artists to join his monthly working group designed to help each other grow, share ideas, and find ways to show their art to the world. Participants from established professionals to those just beginning to explore their creativity are welcome.
Artists will share their experiences about what has been effective, the challenges they face, which marketing tools are free, and which investments have paid off. The artists will exchange insights and practical strategies to succeed—not theory, but lived experience. Regardless of whether art is a livelihood, a healing practice, or a passion project, all forms of engagement in the workshops are welcome.
The free artist workshops will be held the second Monday of the month, including today (June 9) beginning at 6:00 p.m. at the Hi-Desert Artists Center located at 55635 Twentynine Palms Highway.
Artists may attend one workshop, several, or the entire series.
The Twentynine Palms Community Center features opportunities and programs for children and adults to stay active and cool indoors all summer long.
The center’s gym is open to all ages Mondays through Thursdays from 12:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. with adults only hours Mondays through Wednesdays from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.
An adult volleyball will run on Thursdays from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.
No advance registration is required, and participants are welcome to drop in during designated times. All participants are required to have a waiver on file with the Parks & Recreation Department.
For more information, contact the Parks & Recreation Department at (760) 367-7562.
Listen to a longer version of Sunday’s radio story here:
Unknown voice: “June 28th, 4:55 in the morning in 1992. Turned the radio on to hear a noise, it shook the trailer off the jacks. Everything in the house is upset down. The ground is still trembling as I’m speaking. Early in the morning… just as the moon is there and the sun isn’t up yet… I guess this will cancel our trip to Big Bear.”
Robert Haydon: What you’re hearing is the voice of a man shaken awake by a series of earthquakes 33 years ago, culminating in the magnitude 7.3 Landers earthquake which shook the hi-desert, injuring hundreds, killing three, and damaging or destroying homes and businesses all across the basin.
The Landers quake is still discussed by longtime residents who experienced it, especially as we approach the anniversary each June. There are a lot of locals and historical organizations with photos and other ephemera from the earthquake, but video footage from the event while it was happening is hard to find… a common problem for something that occurred back in 1992.
That’s what makes the tape you’re hearing so incredible, it’s a visual document of the Landers earthquake playing out in real time.
The tape was rescued from its fate in the Landers Landfill by a local Landroid, Colin Maccubbin and his partner Aimee used to volunteer at Belfield Hall and the Landers thrift store when he found the tape in a box of other Kodak-brand self-tapes.
Colin: “Oh, that’s probably five years ago, maybe six years ago. Yeah, probably 2019. I think there was a box of VHS tapes that were most likely on its way to the dump, not something you can really sell at the thrift store. So I was looking through them and saw this one that said ‘Landers Earthquake’ and I thought, well, that’s interesting.
“We popped it in and we’re just kind of astounded by all this footage from that time period of this big event in our town. It was really cool… it was just all this footage from 30 years ago. Interviews with locals. I had been interested when we first moved to Landers about the earthquake and I’d looked into it a little bit but there’s not a ton of material out there… reporting on it and stuff like that.”
Unknown voice from VHS: “That’s up towards our store over in that direction by Hondo Trail, I think. By Hondo Trail and Old Woman Springs Road .But we got a cloud of fire smoke above town and the whole desert has a layer of dust between here and the monument from this thing shaking.”
Colin:”We had a big screen in our yard and a projector and so we projected it and played it for a bunch of people. And since then, you know, we’ve showed it a few more times with people. A friend of mine used it for an art project up at the Copper Mountain Mesa Community Center. But other than that, it’s just kind of sat on the shelf.
Unknown voice: “I got up this morning, run into the back house, jumped the refrigerator, got my camera and a pair of shoes and went out the front door before everything was done falling and had this camera working. So I’m going to have to charge my battery up again here real quick. I got a generator at the house.”
Colin: “Now that everyone has cameras all the time and is ready to start filming all the time… in ’92, that’s a pretty special thing that somebody was ready to go and to document that.”
Unknown voice: “We’re looking at Terry’s place now where this mobile home with a double slide-outs on it has slid and fell clear off its foundation, breaking everything all to hell. I come around looking at these places here and I realized that my place wasn’t as bad hit as I thought it was.”
Colin: “It would be really exciting to see if anybody knows where this tape came from, who shot it… just to know. But then also, you know, it’d be kind of cool to see if it itself maybe dislodges some other stuck pieces of history. Are there other tapes out there? Not even just earthquake material, but just historic material in general?”
Robert: There are a lot of clues to who the identity of the man behind the camera is. There are parts in the video where he turns the camera around and films his wife, Barbara. They own a store in Landers and they also seem to own a small Cessna airplane. The two-hour tape ends with a Cessna tour of the Landers area, surveying the damage later that week from the air. The video is a goldmine of local residents and businesses as the cameraman goes from home to home interviewing neighbors.
We’ve digitized the tape, but we’re not releasing the full version until we can make an attempt to ID the original owner.
There are plans for full screening and public release of the two-hour long tape in partnership with the Morongo Basin Historical Museum. We’ll have those details as we get closer to the anniversary on June 28th.
Here are the first 10 minutes from the “Landers Earthquake VHS”:
In the meantime, we will continue to update this story right here on our website with captures and screengrabs and information that we are gathering on the VHS. Follow Z107.7 on Facebook and Instagram for updates, and email me if you recognize any of the folks on the tape: [email protected]
It’s been just over a week since the Eureka Fire ignited in Joshua Tree National Park. Last Friday at around noon a column of smoke could be seen coming from behind the ridge that defines the northern border to the National Park. The fire was initially reported to be around 20 acres but quickly grew to over 200 acres, where it has remained as containment continues to tick up. As of Friday it was at 85%, and the National Park says that all outside crews were released earlier in the week. The Black Rock Interagency Fire Crew – which is made up of National Park Service and Bureau of Land Management firefighters – is currently managing operations.
A representative from Joshua Tree National Park says it appears that the fire started adjacent to Lower Covington Flats Road in the Covington Flats area of the park. The area is known for containing some of the oldest trees in the park, including Western Joshua Trees. The area is also of interest to many locals for a development on private inholdings in the Covington Flats area, named Whispering Pines. There is currently a single prefabricated home on the private inholding. When asked about the proximity of the fire to the Whispering Pines development, Joshua Tree National Park says that the fire is still under investigation, and that no structures have been harmed in the fire.
While containment is still at 85%, firefighting operations have mostly turned to mop-up operations, making sure that there aren’t hidden hotspots that could reignite.
Joshua Tree National Park says they are evaluating the impact of the fire onthe Joshua trees, wildlife, and other resources in the area. They have assigned resource advisors to work alongside the fire crews while they finish containment and begin to prep for restoration efforts.
Saturday is California Adopt-a-Pet Day, and more than 150 shelters across the state are holding adoption events, including a few right here in the Morongo Basin.
Palms N Paws Animal shelter in Twentynine Palms is hosting an adoption event with all fees waived on eligible pets that have already been spayed or neutered. They’ll be hosting the event from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., at the shelter located at 7086 Buillion Ave.
The Yucca Valley Animal Shelter will waive fees for all adoptions at an adoption event. You can meet the shelter’s dogs and cats, who have all been spayed or neutered, are up to date on their vaccines and have been microchipped. The shelter is at capacity with 101 dogs, though not all of them are dalmatians.
The event runs from 12:00 noon until 5:00 p.m. at the Yucca Valley Animal Shelter, located at 4755 Malin Way.
If you miss either of these events, there are so many needy dogs, cats, and sometimes even tortoises at our local shelters. You can find information about these shelter’s regular hours below. It’s always a great time to meet some new little critters, so let’s help find these abandoned animals some forever homes.
Palms-N-Paws Animal Shelter 7086 Bullion Avenue, Twentynine Palms (760) 367-0157 | (760) 367-6799 ext. 1018 Tuesday through Friday from 12:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. Saturday from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.
Yucca Valley Animal Shelter 4755 Malin Way, Yucca Valley Tel: (760) 365-3111 Visiting Hours Tues – Sat 12:00 pm to 5:00 pm
There is a FREE all-ages show tonight at the Giant Rock Meeting Room, and it’s featuring a hi-desert favorites The Hot Patooties. On bass guitar is Z107.7’s own DJ Kim, and she talked with me about how the punk trio (now foursome) began and what you can expect out at the show tonight.
Kim: “The Hot Patooties is me, Beth, and Shonzie. Beth and I actually had played a show a very long time ago together in San Francisco in two separate bands that we were in. She was in the Loudmouths, and I was in a band called the Distillers. And then cut to many, many years later. I came out here to live, and everyone said: have you met Beth? Have you met Beth? Do you know Beth? And so I met Beth, and I met Shonzi. Their bass player had just moved out of town, and they were looking for a bass player. And so it just kind of like – boom – it just kind of happened. We’re all very silly and have a lot of fun.
“I kind of joked around calling it punk rock meets truck stop. Garagey, kind of loose and fun. We say to shake your booties to the Hot Patooties!”
Kim: “The last couple shows we played at Giant Rock Meeting Room, there’s been a little pit for us, so it’s usually about fun and dancing. We have a dance contest where the best dancer gets a pair of our Hot Patooties underpants, because we sell underpants as well. We’ve sold out of them several times. There’s a small suitcase full of them.
“There’ll be music from 7:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. There’s two bands, and then there is going to be someone playing acoustically in between. You’ve got to get your pizza, you can get some beverages. It’ll be a really nice night.”
The 29 Palms Art Gallery celebrates their June exhibition opening on Saturday, June 7 from 5:00-7:00 p.m. featuring Reeyna Daniel and Ruben Rodriguez in the gallery’s West Wing, and Edward Montgomery in the East Wing.
29 Palms ceramicist Reeyna Daniel’s “Fractured Oasis” collection explores the beauty and tension in brokenness: cracked, fissured and repaired surfaces that mirror crumbling systems, fragmented architecture and the quiet resilience of nature. Daniel’s work challenges the notion all fractures must be repaired or that broken equals discarded.
Ruben Rodriguez’s “My American Review” collects album covers from the 50s-80s on which Rodriguez has painted around the figures to redefine the context. The collection is supplemented by hand-tinted postcards, black-and-white photos, and smaller historical canvases.
From Victorville, Edward Montgomery’s Kinetic Ambiguity Project features his signature post-production formula, using camera movement with long exposures to create the illusion of accelerated reality. Joshua Trees, power lines, and mountain ranges are principal characters in this story about the south-western edge of the Mojave Desert.
The exhibition will be on display June 6-29, open Friday through Sunday, 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
The historic 29 Palms Art Gallery is located at 74055 Cottonwood Drive at the corner of National Park Drive in Twentynine Palms. For more information, visit www.29palmsartgallery.com.
The album is being released today with a party at White Label Vinyl in Twentynine Palms. The record will be for sale in a limited edition yellow-colored vinyl, and they’ll play it in full at the event, followed by a DJ set from Softcuss. There will also be food from Galaxy Pies JT and drinks from Scorpion Lollipop.
Come hear the new record, dance, and imbibe with Hologram Teen at White Label Vinyl, located at Corner 62 at 73552 Twentynine Palms Highway in Twentynine Palms from 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.
A fire at a residence in the 6700 block of Manzanita Avenue in Twentynine Palms burned an attached garage and displaced a family of four.
According to the San Bernardino County Fire Department on Wednesday (June 4) two teenagers were at their home when they reported hearing a loud “pop” or “explosive sound” in an adjacent garage and discovered the structure was on fire.
When firefighters arrived they found the fire had extended from the attached garage into the home, but a quick response by both San Bernardino County Fire and an engine from the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center kept the flames contained mostly to the attached garage. Firefighters ran hose from a nearby hydrant and knocked down the blaze with no reported injuries to the residents or responding firefighters.
San Bernardino County Fire says that the initial report was that the loud “pop” sound came from an air conditioner in the garage area, but the cause of the fire is still under active investigation. Because of the fire’s spread into the adjacent home, the family of four that lived in the residence were displaced but San Bernardino County Fire says that the residents will be staying with family locally.
The Twentynine Palms man accused of trying to stab the bartender who stopped serving him was arraigned in court for attempted murder on Thursday (June 5).
On Tuesday (June 3), the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s department said that Michael Zoppy, a 43 year-old resident of Twentynine Palms, was at the Virginian on Twentynine Palms Highway near the corner of Cholla Avenue in Twentynine Palms.
The Sheriff’s Department said that at around 11:45 p.m. the bartender refused to serve Zoppy any more alcohol, and asked Zoppy to leave several times, but Zoppy refused. The Sheriff’s Department said that Zoppy attempted to stab the bartender with a knife. The bartender was not injured. Zoppy was taken into custody.
On Thursday, Zoppy was arraigned in San Bernardino County Superior Court on felony charges of attempted murder and making criminal threats which will result in death, with enhancements for using a deadly weapon. He entered a plea of “not guilty” to both charges. He was also arraigned on charges related to a 2016 incident in which he is alleged to have been driving under the influence.
Construction on Old Woman Springs Road will become busier starting this Sunday (June 8).
CalTrans has issued an advisory that crews are scheduled to hold continuous, 24-hour flagging operations on the road at Aberdeen Drive and in the wash south of Reche Road. Caltrans says that these continuous flagging operations will begin at 7:00 p.m. on Sunday and continue through Friday June 13, with similar days and hours the following week.
Caltrans says that wait times on each side of the flagging operationare expected to be 20 minutes, and they ask that you plan ahead. The construction project is part of an extensive road rehabilitation program that involves repaving and widening the roads shoulders for signage and bike lanes.
