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A NOTE FROM THE EDITOR
As I edited a trio of stories in this issue that deal with the consequences of the Trump administration’s actions since he returned to office on Jan. 20, one word kept coming to mind. Cruel.
Our cover story, on Page 14, chronicles various cuts, either made or proposed, to portions of the country’s “safety net.” Kevin Fitzgerald talked to local seniors who are worried that as part of a proposed $1.5 trillion spending cut over the next decade—much of which would fund tax cuts, primarily going to the wealthiest Americans—they could lose some or all of their Social Security and Medicare benefits.
While seniors are justifiably concerned about what could happen, many of the nation’s food banks—including FIND Food Bank and its affiliate food-distribution outlets locally—are dealing with the consequences of something that did happen: a sudden and unexplained cancellation of $500 million in food shipments from the federal government. According to Debbie Espinosa, FIND’s president and CEO, that meant the unanticipated cancellation of 10 truckloads of food that would have gone to our valley’s most vulnerable citizens.
Cruel.
For a story on Page 8, Haleemon Anderson talked to local public-lands advocates about the havoc being wreaked by the on-again, off-again layoffs, cuts and cancellations coming down from the Trump administration and the so-called Department of Government Efficiency. In February, 1,000 National Park Service employees were laid off without warning; those jobs were later restored as the result of court orders, but all NPS employees are bracing for whatever may come next. Also in February, a fact sheet issued by the Trump administration announced that the designation of the new Chuckwalla National Monument—an accomplishment that a large bipartisan coalition worked on for years—would be rescinded. Soon after, that mention was removed from the fact sheet, without explanation. Today, rumors are flying, and seemingly nobody knows what’s going on, or what’s happening next.
Nick Graver, a graduate student in conservation biology who’s done much of his work in Joshua Tree National Park, told the Independent that he believes confusion is the point of many of the federal government’s inconsistent and baffling actions.
Cruel.
On Page 9, you’ll find Halee’s piece on the steps College of the Desert is taking to assure that the community college’s students—including students who are undocumented or from mixed-status families—simply feel safe.
“Every student deserves access to education without fear,” said acting COD President Val Martinez Garcia.
Let’s put aside the various policy arguments in play here. Even if you believe our government is bloated, and that spending needs to be cut, that can be done without cancelling shipments to food banks without explanation or warning. Even if you believe employees need to be laid off, that can be done rationally, with compassion and explanation. Even if you think it’s a problem for undocumented students to be attending our colleges, changes can be made without purposefully creating terror, which is what Trump advisers like Stephen Miller wants.
No matter where you stand politically, you can’t rationally deny that the Trump administration’s actions have been haphazard, needlessly unexplained, and terribly cruel.
And if you’re OK with that, you can neither call yourself humane, nor Christian, nor moral. You’re just someone who doesn’t give a damn about your fellow humans.
—Jimmy Boegle, jboegle@cvindependent.com
HIKING WITH T
Keep an eye out for rattlesnakes, and take common-sense precautions while on the trails
IBY THERESA SAMA
t’s peak rattlesnake season here in the Coachella Valley.
Snakes are generally out and about from around April to October, although I have seen them as early as mid-February, depending on the weather. They start coming out as the weather gets warmer and are most active right now (late spring/early summer), as they are on the move, looking for food, water and mates. This time of year is their prime mating and feeding time.
During the high heat of summer, rattlesnakes are most active at dawn, dusk and night, but can be seen throughout the day as well. They often bask in the sun early and then seek shade to avoid overheating as temperatures rise. It’s important to be mindful of this and to always stay on trails—specifically, in the middle of trails—while hiking, as they like to hang out under bushes
and other shady areas, such as the crevasses of large rocks and boulders. Please be aware of this if you take a break and sit down on a large rock. It might be a good idea to tap around the rock with your hiking pole before getting too close, and be sure to look again before you get up. Always be aware of your surroundings, and never put your hands and feet where you can’t see them, as rattlesnakes are most likely to bite on the hands, arms, feet and ankles.
Rattlesnakes generally aren’t naturally aggressive toward humans and typically only strike when they feel threatened, or they are hunting. Please be mindful, and give them space while you’re out hiking around. Rattlesnakes are essential to our ecosystem, as they maintain a balance in nature by controlling the
rodent population and, therefore, helping prevent the spread of disease.
Most rattlesnake bites occur when people startle them or invade their space by getting too close. Here are some ways this can happen:
• Putting your hands in areas where snakes may be hiding. Snakes like to hide out in dark places. As mentioned above, never put your hands and feet where you can’t see them.
• Being in snake-prone areas and not wearing proper shoes or protective gear. Hiking in flip-flops, sandals or open-toed shoes is a bad idea for many reasons—and they will not protect you during a rattlesnake strike. Instead, wear hiking boots or proper hiking shoes. Wearing gaiters over your hiking shoes and long (loose) pants also add an extra
layer of protection.
• Trying to pick up or move a rattlesnake. Disturbing a snake is sure way of being bitten.
• Making contact with the snake unintentionally. A common way to accidentally disturb or startle a rattlesnake is by stepping on it (or over it) or brushing up against it while running or walking. This can trigger a defensive mechanism and cause the snake to strike and bite.
Here are some ways to stay safe:
• Be aware of your surroundings. It sounds obvious, and I’m repeating myself, but far too many people on the trails are not paying attention. Watch where you step while walking or hiking, and always check around areas and edges of places where you sit. Step on rocks and logs, not over them.
• Always keep your dog on a leash, and use wide trails that are free of shrubs, such as service roads. Curious dogs like to look in and around shrubs—places where they may encounter a rattlesnake and get bitten. There are local trainers who offer rattlesnakeaversion classes for dogs.
• Educate yourself on rattlesnakes There are seven venomous rattlesnake species
in the Coachella Valley. Not all snakes are venomous, of course, but it’s best to give them space regardless. Rattlesnakes may or may not rattle before striking and can strike up to two-thirds of their body length (e.g., a threefoot snake could strike up to two feet). Keep yourself safe by staying at least 10 feet (or 10 steps) away if you encounter a rattlesnake.
• Be prepared. If you encounter a snake, do not approach it; back away slowly, and move around the snake, giving it plenty of space. In case of a snakebite, stay still and calm to slow the spread of venom. Remove any tight clothing and jewelry near the bite site, and call 911 if you have cell reception. Seek medical attention immediately; do not apply ice or a tourniquet, and do not attempt any home remedies.
A Fun Event at Oak Glen
From 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Saturday, May 17, enjoy the Art and Nature Festival at The Wildlands Conservancy’s Oak Glen Preserve. The Wildlands Conservancy will have an informational booth offering details on their programs and services. In addition, San Bernardino County Animal Care will be there with information about pet adoptions, responsible pet ownership, and their programs and services. Enjoy a day of creativity and nature! The address is 39611 Oak Glen Road, in Oak Glen. It’s less than an hour drive from the west end of the Coachella Valley on Interstate 10. Take Exit 94 (Highway 74/Beaumont Avenue); turn right onto Beaumont Avenue, and take it until it turns into Oak Glen Road. The preserve is right next to Los Rios Rancho. (They share the same parking lot.) When you pull into the driveway, parking will be on the right side near the Southern California Montane Botanic Garden and Children’s Outdoor Discovery Center. Escape the desert heat, and enjoy the entire day there with much cooler temperatures (about 20-25 degrees cooler than the desert) and miles of walking and hiking trails. You can bring a picnic lunch and enjoy the natural surroundings with breathtaking views. Learn more about the preserve at wildlandsconservancy.org/preserves/oakglen. At the preserve and in general: Remember to be mindful of your surroundings. Remember to pack in, pack out—leave no trace! Lastly, remember to stay hydrated and drink more water than usual during this time of year. Start with two 8-ounce glasses an hour or two before your hike, and always take more water than you should need, at least one liter per hour. As desert temperatures warm up, it could take your body a couple weeks to acclimate.
What appears to be a Southwestern speckled rattlesnake hiding in the underbrush, just off the trail, possibly hunting for food. Theresa Sama
RESPOND, PLEASE
BY JENNA LECOMTE-HINELY
If you check your mailbox and find an envelope marked “HARC” with a window showcasing a $2 bill on the back, don’t toss it—open it! Inside is an invitation to participate in the Coachella Valley Community Health Survey. And this is more than just a typical survey.
To understand why this survey matters, you first need to know the context. Riverside County is vast—larger than some U.S. states. Because our county is so big, data from sources like the Census is often skewed toward the more populated areas in Western Riverside County, leaving the Coachella Valley largely underrepresented and unseen. Our region is unique, and we need our own data to tell our story more accurately.
While “data” might sound dry, it plays a vital role in quality of life. Data helps describe our
community, uncover disparities and track changes over time. It helps us tell our stories and spotlight our needs.
That’s why local leaders came together in 2006 to create a solution—HARC (Health Assessment and Research for Communities). Based in Palm Desert, HARC is a nonprofit research and evaluation organization focused on collecting and sharing data specifically for the Coachella Valley. The goal? To make this information clear, accessible and free for everyone.
In 2007, HARC launched the first Coachella Valley Community Health Survey. Rather than being based on national models or academic theories, the survey was designed around what local changemakers said they needed to know—information they couldn’t find anywhere else. The result is a regional health survey, repeated every three years, covering everything from health-care access and mental health to chronic diseases, food
insecurity and socioeconomic needs.
Each survey includes a rich demographic section, allowing HARC to spotlight the needs of groups such as the LGBTQ+ community, women, veterans, people of color and residents in specific areas like the East Valley.
During each survey cycle, HARC collects data from more than 2,500 adults—a sample that is statistically representative of the entire Coachella Valley. Surveys are made available in both English and Spanish and may reflect the respondent’s own experiences or the needs of children in their household.
Hundreds of local organizations rely on this data—nonprofits, health-care providers, local governments, school districts and others. They use the data to identify priorities, shape programs and secure funding. For example, nonprofits using HARC data have collectively secured more than $20 million in grants for critical low- or no-cost services such as
Data collection for the 2025 Coachella Valley Community Health Survey is happening now
senior meal delivery, children’s mental health services, transportation for individuals with disabilities and HIV testing.
The format of the survey has also evolved over the years. What began as a phone survey is now offered online or on paper. If you’re one of the 25,000 households selected this year, you’ll receive an invitation in the mail— along with a $2 bill as a token of appreciation. The flier encourages you to complete the survey online or request a paper copy. And here’s the bonus: If you complete the survey, you’ll receive a $20 Visa gift card as a thankyou (courtesy of Desert Healthcare District/ Foundation, one of the largest funders of this survey cycle).
If there are children in your home, you’ll also be invited to complete a second survey focused on child health—with another $20 card in return. That’s potentially $40 for just a few minutes of your time.
So if you get the invitation to participate in the Coachella Valley Community Health Survey, please don’t ignore it. Take a moment
to complete the survey, and share your story. Your voice is an essential part of telling the story of the Coachella Valley community— and sharing your story matters.
This year’s survey is funded by HARC and a wide range of generous supporters, including (in alphabetical order): Auen Foundation, city of Desert Hot Springs, city of La Quinta, city of Palm Springs, Desert Care Network, Desert Healthcare District and Foundation, Desert Oasis Healthcare, First 5 Riverside County, Inland Empire Health Plan, Molina Healthcare, Regional Access Project Foundation, Supervisor V. Manuel Perez (Fourth District, Riverside County) and many generous individuals. Have more questions? Visit HARCdata. org/FAQ for a detailed Q&A, or download the report from the last survey cycle to see the kind of insights this data provides. In less than a year, the new data will be available— for free, as always—on HARC’s website.
Jenna LeComte-Hinely is the executive director of HARC, Inc.
Jenna LeComte-Hinely.
OPINION KNOW YOUR NEIGHBORS
BY BONNIE GILGALLON
If you’re a fan of Coachella Valley-based authors or have a strong interest in Thomas Edison, you’re probably familiar with David Church.
Church’s latest book is Thomas Edison and the Magi Solution, which was slated for release on April 30. He grew up in a small town in Indiana and said his initial creative outlet was as an actor, but when he got to college in Boston, he discovered that rather than having an “actor’s instinct,” he had a “creative instinct,” which manifested itself much better by putting pen to paper. Church started by writing short sample sitcom episodes, but then moved on to longer pieces.
Church said he’s the only member of his family who was bitten by the writing bug.
“It was not a world my family members knew, so they were puzzled by it, but also gratified by
it,” he said. “… If you can really enjoy the process, it’s completely worthwhile.”
Church made his way to Los Angeles after college and got a “day job” as an advertising executive with J. Walter Thompson, but never stopped writing. He penned some screenplays, two of which sold, as well as a musical play.
During his L.A. years, Church made sporadic trips out to the Coachella Valley to de-stress. He made a permanent move here about four years ago, during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, and said it’s one of the best decisions he ever made.
With collaborators Jim Webber and Joe Patrick Ward, Church wrote the musical Judy’s Scary Little Christmas, which has been performed in various places since 2002, including a couple of times in L.A. It is licensed with Concord Theatricals, and every year, one or two productions are mounted at theaters in the U.S. Church is hoping a theater here in the valley will put it on sometime in the future.
When asked about his writing process, Church said: “It’s two separate ways for me. If I am writing something, it is more the moment of impulse. … You just think and think and think, and hope that it evolves into something of value. When I’m re-writing something—and rewriting is 90 percent of it—it’s much more surgical. It’s almost like solving a puzzle.”
Church said he used to keep a pen and paper next to his bed to write down random latenight thoughts, but stopped, because when he’d re-read his notes, they often made no sense at all.
One day while puttering around at home, Church put on the History Channel. His ears perked up when he heard that Thomas Edison once tried to invent a machine that could communicate with the dead. Curious, Church contacted the Edison estate in Fort Myers, Fla., and spoke with the docent, who confirmed that for three decades, Edison worked on versions of what he called the “spirit box.” The goal was to bend sound waves that could tap into the afterlife.
Church also learned that in February 1918, during World War I, Edison disappeared for an entire month. No one had any idea where he went. So Church thought to himself: What if he went to the afterlife? What if this wasn’t a spirit box, but a traveling machine? That was the impetus for the first book, Thomas Edison and the Purgatory Equation, in what became a trilogy.
In 2019, a voluminous book on Edison by Edmund Morris partially answered the question of where Edison was during the month he went missing.
“At that time, Edison had come up with a variety of machines, in theory, for the War Department,” Church said. “But they denied all of Edison’s machine proposals, primarily because they did not kill people.”
It is believed that Edison had a nervous breakdown, and that his wife took him to a friend’s villa in South Florida, where he recovered. Church said this seems to be the most plausible explanation so far.
Church did not plan for his first book to be part of a trilogy, but once he completed it, he realized that he had laid in enough elements that could transfer to another book.
“The trick was,” Church said, “that the first book was very much a traditional adventure. The second book takes place in 1933, and it tends to mirror the element of the times, which is kind of a screwball comedy quality, though there are some very dark things in it.
The third book takes place in the final days of World War II and is a bit more sober.”
The process of creating the first book took several years. Church said he wrote it, and then set it aside for a year or so before coming back to it.
“I realized it was over-written,” he said. “I had to keep paring it down, because it really should read like an action-packed adventure.”
As for writer’s block, Church said it’s not really a problem for him.
“Once I know where I’m going, it’s incremental enough that I can see it moving forward in my mind’s eye,” he said. “Usually, I know the
Meet Palm Springs novelist David Church, whose latest book wraps up a fascinating trilogy about Thomas Edison
beginning, and I know the end. You’ve just got to fill things in, in a way that gets you there.”
Church said he loves Palm Springs, calling it “a progressive town with great restaurants.”
There’s a collegiality and a civility here that is missing in many other parts of the country, he said.
“It’s refreshing to be here,” he added. Palm Springs does have its dark side, though. Nonetheless, Church said if he were to set his next novel here, it would be more of a comedic piece.
Church and some of the “marvelous” friends he’s met here sometimes get together at Koffi, which they call “the office.” Church is a judge with the Palm Springs International Film Society, which he feels does “incredible work,” and recently joined the Palm Springs Writers Guild.
Church said there comes a point in life when you have to look at the world and ask yourself a question: Am I going to be a good guy, or a bad guy?
“And I’m telling you, man, being a good guy is so much easier, and so much more rewarding,” he said.
His advice to young writers just starting out? “Don’t let anyone dissuade you. Everyone has at least one story. Find a way to tell it.”
Learn more at edisontrilogy.com.
Bonnie Gilgallon has written theater reviews for Independent since 2013. She hosts a digital interview show, The Desert Scene, which can be heard on www.thedesertscene.com and viewed on Mutual Broadcasting’s YouTube channel. Learn more at bonnie-g.com.
David Church said he used to keep a pen and paper next to his bed to write down random late-night thoughts, but stopped, because when he’d re-read his notes, they often made no sense at all.
CONFUSION ON PUBLIC LANDS
SStaffing at Joshua Tree National Park is in flux, as is the designation of the Chuckwalla by HALEEMON ANDERSON
pring is here, and nearby public lands are seeing robust visitor numbers before July’s blistering temperatures send all but the heartiest souls into the shade.
Some things, however, aren’t the same as they were this time a year ago.
National Monument. In both cases, federal mandates were announced and either reversed or rescinded in short order—contributing to a climate of confusion and secrecy.
In January, shortly before he left office, President Joe Biden issued the long-awaited Chuckwalla designation. Two months later, President Donald Trump’s administration issued a fact sheet saying the Biden proclamation would be rescinded. Shortly thereafter, the mention was removed from the memo.
This uncertainty is not relegated to Coachella Valley. In February, the National Park Service abruptly laid off 1,000 park employees, including six Joshua Tree rangers. Five weeks later, the terminations were rescinded thanks to court orders. Meanwhile, more than 700 national park employees took buyouts.
Theresa Pierno, president and CEO of National Parks Conservation Association, an advocacy organization, characterized the Trump administration’s actions in a statement as “chaotic whiplash.”
The confusion is the point, said Nick Graver, an organizer with Resistance Rangers, a group of off-duty rangers and their supporters; he helped organize a recent protest at Joshua Tree National Park. Graver said he thinks additional layoffs are being planned by the federal government.
“The thing is, this administration is operating in a very secretive way,” Graver said. “The acting director (of the NPS) might have seen the reduction in force plan, but that’s it. It’s not out where anybody can see it.”
Getting information is difficult. Public lands are a vast network of sometimes-overlapping management, and in the current political climate, staffers are often hesitant to talk or give personal information due to a fear of retribution.
Some indigenous tribal leaders entered the discourse in April, sending a letter to the Trump administration and Department of the Interior Secretary Doug Burgum requesting restraint and citing tribal sovereignty. The letter asked for an opportunity to meet with the Trump team for “appropriate and robust tribal consultation.” The letter highlighted the goal of the tribes in co-stewarding the Chuckwalla National Monument monument and urged the Trump administration to refrain from taking
any actions without appropriate tribal input.
The Chuckwalla National Monument stretches from the Coachella Valley to the Colorado River and spans the area where the Sonoran and Mojave deserts meet; it shares its northwestern border with Joshua Tree National Park. The Bureau of Land Management has authority over Chuckwalla National Monument, while Joshua Tree is under the Department of the Interior/National Park Service.
The Independent was referred to the White House for questions about BLM funding, staff reductions and outreach to the public—but the phone number we were given was disconnected. Efforts to reach Joshua Tree personnel were unsuccessful.
The CactusToCloud Institute was involved in the campaign to designate Chuckwalla. The nonprofit organization advocates for “the California Desert and (its) plants, animals and people.” Colin Barrows founded the nonprofit organization along with three friends who decided to become certified California Naturalists and UC Climate Stewards.
“We’ve been involved in working to designate Chuckwalla since 2021, so, four years. And are now, of course, we’re wanting to make sure that designation stays intact,” Barrows said.
The uncertainty around federal directives is cause for concern, especially when questions about Chuckwalla’s status are not being answered, he said.
“We’re concerned citizens and advocates, so we don’t have any more foresight into what the Trump administration might do than anybody else,” Barrows said. “But what I will say is, we see Chuckwalla as being part of a larger story about public lands right now. We can see there are certainly efforts to change our relationship with nature and with public lands. There’s been some effort in Congress to make it easier to sell public lands.”
In addition to his work with Resistance Rangers, Graver is a graduate student at UC Riverside. His work in Joshua Tree, researching native vegetation and the effects of climate change and wildfire on desert plants, is directly tied to his activism.
“The work I do is conservation biology. The purpose of it is to inform decision-making by
The Trump administration’s on-again, off-again layoffs and pronouncements have conservationists baffled and worried
land managers on how to preserve the land,” he said. “We expect plant populations and the ranges of species to shift due to climate change, and we expect patterns of fire in the desert to shift.”
Joshua Tree National Park is down approximately 50 positions, according to Graver. He worries that Joshua Tree, Chuckwalla and other public lands will become so underfunded that the kinds of conservation he is studying will become obsolete.
“If there are not land managers to preserve the land by the time I graduate, then it will be all pointless,” he said.
“There was a new effort to pressure employees to resign (recently), and another deferred resignation program—and that’s basically
under the threat of being fired later on. They’re pressuring people to resign and providing them an incentive, and that’s happening across the nation. It’s happening on all public lands. It’s not just parks. It’s happening to the people fighting disease as well, and people who provide medical care to veterans. But it is happening to park rangers, and so that’s what Resistance Rangers is campaigning against.”
The volunteer group helped organize a nationwide day of protest in March in support of the fired park employees. After the threat to Chuckwalla’s status was discovered, Resistance Rangers joined several advocacy groups to rally in People’s Park in downtown Palm Springs.
The Mojave Desert Land Trust works with various governing agencies to ensure public
Rally-goers in downtown Palm Springs protest the National Park Service cuts and the potential revocation of the declaration creating the Chuckwalla National Monument. Haleemon Anderson
lands have as much support as possible. The group’s public policy officer, Krystian Lahage, told the Independent that the MDLT tries to provide information about the things going on in the desert while steering clear of politics.
“The role that we envision for ourselves is kind of being a nonpartisan hub of information,” Lahage said. “We’ve always worked collaboratively with the National Park Service and BLM. We acquire land, and we convey it over to them, so we have a strong partnership.”
Lahage said the reduction in staffing and other cuts will be challenging, but the parks can still be a source of enjoyment and leisure for the community.
“We’re certainly concerned with staffing,” Lahage said. “… We don’t have to look further than the last shutdown to see what happens when our parks are left open with inadequate staffing. We had damage to infrastructure. We had damage to trails, damage to the landscape. One of the superintendents for the park said that it could take 200 to 300 years for some of that damage to be resolved. We feel right now it’s our role to stand up and fill in the gaps when possible, to make sure that these lands are still being protected.
“We’ve done a big amount of acquisition (of land within) Joshua Tree National Park, which has been handed over to the National Park Service. We have done the same with wilderness areas for the Bureau of Land Management, and so those areas, those lands, are passed in a certain trust. Those lands aren’t at risk, but we still need the folks to be out there to staff them, to make sure that the interactions with visitors are balanced, and then (to protect) visitor safety. We certainly feel the confusion, but we’re trying to make our role be one of disseminating as much information as we can about what happens when there isn’t staff, and what happens when there isn’t funding. We’re really trying to, in the community, alleviate some of the confusion, where best we can. Of course, we don’t have all the answers.”
Lahage said patrons of the parks may want to adopt an extra measure of awareness and precaution.
“We’re about to hit the busiest season, especially in the California desert—spring is the happening time, right?” Lahage said. “That’s when our most visitors come out, and the wildflowers start blooming. Some folks are not prepared for hiking in the desert when they come back to the desert. You’ll see them carrying like a tiny little water.
“The folks working in our parks are not just taking care of (the parks). They’re also making sure we can (enjoy them) safely, and making sure that folks who come, no matter where in the world they come from, or if they’ve never had the economic or physical ability to come to our parks, have the ability to do so safely, and enjoy and then take ownership in their lands.”
NEWS
IF ICE SHOWS UP …
By Haleemon Anderson
TCollege of the Desert takes action to assure all students—including those who are undocumented—feel safe
here hadn’t been any raids or inquiries from Immigrations and Customs Enforcement at College of the Desert as of mid-April—but the community college is not leaving this potentially fraught situation to chance.
More than 70% of COD’s students are Hispanic or Spanish-speaking, many of whom are undocumented or in mixed-status families.
The COD Board of Trustees on March 21 took pre-emptive action to establish campus-wide
protocols for interacting with ICE agents. It beefed up outreach to students and their families, and implemented a comprehensive training program for faculty and staff, including formalized procedures to make sure the entire campus community knows what to do to protect students if ICE does show up.
The actions are in response to Trump administration reforms, including the removal of restrictions on so-called “sensitive” locations—places that for years were considered safe spaces, including schools, courthouses, churches and hospitals.
COD public information officer Nicholas Robles said the goal is to give the campus specific strategies for responding to immigration-enforcement requests, while ensuring students have privacy and a protected learning environment.
“What we’re trying to do is clarify, not only for the students and the community, but really our faculty and our administration: What are the processes? What are we doing to support our students?” Robles said. “We did see a slight enrollment drop at the beginning of the semester (among) our English (as a) second language students.”
The college will direct all law-enforcement inquiries to the COD Public Safety Department and will require warrants to release any student information. The school also prohibits inquiries about immigration status during admissions and enrollment periods.
The school has also increased support services at the campus Dreamer Resource Center. The center is a hub for services to undocumented students and their families. Students receive support for their academic goals, and the center partners with the TODEC Legal Center to provide free immigration legal advice. TODEC recently distributed more than 40,000 “Know Your Rights” cards to schools in the region, including primary and middle schools.
“One of the big things we know, just based off our student data, is we do have a large number of undocumented students, but then we also have a number of students who do have status here … (whose) parents may not have
status,” Robles said. “Or one parent does, but not the other parent. That’s what we call our mixed-status families, and we definitely have a large population of mixed-status families.”
These directives couldn’t come soon enough, said one local educator, who asked not to be named out of concern of retribution. They believe it is not just undocumented students who may be targeted.
COD has a small enrollment of Native American students, through a partnership with the California Indian Nations College. The educator told the Independent that students may be unaware of recent immigration sweeps involving Indigenous people in other regions. News outlets have reported incidents of Navajo tribe members in Arizona, New Mexico and Utah being targeted by ICE.
“We did hear that there were some young men here, Native young men, who were being handcuffed and sat down on the street and really harassed when it came to that,” the educator said. “That’s when I sent out an announcement saying, ‘Be careful, and make sure you have your tribal ID with you.’ I think a lot of Native Americans feel like, ‘I’m Native American, so they’re not going to come and get me.’”
Robles said the COD administration moved quickly to provide guidance, because ICE raids were being reported in Riverside County and other parts of the state. Fear and misinformation spread around the campus in early February, when inaccurate posts claimed smog checkpoints were ICE checkpoints.
“In the Coachella Valley, we have very active Facebook groups, and there was a lot of misinformation on social media,” Robles said. “There’s a department that regulates smog checkpoints, but on social media, it was like, ‘Oh, these are ICE checkpoints.’ The minute something happens, it spreads like wildfire.
“Historically, (ICE agents) haven’t gone into churches and schools. But as we’ve seen, there’s a lot of tumultuousness within the federal government right now. (Our position) is, if they do come on our campus, this is what we’re going to be doing, and these are our protocols. We are trying to be preemptive, and really define
what are closed spaces and what are open spaces, in case that did happen.”
Val Martinez Garcia, COD’s acting president, reiterated the college’s mission to protect and support undocumented students.
“Every student deserves access to education without fear,” Garcia said in a statement. “These comprehensive policies ensure our undocumented students can focus on their academic goals with confidence that their privacy and educational rights are protected. Our mission has always been to serve all students in our community. These policies reaffirm that commitment with concrete action.”
COD Acting President Val Martinez Garcia: “Every student deserves access to education without fear.”
‘A LOT OF PROMISE’
Edna Martinez holds the title of associate vice president and administrator in charge of California State University, San Bernardino’s Palm Desert Campus. But when she introduces herself, even to students, she simply says, “Call me Edna!” “I do that to break power dynamics, especially with 82% of our students being first-gen,” Marby Rob Wilcox
tinez said.
Though she embraces a down-to-earth approach, Martinez is well aware of the inspiration she provides as the first Latina to lead the CSUSB Palm Desert Campus in its nearly 40-year history.
Born in El Paso, Texas, Martinez spent her childhood on the move.
“I’m a proud Army brat,” she said. Her father served with the 62nd Engineer Battalion, taking the family to Colorado, Missouri, Washington state and Panama. Was all the moving difficult?
“I loved it!” she said. “I got to meet new people, got to experience new cultures.”
Throughout their journey, her father chipped away at his dream of earning a college degree, enrolling in community colleges wherever the family was stationed.
“He ended up getting his degree a year before my sister got hers,” Martinez said. “We always knew that not going to college was not an option. We saw our dad taking a class here and there—and I must say, it took him a long time to finish his degree.”
Martinez enrolled at the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP), determined to become a doctor. “I was pre-med, majoring in biology and minoring in chemistry,” she said. “And I got really involved in the campus.”
That involvement sparked a realization that her true passion might not be medicine after all.
“It was my senior year that I had a change of heart,” she said. “Though I knew at that point that I wasn’t going to pursue the medical field, I never wanted folks to say, ‘She couldn’t get her degree in biology, because it was too hard.’ So, I said, ‘I’m still going to finish my degree in pre-med.’”
After earning her undergraduate degree, Martinez pursued a master’s in educational administration with a focus on student affairs at UTEP. Her goal was simple: “Ensuring that students are successful in higher education.”
“My parents were always supportive, saying, ‘Do what you want to do.’ So I (was) still going to be a doctor, but not that kind of doctor,” she said.
While working on her master’s degree, Martinez became a tutor for the College Assistance Migrant Program, eventually becoming the program coordinator and manager. During
that time, she met one of her most influential mentors: James Satterfield, a faculty member who later moved to Clemson University. He saw something in Martinez and encouraged her to pursue a doctorate at Clemson.
“It took probably two years for him to convince me,” she said. “In fact, I committed to join the Ph.D. program, and then I backed out. I was scared. One day, sitting in my office working, I got an email from Dr. Satterfield, and I know I’ve got a screenshot of it saved somewhere. The subject was: It is time. And that’s it; there was nothing in the body of the email. And I’m like, ‘It’s time! It’s time to do it.’”
Martinez enrolled at Clemson and completed her degree. She was first Latina student in the university’s Ph.D. in Educational Leadership program. “And that came with a lot of pressure, being the first,” she said.
In August 2023, Martinez again made history after she was appointed to lead the CSUSB Palm Desert Campus. At the time, she said in a news release: “I look forward to working with students, families, faculty and staff to make PDC the choice, not the only choice, for students in our community.” Since then, she has focused on turning that vision into a reality for the campus’ more than 2,000 students.
“The Palm Desert Campus is about possibility, discovery and community. We’re the only public four-year institution here in the Coachella Valley, and we’re proud to provide access to affordable excellence in higher education,” Martinez said.
She, and her California State University colleagues, are dealing with numerous challenges. The CSU system is facing a $375 million budget cut in Gov. Gavin Newsom’s 2025-2026 budget proposal. Additionally, many students at the Palm Desert Campus are navigating uncertainty due to shifting federal policies.
“Our counselors are seeing more students because of the uncertainty,” Martinez said. “Our mission and our commitment to our students doesn’t change. When there is a greater need, we increase our services and partner with the community in terms of how to best serve our students and provide some level of comfort.”
Despite these headwinds, Martinez is focused on growth. In May, the Palm Desert
CSUSB Palm Desert leader Edna Martinez wants the campus to grow and offer more to students
Campus will celebrate a major milestone with a groundbreaking ceremony for its new Student Services Building, scheduled at 9:30 a.m., Friday, May 9. The event, which is open to the public, will celebrate an expansion aimed at improving the student experience and increasing access to critical support services.
The $79 million state-funded project will be a 23,700-assignable-square-foot facility with an advising and tutoring center, a career center, an expanded library, a group study space, a cross-cultural center, a bookstore,
food services, a student health center, and a recreation and wellness center. Once complete, the building will free up 10,000 square feet of space in existing campus facilities, enabling the expansion of academic programs and more faculty and classroom space.
“There’s a lot of promise, all that undeveloped land,” Martinez said, gesturing to the desert landscape visible from her office window. “There’s a reference from The Lion King my colleague often uses: ‘Everything the light touches is our kingdom.’”
Edna Martinez: “Our counselors are seeing more students because of the uncertainty. Our mission and our commitment to our students doesn’t change. When there is a greater need, we increase our services and partner with the community in terms of how to best serve our students and provide some level of comfort.” Rodrigo Pena/CSUSB Palm Desert
MEETING KIDS’ NEEDS
by Matt King
Did you know that a local school district has a full-fledged esports program?
For nearly a decade, the Palm Springs Unified School District has been building a desert esports presence: Instead of traditional sports like basketball or football, students compete against each other in video games. Every high school and middle school in the district has an
esports team, with a few elementary schools joining in as well.
The district recently hosted a tournament with different PSUSD schools (as well as some from the Desert Sands Unified School District) competing against each other at the district’s new Esports Arena at Desert Learning Academy.
During a recent Zoom interview Will Carr, PSUSD’s director of educational technology, he talked about the beginnings of esports in the district’s schools.
“Back in 2016, we started preparing the district to bring esports into the curriculum here,” Carr said. “We had a great superintendent and a pretty open-minded board, which allowed us to approach the situation and talk about funding. What they said was, ‘Let’s give it a shot, as long as it’s not shooting games.’ We had to stick to games like Super Smash Bros. and League of Legends or Dota.”
At the same time, there were national efforts being made regarding esports in schools. Carr and his team used a curriculum built by the North American Scholastic Esports Federation to get the district’s approval for an esports program.
“We said, ‘Hey, there’s this corporation that’s tied to a college, and they have outlined this curriculum,’” Carr said. “The curriculum covers shoutcasting (announcing in esports), entrepreneurship, coaching, medical, IT design, setting up the network properly and all the things that have to do with a big esports event. From there, we started creating small pilot high schools, and that allowed us to get our foot in the door, open up some funding to buy some decent machines or build machines, have practices and work on getting a stipend for teachers so they can coach, just like football coaches or basketball coaches or soccer coaches do.”
In 2025, the esports program at PSUSD is thriving, thanks to an annual budget and the new arena.
“We created an environment that fits different kids’ needs,” he said. “Some kids in the esports program aren’t involved in basketball, swimming, soccer or sports in general. There some of them are involved with bands; some are involved with theater, but a lot of them aren’t involved with anything except for esports. We created a place where those students have an agency, and now they have a
voice. There was a group of kids who didn’t do anything with the school besides go to school, and they’re now a part of this community. Some of them are the gamers, and some of them are shoutcasters, and some of them are fanart designers.”
Esports can also attract a wide variety of students, all year.
“We can bring in different games very easily, and there’s a job for everybody,” Carr said. “A lot of our esports teams at the schools consist of 35 to 40 students, and about 18 to 20 of them are the varsity or the ‘professional players.’ The rest are support, either doing entrepreneurial fundraising, coaching, setup or tear downs, things of that nature. Some are just practice squads.”
Bringing gaming into school has been a lifelong dream for Carr, and he hopes parents and the community look beyond the stereotypical anti-video-game arguments, and realize the many benefits of an esports program.
“There’s so much around studying, building a high-end computer, optimizing the network for speed and low latency, ergonomics, posture, rage and controlling your emotions, and all that good stuff,” Carr said. “The biggest roadblock has always been that ‘video games are bad, and kids who play shooting games shoot other kids and have rage and anger.’ Our parents don’t see the opportunities and the possibilities in the market space—and in our valley here, there’s not a ton for the kids to do.”
Carr sees a future for Coachella Valley esports beyond just being a school activity.
“We wanted to create a community in the valley, so we didn’t have to drive to San Diego or drive out to Orange County for this group of people and fans alike to start seeing what esports is about,” he said. “We built this brand-new esports arena. … We want to start opening it up to the community, meaning that we want to start hosting community gaming events, or partner with outside people to bring in community events, just to start getting it more adapted into the community.”
Students have already benefited from PSUSD’s esports program, Carr said.
“We have kids who have received scholarships,” Carr said. “We’ve had students who, their grades are so-so, but because they do
Palm Springs Unified School District’s esports program showcases the benefits of gaming
esports, they were admitted into schools. We have kids who receive all kinds of swag from Logitech, G.Skill and HyperX.”
Carr said he’s happy the Coachella Valley is catching on to “one of the largest industries there is in the world.”
“It’s the future, and so the job of the school district … is to prepare those kids, or to create an avenue for those kids to be involved with that,” Carr said. “… What we’re trying to do is create professional gamers by the time they become high school kids. We’re trying to get them hooked. They’re already kind of hooked, but they’re hooked in casual play without much thought. We’re trying to give them the structure. We’re trying to give them these pathways. We’re trying to teach them how to control emotions and not get burnt out, and teach them balance at the elementary levels. As they get into high school, we start giving them some fine skills.”
Elementary-school students start with more lighthearted games like Super Smash Bros., before advancing to more competitive and strategic games like League of Legends in higher grades.
“We’re doing that to build awareness and understanding of the games and certain skill sets and communication tactics, so when they get to high school, they’re that much better,” Carr said. “When they’re in high schools, they start getting scouted by colleges.”
To involve other local school districts and the community at large, PSUSD founded the Desert Valley Esports Alliance. Carr detailed the three “seasons” within each school year.
“Season one is right around September, when all the high schools and middle schools have their rush,” he said. “… Season one is join-
ing esports and creating your team, so we give them about six weeks to form their teams, and for us to come out to help out with anything, if we need to refresh computers, add additional network drops, furniture, whatever is needed.
“Season two starts right around Thanksgiving, and that’s pure scrimmage play. We have scrimmage play for another six weeks. … It’s a chance for the coaches to see who’s best in what roles, and it’s also a chance to meet other coaches and kiddos. After the scrimmage season, we go into the seeding season. Every game has a point assigned to it, and for the next six weeks, they round-robin and play every other team once or so. The game points seed them for the finals. The finals are three weeks long.”
Carr credited The Foundation for Palm Springs Unified School District, a nonprofit that assists the district, for helping ensure the esports program’s future is bright.
“We get about $175,000 donated through The Foundation for esports annually, which really makes things go smooth,” Carr said. “You can’t buy a ton with that, but you can upgrade some video cards. We can get additional consoles, subscriptions, and things of that nature. That helps out a lot.”
Carr hopes to expand local esports awareness beyond the schools.
“It’s not just gaming anymore; it’s a lucrative business,” he said. “… Because there’s so much money around this ecosystem, there’s a lot of buzz in the valley. The mayor of Palm Springs, Ron deHarte, is really interested in bringing something to the valley that’s involving esports and people streaming and watching stuff. … Right now, they’re leaning toward something like a big esports qualifier or festival, so we’ll see what happens.”
Local students participate in a recent esports tournament. Photo courtesy of PSUSD
CV HISTORY
BTwo pioneer doctors left a lasting legacy in Palm
Springs and
the
Coachella Valley
The role of shaman varied, usually covering both practical and religious matters, but they were reputed to have extraordinary powers gained from spiritual beings—including the by greg niemann
efore the first white settlers arrived in Palm Springs, much of the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians’ culture revolved around the shaman, or medicine man.
power to heal people. People relied on them to prepare the correct mixtures of herbs and potions to take, and there are numerous anecdotal instances of recovery.
By the late 1800s, white pioneers began to settle in Palm Springs. These settlers were accustomed to care provided by licensed medical personnel.
Dr. Harry Lee Coffman:
The First Licensed Doctor
The first physician licensed by the state of California to set up practice in the village of Palm Springs was Harry Coffman. He and his wife, Nellie, started the Desert Inn and Sanatorium and ran it together. Nellie became better known locally, as she continued to run the famous resort for decades. The Desert Inn, however, was first a sanatorium—and Dr. Harry Coffman played no small part in getting it established.
The son of Charles A. Coffman, Harry was born in Marysville, near Sacramento, on Oct. 1, 1866 or 1867. The family then settled on a 400-acre ranch in Ranchito—now Pico Rivera, between Los Angeles and Whittier—where Harry’s father was one of the organizers of the Southern California Walnut Growers Association. Harry managed the walnut groves for his father and became enamored with the widow, Nellie Norton Roberson, who lived at a nearby hotel that his father was managing. Her husband had died in a fire before their son, George Roberson, was born. Harry and Nellie wed on March 5, 1891, and they had a son, Owen Earl Coffman, born in 1892. In their early years together, the young family lived on the walnut ranch. In 1896, encouraged by Nellie, Harry entered the University of Southern California as an English major. Shortly thereafter, he decided he wanted to become a doctor. Harry enrolled in the Medico-Chirurgical College of Philadelphia, a three-year medical school, and then interned in Philadelphia at the Lying-In Hospital. He earned his medical degree in 1901. Nellie attended his graduation, and the couple enjoyed a two-week vacation in the East before returning to California. Over the next seven years, Dr. Coffman built a successful medical practice in Santa
Monica. During that time, he learned about the recuperative climate the desert offered for respiratory patients—so the Coffmans decided to move to the desert and open a hotel-sanatorium. Harry gave up his medical practice, and the Coffmans put $2,000 down for property in the heart of Palm Springs. They bought two adjoining properties, including Lavinia Crocker’s former Green Gables Health Resort, which consisted of a home and several canvass tent-houses.
The Coffmans moved to Palm Springs on Oct. 16, 1909, where they immediately established the Desert Inn and Sanatorium. There—on land that would later become the Desert Fashion Plaza, and much later the downtown Palm Springs Park—Dr. Coffman treated numerous patients who came seeking respiratory ailment cures. He soon had to hire assistants, the first being a nurse named Miss Grace Harford.
Partially due to their different visions for the property, the marriage of Dr. Harry L. Coffman and Nellie Coffman foundered and was legally terminated in 1914. Nellie morphed the sanatorium into one of the original first-class desert resorts in the country.
Meanwhile, Dr. Harry left Palm Springs and his family, and initially went to Calexico to practice medicine. He also had a ranch in Cherry Valley before he moved to Alpine, Calif., where he cared for patients as a sanatorium doctor until his death on April 30, 1935. The first doctor to practice medicine in Palm Springs was buried in the Welwood Murray Cemetery in Palm Springs.
Dr. Jacob John
Kocher: The First Pharmacist
Dr. Jacob John (J.J) Kocher was a physician and pharmacist who also opened the village’s first pharmacy. He built an adobe building directly across the street from the main entrance of the Desert Inn and called his new drug and apothecary shop the Mortar and Pestle. He even had a rock which had been used as a mortar on the porch in front of the store.
The “Desert Doctor,” as he became known, opened for business in November 1917. His guest-book signatures included most of the local citizenry, both Indigenous and settlers.
News of his ability as a doctor spread, and he was increasingly called upon to perform surgery, deliver babies and attend to people’s general well-being.
Dr. Kocher and his wife, Reta, were both charter members of the original Palm Springs Presbyterian Church, organized in March 1917 with 19 charter members. The Kochers lived by the Cree Ranch in Cathedral City. Books were Dr. Kocher’s passion, and he helped found a private library. He also the valley’s nature and would often go out to the desert or the canyons to paint. When the Palm Springs Board of Trade was formed in 1918, Dr. Kocher, who had developed properties, became its first president.
Dr. Kocher also played a large role in the birth of midcentury desert modern architecture. His brother, A. Lawrence Kocher, was a noted New York architect and managing editor of Architectural Record. He had teamed with Albert Frey, later one of Palm Springs’ most influential architects.
In 1934, Dr. Kocher invited his brother to Palm Springs to design a small office/ apartment dual-use building. Frey accompanied Kocher to Palm Springs, and he fell in love with the desert. The Kocher-
Samson Building, at 766 N. Palm Canyon Drive, designed by Frey and A. Lawrence Kocher, is considered Palm Springs’ first modernist international-style building, and in effect, it started what would be known as “desert modernism.” The building still stands and houses Bon Vivant, a shop offering decorative accessories.
The Kocher-Samson Building was the last project Kocher and Frey would do together. They dissolved their partnership in 1935, and Frey returned to Palm Springs to stay.
Dr. J.J. Kocher was remembered fondly for his medical service to the community. In 1936, a “Stork Party” celebration was held for Dr. Kocher, and many of the “babies” he delivered were in attendance, including the first non-Indigenous person born in Palm Springs, Ted McKinney (Jan. 11, 1919), his sister Barbara McKinney, Beatrice Willard, Elizabeth Coffman and Owen Coffman.
Sources for this article include Nellie’s Boardinghouse: A Dual Biography of Nellie Coffman and Palm Springs by Marjorie Belle Bright (ETC Publications, 1981) and Palm Springs: First Hundred Years by Mayor Frank M. Bogert (Palm Springs Heritage Press, 1987).
Dr. Harry Lee Coffman and other village residents. Courtesy of the Palm Springs Historical Society
MAY ASTRONOMY
By Robert Victor
Binoculars are a prime accessory for enhancing enjoyment of sky watching. I just received notice of a comet, named C/2025 F2 (SWAN), discovered in late March, which may become visible to the unaided eye low in evening twilight for a few days around April 30. That’s the date of perihelion, when the comet passes closest to the sun, at a distance of 33 million miles. Comet SWAN will be seen highest from April 28-May 4, but only a few degrees above the northwest to west-northwest horizon in deep twilight, about 60 to 75 minutes after sunset. You’ll need clear skies and an unobstructed view toward the horizon—and binoculars will be a big help! The once-in-a-million-plus-years visitor will appear about 2 degrees farther left each evening at the same stage of twilight—to the right of the Pleiades cluster and in the same field on April 30,
and even closer to the upper right and upper left of the cluster on the next two evenings. The visitor will cross south of Earth’s orbital plane on May 4, and will appear below Aldebaran and within the “V” of the Hyades cluster on May 6, but by then, the comet will be getting lower nightly, and fading.
Download free copies of the Abrams Planetarium Sky Calendar and May evening skies constellation map for May 2025, and note the first diagram on the calendar showing the sky 1 1/4 hours after sunset. That’ll help you star-hop from Jupiter, to Aldebaran, the Hyades and the Pleiades, where you’ll be aiming your binoculars close to the comet. Another illustration in the first row is a finder chart for the brightest asteroid Vesta, discovered in 1807. At opposition at magnitude +5.7 on May 1, and closest to Earth on May 5, Vesta is now bright enough to be seen with the unaided eye in a dark sky.
Low in the west at dusk at the start of May each year, poised to depart within next three weeks, are many winter stars: Rigel, the Pleiades, the Hyades and Aldebaran, Orion’s belt, Sirius and Betelgeuse. Binoculars enable us to follow them deeper into twilight. See the evening mid-twilight map depicting the sky when the sun is 9° below the horizon, when the brightest stars and planets have become visible. Binoculars give close-up views of the moon passing stars and planets. During evenings in May 2025, watch for moon-Pollux-Castor on May 2; the moon, Mars (magnitude 1.0) and the Beehive cluster on May 3; and Mars-Beehive, interesting to follow for several evenings around May 4 as the red planet shifts east by 0.5° per day, ending May at magnitude +1.3, while 9° west of Regulus. Watch for moon-Regulus on May 5; and moon-Spica on May 9.
Also in the evenings, find Jupiter at magnitude -2, brightest evening “star,” in the west at dusk, setting 3-4 minutes earlier each night, while slowly passing between the tips of the horns of Taurus, the Bull.
Bright stars visible in the evening not yet mentioned are golden Arcturus, in the east;
blue-white Vega, rising in the northeast; and yellow Capella, in the northwest. These three stars all shine at magnitude zero, ranking after only Jupiter and Sirius in brightness in the current evening sky. By the end of May, only the top stars of the Winter Ellipse remain in view—Procyon, Pollux, Castor and Capella, forming the Spring Arch.
From the late evening on May 13 until dawn on the 14th, binoculars show the waning gibbous moon drifting past Antares
Mornings: From the Coachella Valley at latitude 34° N, Venus (magnitude -4.7) rises before the onset of twilight and climbs higher in a dark sky. As sunrise approaches, binoculars magnify Venus enough to show it is currently a crescent, 29% lit and 36” (arcseconds) across on May 1, to 49% lit but a smaller, more challenging 24” on May 31. Saturn appears 3.9° to Venus’ lower right on May 1. Binoculars make Saturn easier to spot as it rises during twilight.
About two hours before sunrise on May 6, arrange to be in a dark place to watch the peak of the Eta Aquariid meteor shower, from Halley’s Comet, due to return in July-August 2061. Also that morning, Saturn (magnitude +1.2) rises with Venus, 5.1° to the brighter planet’s right. May 6, 2025, is a very special date for Saturn: It’s the once-in-29.4 years autumnal equinox for its northern hemisphere, when the equatorial rings are presented edge-on to the sun, and the southern face of the ring begins to receive sunlight, but at a very low angle of incidence. Saturn appeared ringless before May 6, because the shaded side was tipped toward us after Earth crossed Saturn’s ring-plane on March 23, but now that same side will gradually brighten.
Bright stars visible during May mornings include Arcturus in the west; Vega nearly overhead; with nearby Altair and Deneb completing the Summer Triangle; Antares in the southwest; and Fomalhaut rising into the southeast.
The Milky Way at this time of year is best seen just before morning twilight begins to brighten, when the Summer Triangle is nearly
Planets and Bright Stars in Evening Mid-Twilight
The month starts off with a newly discovered comet, and ends with early morning views of the Milky Way
For May, 2025
This sky chart is drawn for latitude 34 degrees north, but may be used in southern U.S. and northern Mexico.
Evening mid-twilight occurs when the Sun is 9° below the horizon. May 1: 42 minutes after sunset. 15: 45 " " " 31: 46 " " "
overhead. The sky is dark and moonless just before twilight on May 1-7 and again May 25-31—the first and last weeks of the month.
The evening sky is dark and moonless at the end of evening twilight this month from May 15-27. At that time, the brightest star of the Big Dipper, in its handle, is almost directly above the North Star, while the “W” of Cassiopeia lies near the northern horizon below the Pole Star, and the Milky Way lies near the horizon all the way around. It’s not a good time for viewing the Milky Way!
Thin crescent moons provide wonderful views through binoculars! Try for the old moon just before sunrise on May 26, and an easier, naked-eye young moon with earthshine at dusk on May 27. Spotting opposing crescent moons on consecutive days is a very rare accomplishment.
The Abrams Planetarium Sky Calendar is available by subscription from www.
abramsplanetarium.org/skycalendar. For $12 per year, subscribers receive quarterly mailings, each containing three monthly issues. The May 2025 issue, with a detailed evening star chart, will be available for free at that weblink by late in April.
The Astronomical Society of the Desert will host three star parties this month: on Saturday, May 3 and May 31, at the Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains National Monument Visitor Center; and on Saturday, May 17, at Sawmill Trailhead, a site in the Santa Rosa Mountains at elevation 4,000 feet. For more information, including maps and directions to the two observing sites, visit astrorx.org.
Robert Victor originated the Abrams Planetarium monthly Sky Calendar in October 1968 and still helps to produce an occasional issue. He enjoys being outdoors sharing the beauty of the night sky and other wonders of nature.
Stereographic Projection Map by Robert D. Miller
Deneb
May's evening sky chart.
ROBERT D. MILLER
By 11:20 a.m. on Saturday, April 5, hundreds of people had already arrived for the Hands Off! rally in Rancho Mirage, at the intersection of Frank Sinatra Drive and Highway 111—even though the event didn’t start until noon.
Many of the early arrivers were seniors, some of whom carried signs declaring, “Hands Off Social Security—We Earned It!” or, in one instance, “Keep Your Tiny Hands Off My Social Security!”
Much of the passing traffic honked in support of the demonstrators, which added to the sense of controlled chaos in the midst of this outpouring of frustration and anger at the new Trump administration’s actions to cut multiple forms of financial, nutritional and housing support for Americans. According to my estimate, the crowd eventually numbered around 2,500.
Jim Gallagher, a senior, stood on the northeast curb at the crosswalk for Highway 111 with a smile on his face as he took in the scene.
“I’m happy to be here,” Gallagher said. “I think it’s important. I think the cumulative effect of when they start seeing the numbers in the thousands (of protestors), we have a chance to move this in our direction.”
On the south side of Highway 111, Philip Novak, also senior, and a friend stood along the roadway and waved their signs at passing motorists. I asked what brought him to the rally.
“Trump's outrageous presidency. It's unbelievable,” Novak said. “We have a criminal in the
White House just surrounded by sycophants. It’s chaotic beyond belief, destructive, cruel, mean and evil. I don't see any redeeming features. … The inability to tamp him down, to limit his power, is just driving people out to scream on sidewalks, and I hope that it builds a kind of energy that will move the people who can do something, (like) the Republicans in Congress or the Supreme Court, to take those fundamental steps.”
Seniors across the country are becoming increasingly concerned about whether they’ll continue receiving the monthly Social Security payments they paid for to help finance their retirement years. After all, recent executive orders, legislative actions and moves by the so-called Department of Government Efficiency have called into question the reliability of various commitments by the federal government to its citizens.
“ The valley is home to about 178,000 seniors, 55 and older, and 14% of those have an income of $20,000 or less per year.
That tells us that there are a lot of folks in the valley who are struggling economically. ”
– Rob Wheeler Executive Director,
Mizell Center
For instance, in late March, FIND Food Bank CEO and President Debbie Espinosa received word that the federal government was halting $500 million worth of food shipments previously promised to nutrition-assistance organizations nationwide. Locally, that meant 10 truckloads of meat and poultry products would not arrive to supplement the diets of local low-income families and individuals.
“Is it of concern?” Espinosa asked rhetorically during a recent interview with the Independent. “Yes, of course,
it's of concern, because we want to make sure that we can keep all of the food and funding sources strong. … We talked to our congressional leaders. Both Congressman (Raul) Ruiz and Congressman (Ken) Calvert have taken my phone calls immediately when we knew that there was going to be proposals to cut federal nutrition programs, and I’ve been very clear with them about what the effects could potentially be when there’s any kind of decreases in the federal nutrition programs, and the effects that it could potentially have in our community. They were definitely listening and hearing what we were saying about the impacts, not just to FIND Food Bank’s food flow, but to the food flow of all of the agencies that we distribute food to, and ultimately, the effect that it will have on the people who are food-insecure in our valley, during a time when we still have a heightened amount of people who are being served.”
FIND Food Bank currently feeds an average of 125,000 people every month, of which more than 28,000 are seniors. FIND’s 175 distribution sites include nearly 100 nonprofit community organizations (like soup kitchens, religious organizations and food pantries) and 46 free community mobile markets, serving food deserts and low-income areas.
Fortunately, locals are stepping up to help: On April 4, the 15th annual FIND Food Bank telethon on KESQ News Channel 3 brought in $354,200 in personal and corporate donations to bolster the food bank’s financial reserves.
Many protesters at the April 5 rally held signs, including one saying: “Keep Your Tiny Hands Off My Social Security!” Credit: Kevin Fitzgerald
On April 10, the U.S. House of Representatives approved a federal budget blueprint which calls for a $1.5 trillion reduction in federal spending over the next decade.
While it remains to be seen what those cuts would entail—and whether the budget, or anything close to it, will be approved by the Senate during the reconciliation process—alarm bells are ringing in the halls of Meals on Wheels America (MoWA). MoWA is the nation’s leading nutritional and quality-of-life support organization for seniors, responsible for funding some 251 million meals annually, going to more than 2 million individuals.
On April 10, an email was sent by the MoWA’s advocacy group located in Arlington, Va., to the leadership of more than 5,000 community organizations across the nation. One of those recipients was Rob Wheeler, executive director of the Mizell Center, which runs the regional Meals on Wheels operation that provides meals, social connection and personal safety checks to local seniors in need.
served (through our) communal dining, and 5,671 meals were delivered. Communal dining includes Mizell Center and four other senior centers in Cathedral City, Coachella, Desert Hot Springs and Indio, for which Mizell Center provides meals,” Wheeler said. “The total number of unique Meals on Wheels clients for March 2025 was 1,305, representing 1,021 communal dining clients and 284 home delivery clients. … That is a lot of nutrition, sustenance and connection for seniors in the Coachella Valley (who) otherwise would go without.”
Proof of the serious need for Meals on Wheel’s services comes from the 2022 community health survey, conducted by local nonprofit HARC (Health Assessment and Research for Communities).
dents, including seniors in Riverside County.”
The statement went on to urge local seniors in need of assistance to apply for self-sufficiency public benefits online at BenefitsCal. com; by calling the Self Sufficiency customer service line at 877-410-8827; or by visiting a county Department of Public Social Services office.
Simply put: A significant number of the Coachella Valley’s most vulnerable residents, young and old, could lose life-changing and
life-saving services if the new Trump administration does not start acting in a more responsible and analytical fashion while determining where any purported fraud, waste and abuse truly exists in our federal bureaucracy.
One of those people is Jim Gallagher, one of the aforementioned protesters in Rancho Mirage on April 5.
“I’m retired, and I’m hoping my Social Security doesn’t go away,” Gallagher said. “But we’ve got to save our country. It’s important.”
Locals Who Receive Assistance, by the Numbers
The California Budget and Policy Center (CBPC), according to its website, “strives to be an anti-racist organization, advancing policy solutions that expand economic opportunity and promote well-being for Californians blocked from the state’s wealth.”
The email warned: “Of particular concern for Meals on Wheels are proposed spending cuts to federal safety-net programs. … These cuts could potentially affect programs like Medicaid, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and the Social Services Block Grant (SSBG) Program, all of which play a role in supporting the most vulnerable members of our communities. Meals on Wheels (America) will continue to monitor these developments closely and oppose all efforts to eliminate funding for SSBG or other programs that our network relies on. We are committed to advocating for the protection of critical funding that enables you to serve older adults in your communities.”
Concerns also stem from the layoffs of 40 percent of the employees at the federal Administration for Community Living, the Department of Health and Human Services agency which funds Meals on Wheels.
The Independent both spoke to and exchanged emails with Wheeler; he discussed the demand that the Mizell Center’s recently renovated and expanded Meals on Wheels/ communal service kitchen is meeting.
“For March 2025, there were 5,116 meals
“We learned through that survey that the valley is home to about 178,000 seniors, 55 and older, and that about 14% (or almost 25,000) of those have an income of $20,000 or less per year,” Wheeler said. “That tells us that there are a lot of folks in the valley who are struggling economically, and it makes our nutrition program, our partnership with the county for Meals on Wheels, so vital and so important.
“We have really terrific individual and foundation support to back up our Meals on Wheels (funding). Our contract with the county requires us to pay 10% of the program, so the county funds 90%, and we fund 10%— about $180,000 a year that we’re raising, and we’re able to do that.”
A sizeable portion of those aforementioned county funds originate with the federal government, which passes on set amounts to the state, which then feeds those funds to each of the counties.
The Independent reached out to Brooke Federico, the director of communications for Riverside County, to inquire about the stability of that funding stream. She replied with a statement which read, in part: “At this time, there’s uncertainty of exactly how changes at the federal level will impact us locally for senior safety-net services. We are actively engaged in monitoring developments, advocating for our interests, and preparing for multiple scenarios. We have strong relationships with our elected officials in Sacramento and Washington, D.C., as we have like interests—to provide essential services to all resi-
In March, the CBPC issued a report documenting how the financial and health security of millions of Californians could be harmed if the federal spending cuts under discussion are implemented. Research performed by the CBPC shows how many Californians are presently receiving nutritional and financial aid that, at least in part, is funded by the federal government.
Portions of two congressional districts cover the Coachella Valley: Rep. Raul Ruiz’s District 25, and Rep. Ken Calvert’s District 41. Here’s a breakdown, per district, of CBPC data regarding five aid programs, showing how many people receive assistance, the percentage of the population those recipients represent, and the total amount of annual spending on those programs.
SECURITY INCOME
The program administered by the Social Security Administration that "provides monthly payments to people with disabilities and older adults who have little or no income resources"
Seniors made up much of the crowd at the Hands Off! rally at intersection of Highway 111 and Frank Sinatra Drive in Rancho Mirage on April 5. Credit: Kevin Fitzgerald
DO-GOODER
The Nonprofit SCENE
May 2025
BIGHORN BAM HITS $1 MILLION MILESTONE AGAIN—WITH A TOUCH OF WONKA MAGIC
BIGHORN Golf Club Charities announced that BIGHORN BAM (Behind a Miracle) raised more than $1 million for cancer care and treatment throughout the Coachella Valley for the third consecutive year.
The announcement was made during BAM’s Willy Wonka-themed golf awards luncheon—the grand finale of a spring fundraising season that included Game Day for Life, the Eisenhower Cup, Cash for Caddies, Fashion Night, the BAM Golf Tournament and a silent auction.
“The fun fuels real help,” said BAM co-chair and BIGHORN member Debbie Frost. “Thanks to your generosity, BAM has supported more than 100,000 local patients with diagnostic equipment, transportation and treatment.”
Among BAM’s many local contributions, this year’s proceeds will directly benefit four organizations:
• Eisenhower Health: $656,000
• Desert Regional Medical Comprehensive Cancer Center: $90,000
• Make-A-Wish Foundation: $61,000
• Loma Linda University Children Hospital Hematology Oncology Unit: $56,000
“We’re here to save lives and make new miracles happen,” said Julie Simon, the BAM chair, who led the events alongside Frost, director of charities Kelly Levy and charities assistant Jackie Lopez.
Since its founding in 2007 by BIGHORN member Selby Dunham, BAM has raised more than $14 million, including funding for five BAM vans, which have provided 46,659 rides for cancer patients who otherwise would face stressful or inaccessible transportation options.
“BIGHORN Members have long been committed to making a lasting, positive impact— within the club, for the amazing employees who work here, and for the broader community where we all live,” said Levy. “We’re beyond grateful for their support, year after year, to help us fight cancer in the Coachella Valley.”
BAM is one of three charitable arms of BIGHORN Golf Club Charities, which also includes BIGHORN Cares and the BIGHORN Scholarship Program. To support BAM or learn more, contact Kelly Levy at klevy@bighorngolf.com.
DESERT ARC ANNOUNCES APPOINTMENT OF MICHELLE PETERS AS
PRESIDENT/CEO Desert Arc, celebrating its 66th year of providing programs and services for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities, has announced the appointment of Michelle Peters to the position of president/CEO, effective April 1.
Peters succeeds Richard Balocco, who is
retiring.
“After serving as Desert Arc’s president/CEO for 18 years and working with our clients, and dedicated staff, and board of directors, making the decision to retire was not an easy one,” said Balocco. “However, passing the baton to Michelle Peters, who has 30 years of experience with organizations like Desert Arc, gives me great confidence in its future. I am pleased to welcome my successor.”
Michelle Peters brings more than three decades of experience working with people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, and most recently served as the chief operating officer for Emmaus Homes in Missouri. Her impressive track record includes strategic initiatives yielding streamlined operations, enhanced team productivity, and significant improvement in service delivery, all improving the quality of life for individuals with disabilities.
“I am thrilled to join Desert Arc’s team as the new president/CEO,” Peters said. “I believe communication and collaboration are the cornerstones of a successful organization. Together we will continue to make a difference and enhance the lives of those with disabilities.”
Prior to her 10-plus year tenure with Emmaus Homes, Peters held leadership and case-management positions with the Missouri Department of Mental Health. She served as the treasurer for the Gateway Coalition of Service Providers for the St. Louis metro area, and Starling, a statewide trade association of community providers throughout Missouri. She served on the Board of Family Advocacy and Community Training since 2014.
“Michelle is a lady of capability, capacity and character, all attributes that Desert Arc’s board of directors’ selection committee greatly admired,” said Doug Watson, Desert Arc’s board chair. “Her leadership style and vast experience in the nonprofit, human social services sector are impressive. She is so full of joy and excitement to be joining us, and everyone at Desert Arc is too!”
Desert Arc, a nonprofit, charitable human social-services organization, has championed the rights of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities since 1959. Currently serving 700 adults, its mission is to enhance the quality of life and create opportunities for people with disabilities including autism, cerebral palsy, Down syndrome and epilepsy, as well as other medical conditions.
For additional information, call 760-3461611, or visit www.desertarc.org.
—Submitted on behalf of
by Brooke Beare and Madeline Zuckerman
ARTS & CULTURE
INDIO HAS THE MEATS
By Matt King
Just because April is over, that doesn’t mean the city of Indio is done with festivals.
The city is debuting Asada Fest, a one-day celebration of Hispanic culture and, of course, carne asada. On Saturday, May 10, food vendors, live music and fun can be found at a free party happening at downtown Indio’s Center Stage.
During a recent phone interview with Miguel Ramirez-Cornejo, the city’s economic development director, he discussed how Asada Fest came to be.
“It initially started because of the success of the BBQ Festival that we had in October here in downtown Indio,” Ramirez-Cornejo said. “The thought is: What can we do on the opposite end
of the year that’s similar? We kicked around another barbecue festival, but two barbecue festivals in one year is too much. Karina (Campos, the city’s marketing analyst) said, ‘Well, why not a carne asada festival? And let’s celebrate Hispanic culture. Since most of our residents are Hispanic, let’s just celebrate that.’”
Ramirez-Cornejo said the importance of carne asada goes beyond its deliciousness.
“People go to friends’ and family houses to have carne asada, and it’s a really good time to listen to music, eat good food and just hang out and chill with each other,” he said. “That’s what we’re trying to provide. Obviously, with the festivals taking up pretty much all of April, May is our next closest time. We know the heat is a challenge, but we know the community is used to it, and hopefully we’ll get the ‘cooler’ warm temperatures.”
Each vendor must have at least one menu item involving carne asada. Thinking outside of the box is encouraged.
“We saw a tamale pizza at the tamale festi-
val, and we’re going to have a carne asada pizza this time around,” Ramirez-Cornejo said. “We have vendors getting creative.”
While the Tamale Festival allows some members of the public to serve their homemade foods, health regulations kept the city from allowing it at this event.
“We do have to stick to traditional vendors, because they need to have their permit and all that,” he said. “We would love to open it up to just anyone in the community, but because of health reasons, we have to stick to actual vendors who have their food handlers’ cards, and (make sure) that they’re permitted to make and sell carne asada.”
There will be one food-related event involving the community at Asada Fest: a guacamole making contest.
“We’re going to do a call-out for participants, and that could be anyone from the community,” Ramirez-Cornejo said. “We’ll give them a small budget to buy their ingredients, and then onstage, they will have roughly about
The new Asada Fest offers a day of fun, food and Spanish music
30 minutes to make guacamole, and then we’ll have our judges taste them. It’s just something to get the community involved. There’ll be a little prize that we give to (the winner), but it’s also just that friendly competition.”
Asada Fest is embracing Mexican-American culture beyond just the food element by hosting a stacked musical lineup of Spanish acts, ranging from psychedelic cumbia to classic norteño.
“We rarely do an all-Spanish type of event, so for this one, we thought, ‘What can we find local?’” Ramirez-Cornejo said. “That’s why we chose Cálmala, one of my favorite bands here from the valley. I’ve seen them a couple of times; we’ve had them at one of our Second Saturdays, and they’re just a lot of fun, with lots of energy. We have La Maestria, who are also (from the east valley), and that’s your traditional norteño type of music, something that we grew up listening to. Then we have La Sonora Dinamita, which is your quintessential, traditional music that we’ve all heard. Even if you don’t know who sings the song, you’ve heard the song at either a baptism, a wedding or a birthday party. When you hear that music, everyone is dancing, and so we wanted to bring that lively type of atmosphere.”
Ballet Folklórico Sol Del Desierto will perform traditional Mexican dances.
“They have kids and adults, and they do the traditional Mexican dances with their beau-
tiful dresses, and I believe they have a couple of Central American dances that they do,” Ramirez-Cornejo he said. “We wanted something to be representative of our community for this event.”
Asada Fest will take place at Center Stage, a permanent stage in downtown Indio with lights, sound and more. Ramirez-Cornejo called it “the center of downtown Indio.”
“Having a permanent stage, in the long run, saves us money,” he said. “We don’t have to bring in the generator; we don’t have to bring in a stage and all that stuff, or a sound system. Now we own most of the sound that’s needed for just about every concert, and we have our AV team manning the sound and all that, so it’s a true asset to our community. Now we can pop up an event, essentially, whenever we want. It’s in the middle of downtown. We have a natural beer garden with the (Indio) Taphouse right next door, and they have their patio area, and then we have Gabino’s (Creperie) and Papa Headz there. We already have some vendors built in, so let’s try to support it.”
Ramirez-Cornejo said he’s curated this event with the community in mind.
“We try to provide an excellent experience for our residents,” he said. “For the most part, there are a lot of things that are free, and that is something that we aim to do. The kids’ zone, that is all free to kids. They’ll have an obstacle course, one bounce house and a couple of games.
“We’re also engaging our local dulceria to sell candy, and to provide the traditional Hispanic candies and treats that you have. They’re one of our Indio businesses, so we’re not just putting on an event and using vendors from anywhere; we’re reaching out to our existing business owners to see how they can expand their reach. We don’t charge our vendors in order to be a part of our event. We want them, especially if they’re local, to succeed. We know sometimes it’s a stretch on their staff … because they also have a retail store in some cases, so why charge them for that? Let’s let them not take a loss on this event by paying registration fees or anything. Come be successful; come expand your clientele; and enjoy the community as well.”
Asada Fest will take place from 3 to 9 p.m., Saturday, May 10, at Center Stage, 82881 Miles Ave., in Indio. The event is free, with food available for purchase. For more information, visit instagram. com/cityofindio.
Mariachi Del Ayer is one of the performers at Asada Fest.
CAESAR CERVISIA
By brett newton
There exists a world where single-serving beer (and more) is kept behind glass doors, in cold rooms, available for sale. You can find portals into this world if you live in at least a small city. This world is known colloquially as the liquor store (or the convenience store, if you’re fancy), and it lives to serve one’s spontaneous desires. Want an adult beverage and a chocolate chip-cookie ice cream sandwich? Or perhaps a lottery ticket and some antifreeze? This world was made for you. I, of course, will be concentrating on the “craft beer” side of things.
You may have noticed that I put “craft beer” in quotation marks. This is because one’s expectations should be tempered here; we’re not talking about a Bottlecraft bottle shop here. But you can
definitely get pretty lucky, depending on what a random distributor sells to the store, and how long ago they stocked it.
I decided to visit this world not long ago, and my first stop was Country Club Liquor in Palm Desert, which offers numerous options for single-serving alcoholic beverages. I purchased one tall can each of New Belgium’s Voodoo Ranger Tropic Force IPA and Voodoo Ranger Imperial IPA, alongside a single can of (believe it or not) Delirium Tremens. The Delirium was as good as it’s ever been, with bubblegum, citrus, clove, a little pepper and some floral notes from the alcohol. I suspect this is as good as it gets when it comes to liquor stores.
New Belgium’s offerings, on the other hand, while not terrible by any means, seemed sort of like sideways entries into the malt liquor market. Both were at least 9% alcohol by volume, and the Tropic Force
tasted like it either had juice, flavoring or terpenes (though I doubt the latter)—like a seltzer with juice. The Imperial IPA at least tasted like beer, but it sealed in my mind exactly what New Belgium is going for nowadays. You see, it wasn’t so long ago that they were a well-respected player on the scene. My friends and I often talk about their incredible barrel-aged sours like La Folie, or the collaboration they did with Alpine Beer Company called Super IPA that was one of the best beers either brewer has ever done alone. Now New Belgium is the modern-day Colt 45.
My next stop (this wasn’t done in a single day; I’m not a maniac) was the Circle K on San Pablo Avenue in Palm Desert. This one is a 10-minute walk from my house, and it is not uncommon for me to stop here and grab a beer after a hard night of work. Usually, that beer is Sierra Nevada’s Torpedo IPA. It’s always there, never out of date and always cold. It
You might be surprised by the great beers you can find at small liquor and convenience stores
also happens to always be good. Drinking this and Delirium created a kind of liquid nostalgia for me. Torpedo holds aromas and flavors of grapefruit and pine (a staple of the American IPAs of the past), as well as—if you happen upon a really fresh one—melon. Oddly, there was no sight of Sierra Nevada’s Hazy Little Thing. I’m pretty sure that’s what has kept their motor running in the past few years, but I am very glad they still make some of the oldies, at a high quality and consistency. Next, I cheated a little: I went to Total Wine and More. Their singles selection was abysmal, though. It was either heavily neglected, or there was a huge run on the stuff that day. Not wanting to try an abomination such as a strawberry chavela, I settled for stovepipe cans of 21st Amendment Brewing’s Hell or High Watermelon, and Bell’s Two-Hearted IPA
San Francisco’s 21st Amendment Brewery has been making Hell or High Watermelon for many years now—but I’m not sure I’d previously tried it. It’s a matter of taste; fruited wheat ales are not my jam. Even since the days of Samuel Adams’ Cherry Wheat, I’ve not been partial to the style. Hell or High Watermelon was a very pleasant beverage, though—light and crisp, with a good amount of non-fakeseeming watermelon flavor, but not enough to cover up the beer underneath. I could see why one would reach for this on a warm day while tending the barbecue, or using it for a vinaigrette. I’ve not always been a fan of 21st’s beers, but I know they’re capable of greatness; I recall their Tasty IPA, dedicated to the late, great homebrewer Mike “Tasty” McDole with fondness. It’s good to see part of the old guard of craft beer still kicking.
Bell’s Two-Hearted IPA is another staple in
craft-beer circles. The brewery operates out of Kalamazoo, Mich., and people have been touting their beers for decades, for good reason. When on tap at a local bar that doesn’t always have a decent IPA choice, Two-Hearted is a relief. Pine and citrus abound, like any good old-school IPA, but I also get an herbaceous quality, and some caramel from the malt underneath, with a bitterness that reminds you of its roots. It’s just a very good beer, and while I don’t reach for it that often, I’m glad it finds its way here, even somewhat fresh.
(Honestly, the real winner at Total Wine was the four-pack of Fremont’s Coffee and Coconut Barrel-Aged Cuvee I also picked up, but that’s a column for another time.)
In summary, I’d call my liquor store adventures a success. The only regrettable beers I had were the New Belgium offerings, and that doesn’t surprise me at all. If I had gotten around to this topic a few years back, Modern Times would most certainly have been on this list. They pushed single stovepipe cans of great beers like Orderville and their excellent German-style pilsner, Ice, to the market when not as many others were doing so. An oft-mentioned brewery in these pages called Brewery X is doing this now, and their beer seems to be good across the board, but I didn’t find it on my recent outings.
If you’re in dire need of a scratcher, a convenience-store hot dog and a beer, your chances of drinking well are higher than you might think.
Brett Newton is a certified cicerone (like a sommelier for beer) and homebrewer who has mostly lived in the Coachella Valley since 1988. He can be reached at caesarcervisia@gmail.com.
with
Doing Business
PRIDE in the
Coachella Valley.
VINE SOCIAL
ASome wine shops don’t carry halfbottles—and there are good reasons for that
By Katie finn
Our 250 members support equality–and they support you!
s a wine shop owner, I often get asked if we carry half-bottles: “Do you have a smaller size?
Just something for one glass or two?”
And my answer is always the same: Nope. Not because I’m trying to be difficult, or because I’m on some kind of anti-mini-bottle crusade. It’s because, from a sales perspective—and more importantly, from the perspective of giving you the best possible wine experience within your budget—half-bottles just don’t make sense.
Wine is about more than just how many ounces you’re drinking. It’s about quality, value, how
the wine is meant to age, and even how it behaves in the bottle. Half-bottles aren’t half the experience—they’re often less of it, for more money. So when someone asks why I don’t stock them, it’s not snobbery. It’s me saying, “Friend, I want better for you.”
See what our members have to offer at desertbusiness.org
At first glance, the half-bottle of wine—a petite 375-milliliter darling—seems like a stroke of genius. Just enough wine for one! Or two if you’re feeling generous! No waste! Built-in portion control! Adorable! But let’s not be bamboozled by the cute factor. These little bottles may look like a smart, practical solution to modern drinking habits, but behind their pint-sized charm lies a diabolical truth: They’re rarely worth the money.
Let’s start with the numbers, because math doesn’t lie (unless it involves doing your taxes). A standard bottle of wine is 750 milliliters.
A half-bottle is, shockingly, 375 milliliters. So if logic ruled the land, you’d expect the half-bottle to cost half the price of the full bottle—but we don’t live in that world. We live in a world where someone decided to charge $19 for a half-bottle of pinot noir while the full bottle sits innocently at $30, blinking in disbelief from the next shelf over.
That’s not half of the price; that’s nearly two-thirds of the price for half the goods. This is like paying $12 for six nuggets when the 12-piece is $18. It’s a cruel math trick. A glass-half-empty kind of situation. Quite literally.
Now you may be asking, “Why so pricey, little guy?” There are real, logical (albeit infuriating) reasons behind this madness. The cost to produce a half-bottle is not half the cost of producing a full one. In fact, it’s often more
expensive per unit of wine. Think about it— each bottle, no matter the size, still requires a label, a cork or screw cap, a capsule, storage, shipping and labor. None of those costs scale down just because the bottle does. It’s like paying for a whole haircut and only getting your bangs trimmed.
And let’s not forget the economy of scale: Wine producers don’t sell nearly as many halfbottles as they do full-sized ones, so they don’t benefit from the mass-production savings. Fewer half-bottles equals higher per-bottle costs, which equals you paying more to feel like you’re saving money. It’s the wine world’s equivalent of buying a single sock for $8.
But what if you don’t want to drink the whole bottle? Ah, yes, the age-old dilemma: “I don’t want to drink an entire bottle in one night.” OK, first of all, we’re not here to judge your consumption habits—we’re just here to enable them responsibly. Second, you absolutely do not need to finish the whole bottle. That’s what wine-stoppers, inert gas sprays and next-day regrets are for.
Wine can easily keep for two to four days in the fridge once opened, depending on the varietal. Some reds even improve after a day or two. That half-bottle you bought because
you “didn’t want to waste anything”? It’s the financial equivalent of buying a personal pizza for $15 when the large was $20 and comes with leftovers. You don’t need to finish the full bottle any more than you need to eat the whole pizza (though, let’s be honest, we’ve all been there).
There’s also the aging downside. Here’s where it gets geeky—and wine geeks love this part: Wine ages differently depending on the size of the bottle. A half-bottle of wine ages faster than a standard one due to the higher ratio of oxygen to liquid once sealed. That means your half-bottle of Bordeaux might be over the hill while its big brother is just hitting its stride.
And then there’s bottle shock. This isn’t what happens to you when you see the price tag—it’s a real thing that happens to wine after bottling or travel, and half-bottles, with their smaller volume, are more susceptible to bottle shock. Imagine living in a mansion, with tons of space to move around, until one day, you have to move into a tiny studio apartment. Chances are you’d be a little unhappy and uncomfortable for a bit. This is what a wine feels like moving from a barrel or tank to a bottle. It can make the wine taste muted or disjointed until it settles down.
To be fair, there is one noble exception to this half-bottle shade: Champagne and sparkling wine.
Once you open a bottle of sparkling wine, the clock starts ticking. That fizz is escaping faster than your willpower at a wine tasting. Unlike still wine, which can mellow out gracefully over a couple of days, sparkling wine turns into a sad, flat puddle pretty quickly. So, in this case, a half-bottle does make sense. If you’re celebrating something minor (like surviving a Monday), and you don’t want to commit to a full bottle of Champagne, a 375-milliliter bottle might be your MVP. Just don’t expect it to be cheap; there is still all the same production cost math at play. But in the name of fresh bubbles, we give it a pass.
So next time you’re staring down a shelf of half-bottles thinking, “This feels sensible,” just remember: Sensible doesn’t always mean economical. Or satisfying. Or delicious. It just means someone sold you a smaller bottle and convinced you it was a life hack.
Katie Finn is a certified sommelier and certified specialist of wine with two decades in the wine industry. She can be reached at katiefinnwine@ gmail.com.
Wondering why the cost of a half-bottle of wine is much more than half the price of a regular bottle? Two words: production costs.
the 2 Restaurants Unlimited Flavors
FOOD & DRINK INDY ENDORSEMENT
This month, we enjoy eats from two popular valley mobile food vendors
By Jimmy Boegle
WHAT Red taco WHERE TacoN’Todo HOW MUCH $5 each CONTACT Tacontodops.com; instagram.com/tacontodo.est2021 WHY The depth of flavor.
A couple of months ago, we decided to check out the Palm Springs Cultural Center’s Foodie Fridays event before a show.
WHAT Tutta Carne pizza WHERE Al Fresco Pizza HOW MUCH $18
From 4 to 8 p.m. each Friday, the PSCC invites a handful of local food vendors to set up shop, offering a variety of dining options to both attendees of that evening’s shows, and people who come specifically to enjoy the vendors’ eats. The hubby— who will never, ever turn down tasty Mexican food, because he’s smart—eyed the TacoN’Todo tent, and saw something rather intriguing being prepared: birria tacos, with the tortilla dipped into the birria’s juices.
He ordered a couple of these “red tacos,” and after they cooled off—they came EXTREMELY hot—he took a bite. Then he offered me a bite.
Ever since, we’ve both been hooked on TacoN’Todo.
At Foodie Fridays, TacoN’Todo’s offerings were fairly limited, with various permutations of birria tacos, quesadillas and burritos, as well as rice, beans and consommé (in which the tacos are meant to be dipped—but the red tacos are so good, it’s not needed). At a recent Palm Springs VillageFest, the menu included chicken, steak, shrimp and veggie fare as well. At catering gigs, the owners offer an impressively wide variety of choices— everything from ceviches to bacon-wrapped hot dogs to numerous vegetarian offerings— which you can read all about on the website.
Follow TacoN’Todo’s Instagram page to find out where they’ll be showing up. They’re a constant at VillageFest, and can be found at foodie events and pop-ups all around the valley—and I strongly recommend you find ’em. Those tacos are O-M-G good.
CONTACT Instagram.com/alfrescopizzallc WHY It’s one of the valley’s tastiest pizzas. While the hubby was looking over TacosN’Todo at that Foodie Fridays event, I was chatting with one of the Cultural Center’s employees. I asked him for a recommendation.
“The pizza is a-MAZING!” he said.
So off to the Al Fresco Pizza tent I went. While Al Fresco was also offering focaccia sandwiches, I was interested in the Neapolitan-style pizzas (“eats like four slices” the sign says about the large personal-sized pies). I selected the “Tutta Carne,” with tomato sauce, mozzarella, pepperoni, ham, sausage and Calabrian chilis. The gentleman who helped me said I’d have about a 15-minute wait, because of other orders; I told him I didn’t mind.
A little bit later, I watched as they handmade my pizza, and then placed it in the small portable pizza oven. Not even a few minutes later, they handed me the piping-hot plate. The pizza looked so tasty that I wanted to dive in immediately, but I wisely waited for it to cool a bit.
The pizza was worth the wait. The toppings were all fantastic, but the pizza was elevated by the sauce—which had a nice kick—and the fantastic, perfectly cooked crust. I dare say this was one of the best pizzas I’ve had in the Coachella Valley.
Al Fresco Pizza is at Palm Springs VillageFest every Thursday (although they take July-September off), and they serve at a variety of other events. They can be hired for parties and catering, and partner with local businesses, such as Indio’s Encore Coffee, where they sell their artisan focaccia sandwiches on Wednesdays. They even briefly did a weekend takeout pop-up at the old Sammy’s Place location in Cathedral City. Watch their Instagram for updates.
Restaurant NEWS BITES
By charles drabkin
IT’S TIME FOR GREATER PALM SPRINGS RESTAURANT WEEK
The annual Greater Palm Springs Restaurant Week will take place Friday, May 30, through Sunday, June 8.
Participation is easy; visit dinegps.com to find one of the many Coachella Valley restaurants offering prix-fixe menus and specials during these 10 days. As a bonus, $1 will be donated to FIND Food Bank for every reservation booked through dinegps.com.
Pro tip: I try to eat out during Restaurant Week as much as possible, because it’s a great excuse to try restaurants I may not have been to before—but don’t feel like you MUST get the special. It’s OK to order off the regular menu, too!
UPDATES
The Capriotti’s Sandwich Shop chain has finally opened its first Coachella Valley location. The shop, at 36101 Bob Hope Drive, in Rancho Mirage, is now open and ready to serve; capriottis.com.
Oceana opened its second location, at 70065 Highway 111, in Rancho Mirage, in early April. The seafood restaurant’s foundation is in Mexican cuisine, but with a global outlook. The menus at the new location and the original Palm Desert space are quite similar, if not exactly the same; oceanaranchomirage.com.
The Amigo Room at the Ace Hotel and Swim Club, at 701 E. Palm Canyon Drive, in Palm Springs, has undergone a facelift, replacing the carved pillars and brick with a more modern, earthy, and wood-tone palette, and distinctly midcentury-style furniture. It has “speakeasy”-style cocktails and an assortment of bar snacks like deviled eggs, chicken taquitos and guacamole; acehotel.com/palm-springs/eat-drink.
IN BRIEF
The Pink Door has opened before the security checkpoint at the Palm Springs International Airport. At this restaurant and shop, you can purchase Joshua Tree Coffee, breakfast treats and souvenirs; visit www.instagram.com/flypsp to take a look. … Speaking of coffee, Palm City Coffee and Bakery has opened in the lobby of Hotel Zoso, at 150 S. Indian Canyon Drive, in Palm Springs, with breakfast, baked goods and so on; www.instagram.com/palmcitycoffeeps. … Last month, we let you know that Hot Cookie is taking over the Palm Canyon Drive space that housed Jus Chillin’ in downtown Palm Springs. Now, the former Jus Chillin’ location on the corner of Indian Canyon Drive and Tahquitz Canyon Way will soon become Gelato-A-Go-Go. The owners are remodeling the old space and hope to open in June. If the website is any indication, this will be a funky, ’70s-inspired gelateria; www.gelatoagogo.net. … Borrego Springs has a new restaurant: Michael’s in Borrego is located at 665 Palm Canyon Drive, offering flat breads, sandwiches, pastas and a few entrees, plus a Friday and Saturday night prime rib dinner. We could not find a website or any social media accounts, so look on Yelp or Google for more information. … Olga’s Tacos seems to have closed its location in the food court at The Shops at Palm Desert—but no worries, because there’s a new location in Coachella, at 49625 Park Lane. The Cathedral City location, at 67850 Vista Chino, is also still serving great tacos. The new location was not listed on the web page (olgasrestaurant.com) as of this writing, but it is mentioned on Olga’s Instagram (instagram.com/olgastacos18). … Several Palm Springs spots have newly appeared on restaurant-for-sale sites. They include Frisky Business Cat Café, at 4781 E. Palm Canyon Drive, Suite F; this space could offer an excellent opportunity for someone to offer quick-eats breakfast and lunch, as there is currently no place in the shopping center besides Vons to grab a bite. Also for sale: La Bottega, at 540 S. Indian Canyon Drive, and Acai Oasis, at 144 S. Palm Canyon Drive. Good luck to everyone involved.
Do you have hot tips or news to share? Reach out: foodnews@cvindependent.com.
Thousands of Coachella Valley Independent readers and News Channel 3 viewers voted in this year’s Best of Coachella Valley readers’ poll—and they selected the Purple Room as the winner of Best Bar Ambiance and finalist in four categories:
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ROSE MALLETT
Jazz legend sings the music of Holiday, Vaughn, Ellington.
Vie en Rose’ French violinist, jazz of the last century.
Palma City Productions’ Los Diez festival celebrates 10 years of making great shows happen
The Venue Report, May 2025: James Taylor, Lea Michele, Jason Mraz—and much More!
The Lucky 13: Get to better know the drummer for Elektric Lucie, Mushroom People
The Lucky 13: The new guitarist of brosquitos takes the Q&A
A CALMER SQUID
Credit: Harrison Fishman
MUSIC
A DECADE OF DEDICATION
By matt king
One of the biggest concerts happening in the Coachella Valley in May will celebrate a local booking company’s 10-year anniversary.
Los Diez, happening Saturday, May 10, is an all-day music festival featuring both local and big-name bands, skate demos, art exhibits and more, taking place on the second level of the Macy’s parking structure at The Shops in Palm Desert. (Full disclosure: I will be hosting a live
podcast at the festival.) It’s organized by local promoter Palma City Productions, which is celebrating 10 years of bringing entertainment to the Coachella Valley.
During a recent phone interview, Palma City founder/CEO Jonathan Becerra said his primary goal has not changed over the decade.
“The intention is always good shows,” Becerra said. “I know that sounds really basic as an answer, but 10 years ago, a lot of us were just trying to figure it out. You had Coachella, but you didn’t have all these extra parties … all these extra things to just go to, and nothing that really spoke to the community ... When we started, a lot of it was amusing, like, ‘Couldn’t we do this show?’ or, ‘Wouldn’t be awesome to have this show here?’ A lot of it was just trying to find places to go to ourselves, things that we would really want to go to, and I think that was the best way to start. … Now you can kind of look around and be like, ‘All right, I generally know what the playbook is,’ and everyone in our community contributed to that. There is a vibe for a Coachella Valley desert show, but back then, we just had to trust our instinct.”
Becerra said he wanted to make sure his shows were all good, because his friends and acquaintances would always be there. Los Diez is no exception to this community dedication.
“There’s always been this core of people who’ve gone to Palma shows since the beginning, and I think they make sure we’re honest,” Becerra said. “That’s so lucky to have. … There are always issues with the shows, but I don’t think we’ve ever done a bad show, because we’ve held ourselves to such a high standard.”
Becerra said producing shows is a passion first, and a business second.
“We are a business; we’re not a charity, but we’re also not doing this for the money,” he said. “I think any smart producer who’s in this for the long run knows you’re not in this for the money, at least for the first 10 years. What you find yourself motivated by is either the love of the game, which is valid, or love of the music, or love of the community you’re serving, or a combination of the three.”
Booking shows involves working with egos, stressing about payments for artists and ven-
ues, and ensuring safety. Becerra said learning from stressful experiences is important.
“I’m not above being pissed, and I’m not above feeling petty, either,” he said. “I think the important thing about this business is you’ve got to be ready to feel those things, but feel through that moment, too. … At the end of the day, you have so much riding on this as a producer, at least when it comes to your heart and your soul. I feel like some people just get really mad, and they don’t know how to move past that.”
Becerra said local producers need to work together to make sure bigger producers from Los Angeles don’t dominate the local scene.
“I remember something a very prominent producer told me, and it’s always stuck with me, because it showed his mentality, and also his reality,” Becerra said. “This was for the Tamale Fest. He said, ‘I don’t have to hire locals here; I could hire this whole team from L.A.’
As an organizer, as a person from Indio, and as someone who loves this town, I’m like, OK, I’ve got to do what I can to also facilitate our local people having a seat at this table.’”
Los Diez was originally going to be an event simply honoring Palma City’s past.
“It was just going to be 10 bands who have played our shows the past 10 years,” Becerra said. “There were headliners I knew I already wanted, just because of how special they were to some of the moments in Palma City, and it was just going to be food and maybe a DJ. I really give a lot of credit to who is now our creative director, Damien Lopez. He reignited a spark in me, and it’s so weird, because I just met this kid less than a year ago.”
Lopez helped Becerra realize that Los Diez should celebrate more than just Palma City; it should celebrate the valley as a whole.
“Having him on board really pushed me to make it about culture here, and a reflection of Coachella Valley culture, specifically,” Becerra said. “That’s why we added skate demos, and communal art, where people are going to be able to tag with markers, because street art is part of it. Damien’s doing this curation of local and out-of-town artists, but they all have this really similar vibe of what art is here in the Coachella Valley. It became a homage and
Palma City Productions’ Los Diez festival celebrates 10 years of making great shows happen
a love letter to the Coachella Valley culture scene, and I think we doubled down by giving every section a captain.”
Becerra took charge of the music, booking bigger names like Beach Bums and Vinyl Williams, along with locals like Garb and Giselle Woo and the Night Owls.
“I curated this little lineup, which is people we worked with in the past, and Beach Bums and Vinyl Williams are the direction we want to go with this company,” Becerra said. “Not to quote Chappell Roan, but they’re ‘your favorite artists’ favorite artists.’ … I think everyone who’s seen our lineup—who has either produced shows, or played shows, or is a very big show-goer—they’re like, ‘Holy fuck, how’d you get Vinyl Williams?’ It’s really a testament to what we’ve done the last 10 years. We want to impress artists and musicians and producers, because that’s who our friends are. Those are our people.”
Becerra said he has no plans to stop producing shows anytime soon—but even if he did, the Coachella Valley is in good hands.
“I really do see such a bright future beyond Palma,” he said. “Everyone is doing their thing, but doing it in a way that just feels so much more positive and inclusive and for the community. I see people really killing themselves for these shows, and it’s a beautiful reminder that I’m not alone in how I feel about these shows. … I’m really proud to be still here with Palma. I think we’re doing good work, and I think we’re doing it for the right reasons. I really hope people see that, truly.”
Los Diez will take place from 1 to 10 p.m., Saturday, May 10, on the second level of the Macy’s parking structure at The Shops at Palm Desert, at 72840 Highway 111. Tickets are $25, available on Eventbrite. Learn more at instagram.com/ palmacityproductions.
Vinyl Williams is slated to perform at Los Diez.
MUSIC
A CALMER SQUID
By Matt King
One of the more unique bands in modern music is set to perform at one of the desert’s most iconic venues.
Squid, a band from the United Kingdom, has poured ample musical expression and artistic flair into their relatively small body of work. Drummer and lead vocalist Ollie Judge delivers narrating, howling, yelping vocals, providing a perfect layer in support of a cacophonous, rapidly shifting
soundscape. For example, “Swing (in a Dream)” is glitchy synth with a stuttered groove, and “G.S.K” provides a solid, driving beat while trippy sounds and sax promote sonic chaos.
The band is set to perform at Pappy and Harriet’s on Wednesday, May 7.
I saw the band in 2021, on their first U.S. tour, and there were a few logistical issues. For example, I tried to buy a T-shirt, but the merch saleswoman explained that, since the band is from overseas, they could not accept debit cards, and were only taking cash. During a recent Zoom interview with Judge, he said that touring in the United States has become easier with more experience.
“I think we were all a bit shocked when we came over to the States for the first time,” Judge said. “Obviously, the language is the same, so we were like, ‘Oh, great, this will be easy,’ but it’s actually really, really different. There are things you’ve got to get used to, and one thing was that we parked in front of a fire hydrant and got fined loads of money. It’s definitely easier (now), just because we’re a bit more familiar with the States—and I think it gets easier when you have a little bit more money to spend on touring as well. That first tour was pretty dicey. We were just driving in a little van, doing 15-hour drives and stuff like that. I think we were very ill prepared. Now we’ve got a little bus that we can
The U.K. band brings new sonic intricacies and growing crowds to Pappy
and Harriet’s
and I think for the first time, we are just really, really happy with Cowards as a record, and we thought, ‘We don’t need to do anything else just yet. We can just sit in this record for a little bit.’”
sleep in, and a driver.”
The band quickly grew from selling out 250-capacity rooms to packing 1,000-plus-capacity rooms between U.S. tours.
“The last tour we did was incredible,” Judge said. “We had no idea how it was selling or anything like that, and most of the shows felt sold out, or almost sold out. It’s just crazy. The audience is definitely younger, and in the States, there’s a hunger for the kind of music that we make amongst younger people. It always baffles me. It’s such a big country, and people are listening to us. It’s amazing.”
Squid in February released Cowards, their third LP, featuring another big sonic advancement. While strange synths are still present, the album explores a softer side of Squid, with more subdued and occasionally monotone vocals from Judge; less manic and intense drums; slower tempos; and haunting melodies. Across three albums, one EP and some singles, Squid already feels removed from earlier works.
“It’s pretty tricky writing set lists, and it only gets harder the more music you release,” Judge said. “Some songs we’ve really put to bed, and I don’t think any of us are interested in playing them. I think it’s because we’ve evolved so much since putting out our first proper single, and it all kicked off quite quickly with that stuff. The Town Centre EP (from 2019), even though that got kind of popular, we were still really finding our feet, and I think it just sounds like a completely different band compared to who we are now. … We’re always trying to look forward, and not look backward too much.”
During the press run in 2023 for O Monolith, the band’s second album, the band members said their third record was already completed and nearing release. After touring with the release of Cowards, the band will finally be able to take some rest.
“Part of the reason for doing the record Cowards so quickly after O Monolith was because we thought, if we get it done now, we can have a whole summer not constantly touring, and then (promote the album) it after that,” said Judge. “It was a strategic plan to do it so quickly, but it was hard work trying to promote and finish O Monolith while writing and recording Cowards I think maybe we took on a little bit too much,
The calmer aspects of Cowards are apparent right away, illustrated by the musically sparse “Blood on the Boulders,” the falsetto singing on “Cro-Magnon Man” and the slow-jazz jam of “Cowards.” The record is far more subdued than the challenging O Monolith, which featured time signature changes, sonic insanity and high-energy rock.
“I personally found O Monolith a really tricky record to write and record,” Judge said. “I think there were seeds being sown on O Monolith for what was to come next, but (the calmer music on Cowards) came from feeling a little bit more relaxed. Apart from promoting and putting out O Monolith, we didn’t really have much else going on, so we were pretty focused and relaxed. It was nice working in secret, and no one knew that we were writing and recording this record. It felt like there wasn’t any noise from anyone else filtering in, and I think you can definitely hear that in that record.”
Not only was O Monolith a tricky record to write and record; portions have proven difficult to perform.
“I struggled with O Monolith, mainly from a live perspective, because it was so hard to play those songs and sing at the same time,” Judge said. “There’s still one track of O Monolith that we’ve never played live, because I just can’t do it. Going into Cowards, I kind of put my foot down and said, ‘We have to write more songs in 4/4, because I want to be able to play these songs for people.’ For everyone in the band, it was nice to have some songs (on Cowards) with some more breathing room, and more space in between the instruments and stuff.”
The songs from Cowards have been received well in a live setting, but the band is still getting used to no longer seeing mosh pits.
“It’s funny, because the whole time we’ve been a band, we’ve been used to just constant mosh pits,” Judge said. “It’s just funny that (mosh pits have) become an indicator of people enjoying things. We look out into the crowd, and there’s a mosh pit, and we think, ‘OK, this is good,’ but with the new tracks, there’s not so much of that, so it’s harder to gauge people.”
Squid will perform at 9:30 p.m., Wednesday, May 7, at Pappy and Harriet’s Pioneertown Road, at 53688 Pioneertown Road, in Pioneertown. Tickets are $25 plus fees. For more information, visit pappyandharriets.com.
matt king
May you enjoy yourself at one or many of the events the Coachella Valley has to offer this month.
Acrisure Arena is hosting two concerts this month. At 7:30 p.m., Wednesday, May 7, singer/songwriter icon James Taylor celebrates nearly six decades of timeless music with his All-Star Band. Tiny Habits will open the show. Tickets started at $99.75 as of this writing. Re-live the 1980s at 7 p.m., Friday, May 23, when Simple Minds brings ’80s pop hits to town. Synth stars Soft Cell and retro rockers Modern English are set to open the show. Tickets start at $48.75. Acrisure Arena, 75702 Varner Road, Palm Desert; 888695-8778; www.acrisurearena.com.
The McCallum Theatre winds down the season in May with some more great shows. Check out the yearly talent competition Open Call, where excellent desert performers compete for cash prizes, at 7 p.m., Friday, May 2; and 2 and 7 p.m., Saturday, May 3 Tickets start at $28. At 7 p.m., Wednesday, May 7, experience The Problem With Pink, an imaginative dance-drama about the titular color. Tickets are $15. Tina: The Tina Turner Musical, honoring the life, times and amazing songs of the iconic singer, will be performed at 8 p.m., Friday, May 9; 2 and 8 p.m., Saturday, May 10; and 1 and 6 p.m., Sunday, May 11. Tickets start at $78. Catch College of the Desert’s production of biblical rock opera Jesus Christ Superstar at 8 p.m., Friday, May 16, 2 and 8 p.m., Saturday, May 17, and 2 p.m., Sunday, May 18. Tickets start at $40. At 7 p.m., Thursday, May 29, enjoy a Palm Springs version of Jim Caruso’s Cast Party, a star-studded open mic featuring Debby Boone, Billy Stritch, Jack Donahue, David Marino, Gabrielle Stravelli, Angie Wells
Squid. Harrison fishman
… and a few surprises! Tickets are $158. At 8 p.m., Friday, May 30, Glee and Broadway star Lea Michele is set to perform. Tickets start at $112.99. McCallum Theatre, 73000 Fred Waring Drive, Palm Desert; 760-340-2787; www. mccallumtheatre.com.
Fantasy Springs features music and comedy. At 8 p.m., Saturday, May 3, social media sensation Nurse John will share hilarious stories from working in the medical field. Tickets start at $52.50. At 8 p.m., Friday, May 16, regional Mexican group Los Alegres del Barranco are set to perform. Tickets start at $72.50. At 8 p.m., Saturday, May 24, Jason Bonham, the son of legendary Led Zeppelin drummer John Bonham, will perform a set of his father’s music, and pay tribute to Physical Graffiti on its 50th anniversary. Tickets start at $52.50. Fantasy Springs Resort Casino, 84245 Indio Springs Parkway, Indio; 760-342-5000; www.fantasyspringsresort.com.
A new comedy series is taking place at Spotlight 29. Honest Goodness comedy Fridays feature J. Valentino (May 2), George Perez (May 9), Chris Estrada (May 16), Saul Trujillo (May 23) and Pablo Francisco (May 30). Tickets start at $33.85, and shows take place inside the Chairman’s Lounge. Separately, Spotlight 29 is also hosting Latin comic Alfred Robles at 8 p.m., Saturday, May 3. Tickets start at $15. At 8 p.m., Saturday, May 10, Argentine vocal legend Amanda Miguel is set to perform. Tickets start at $25. At 8 p.m., Friday, May 16, TikTok star Itatí López and her mother, Doña Silvia, host a live episode of their podcast Suelta La Lengua Tickets start at $29. Spotlight 29 Casino, 46200 Harrison Place, Coachella; 760-775-5566; www. spotlight29.com.
Morongo hosts music galore! At 8 p.m., Friday, May 2, regional Mexican music performer and songwriter Pancho Barraza heads to town. Available tickets started at $189.61 as of this writing. More regional Mexican jams are to be had at 8 p.m., Saturday, May 3, with the duo of Codigo FN
The Venue
and Maximo Grado. Tickets start at $57.50. At 8 p.m., Thursday, May 22, check out new wave rockers Missing Persons. Stacey Q will also perform. Tickets are $26. Take a “Slow Ride” up to Cabazon to see Foghat at 8 p.m., Friday, May 23. Tickets start at $46.75. Morongo Casino Resort Spa, 49500 Seminole Drive, Cabazon; 800-252-4499; www. morongocasinoresort.com.
Here are some highlights from an insanely stacked calendar at Agua Caliente in Rancho Mirage. At 8 p.m., Saturday, May 10, jazz star Diana Krall will bring sultry jams to The Show. Tickets start at $69.50. Singer/ songwriter Jason Mraz, behind the hit “I’m Yours,” celebrates his new album at 8 p.m., Friday, May 16. Tickets start at $85. At 8 p.m., Friday, May 23, iconic ’60s voice Tom Jones will perform decades of hits. Tickets start at $100. Saturday Night Live star Marcello Hernandez, most notable for the viral “Domingo” sketch, will perform standup at 8 p.m., Saturday, May 24. Tickets start at $32.50. At 8 p.m., Friday, May 30, comedian Becky Robinson, known for her “Entitled Housewife” character online, is set to perform. Tickets start at $34.50. Agua Caliente Resort Casino Spa Rancho Mirage, 32250 Bob Hope Drive, Rancho Mirage; 888-999-1995; www. aguacalientecasinos.com.
At Agua Caliente in Palm Springs, you can enjoy more residencies! Carousel Thursdays include sweet vocals from Judy Wexler (May 1), big-band fun from the Paul McDonald Sextet with Ines Belayouni (May 8), creative jazz from Max Haymer (May 15), Disney tunes from The New Jet Set (May 22) and funky sounds from The Latin Side of Vince Guaraldi (May 29). Shows are at 7 p.m., and tickets start from $17.85, available at eventspalmsprings.com. Desert Blues Revival Wednesdays feature Texas, Chicago and New Orleans blues from BoneThumpers (May 7), electrifying guitar from the Steven Taylor Blues Band (May 14), fiery vocals from Kaye Bohler (May 21) and badass blues from
Ground (May 28). Shows are at 7 p.m., and tickets start from $12.51 to $17.84, available at eventspalmsprings.com. Agua Caliente Casino Palm Springs, 401 E. Amado Road, Palm Springs; 888-999-1995; www. aguacalientecasinos.com.
Pappy and Harriet’s is hectic as always, so here are some highlights. At 10:30 p.m., Saturday, May 3, experience the intricate rock stylings of Geordie Greep, whom you may remember from Black Midi. Tickets are $25. Reverb-soaked surf rockers La Luz return to the desert at 9 p.m., Sunday, May 4. Tickets are $37.01 plus fees. At 6 p.m., Saturday, May 17, enjoy a double dose of modern soul from The Altons and Thee Sinseers. Tickets are $52.02. Hazy psych rockers DAIISTAR will shoegaze the night away at 9 p.m., Thursday, May 22. Tickets are $15 plus fees. Tickets are moving fast to spend the night singing your heart out to emo jams at Emo Nite, happening at 9 p.m., Sunday, May 25. Tickets start at $26 plus fees. Pappy and Harriet’s Pioneertown Palace, 53688 Pioneertown Road, Pioneertown; 760-228-2222; www. pappyandharriets.com.
The Purple Room in Palm Springs is wrapping up its season before the summer hiatus with a bang! At 8 p.m., Friday, May 2, enjoy Peggy’s Back!, a debaucherous tribute to Peggy Lee from entertainer Chuck Sweeney. Tickets are $45.70. At 8 p.m., Saturday, May 3, enjoy a double dose of Broadway in Palm Springs with Nic and Desi, two Broadway vets. Tickets start at $50.85. At 8 p.m., Thursday, May 8, Friday, May 9, and Saturday, May 10, Purple Room favorite the Marvelous Marilyn Maye is back yet again! She just turned 97, and she’s amazing. Tickets start at $85.87. Social media star Broadway Barbara will perform an evening of song, dance and stories at 8 p.m., Friday, May 16, and Saturday, May 17. Tickets start at $50.85. At 8 p.m., Friday, May 23, and Saturday, May 24, Tony Award-nominated performer Ann Hampton Callaway will perform hit songs from her hit shows. Tickets start at $66.30. All ticketed shows include dinner reservations two hours before show time. Michael Holmes’ Purple Room, 1900 E. Palm Canyon Drive, Palm Springs; 760-322-4422; www. purpleroompalmsprings.com.
Shakin’
Thee Sinseers
MUSIC
LUCKY 13 the
Get to better know a drummer who plays with fury, and Brosquitos’ new guitarist
by matt king
NAME David Fernandez
GROUPS Elektric Lucie, Mushroom People
MORE INFO David Fernandez has been providing the Coachella Valley with pounding drum action for many years. Whether it was with the defunct rock-metal hybrid Ormus, or it’s with his active projects, the Spanish indie rock stylings of Elektric Lucie, and star-studded System of a Down cover band Mushroom People, Fernandez brings a percussive fury. For more information, visit instagram.com/elektriclucie and www.instagram.com/mpsoadtribute.
What was the first concert you attended?
I am not 100% sure, but in my mind, it is quite memorable, because it was the one of the first ones, if not the first one, I attended on my own. It was 2005, and I was living in Mexicali, and there was this big national radio station that used to do this show/festival in a couple of different cities across the country. I remember seeing pop and rock acts like Natalia y la Forquetina, Jumbo, Ha*Ash, Mœnia, etc.
What was the first album you owned?
There are two albums that I must’ve gotten around the same time, because they’re the two albums I used to listen to all throughout my entire time in junior high: the self-titled Gorillaz album, and SOAD’s Toxicity. I must’ve begged my parents to buy them for me, and I still remember the looks I got from them when I played them in the car.
What bands are you listening to right now?
One of my all-time-favorite bands, Austin TV, recently came out of hiatus with a new album called Rizoma, so I’ve been listening to that a lot. I am genuinely a fan of a few local bands that are in my regular rotation: Lazuli Bones, Analog
Lab/Destroy Nothing, Robotic Humans, and Sleazy Cortez. Additionally, Turnstile, Chappell Roan, Ca7riel y Paco Amoroso, De La Tierra, etc.
What artist, genre or musical trend does everyone love, but you don’t get?
BABYMETAL!! No hate to whoever does like it. It’s not like I hate it; it’s just that I don’t understand it. The juxtaposition of the virtuosic metal with the ultra-cute vocals just happens to not be my cup of tea. I know they have an enormous following, so they’re definitely doing it right, and their success reflects that they’ve found their audience.
What musical act, current or defunct, would you most like to see perform live? I would love to go back in time and see Iggy Pop and The Stooges.
What’s your favorite musical guilty pleasure?
I don’t think any pleasure should come with guilt, specifically referring to music, but for the sake of the question, the fact that I love musicals could be interpreted as a guilty pleasure to some. Also, I listen to and enjoy a lot of ’80s to early ’00s rock in Spanish, for example: Soda Stereo, Zurdok, Caifanes, Molotov, Babasónicos, Fobia, Héroes del Silencio, Chetes, Ángeles del Infierno, etc. I mention it, because amongst people who like rock and metal in Spanish, all these sounds from all these bands have a connotation of being dated and old. I still feel it’s really great music, and I listen to it a lot more than I care to admit!
What’s your favorite music venue?
I can think of two, and they’re both in Ensenada. Years ago, when Mushroom People was first starting, and we had the opportunity to go play in other cities, one of the only rock/metal bars in Ensenada was called Abel’s Bar. The stage wasn’t super big, but it fit a lot of people, and that space is arranged in such a way that both the standing and sitting areas were facing the stage. It has an upper level where people can see the show, too. The second one: Elektric Lucie just played a show there a couple of weeks ago. It’s called Black Dog; it’s a metal bar/venue. The stage is truly amazing. It was put together by the owner of the place who is a musician himself and did a great job.
What’s the one song lyric you can’t get out of your head?
“They’re singing, ‘Happy birthday’ / You just want to lay down and cry / Not just another birthday / It’s thirty-ninety / Why can’t you stay 29? / Hell, you still feel like you’re 22,” “30/90,” from the musical Tick, Tick … Boom! by Jonathan Larson.
What band or artist changed your life?
I started listening to Gorillaz when I was 13 or so, and through their music, I learned how different and weird music can get, and I loved it.
You have one question to ask one musician. What’s the question, and who are you asking?
This one is a hard one to answer, but if I try to not get too into my head, the question I would ask Dave Grohl is: “Do you wanna have a beer with me?” Because that way, I can ask him more questions.
What song would you like played at your funeral?
“Volo al Cielo,” Austin TV.
Figurative gun to your head, what is your favorite album of all time?
Gorilla Manor, Local Natives. As an album, no skips. Every song is a banger.
What song should everyone listen to right now?
I would definitely like to encourage all of your readers to check out the new Austin TV record, Rizoma. Other than that, I would encourage them to listen to every type of music there is, and find one aspect of it that they can admire, even if it’s not particularly the type of music you go for. It’s a good exercise in music analysis.
NAME Hamilton Martinez
GROUP Brosquitos
MORE INFO Brosquitos have been a force in the Coachella Valley music scene for nearly a decade, and have continued to stretch their sonic capabilities over the years. Brosquitos recently re-emerged with a new lineup, alongside a new, focused sound. New guitarist Hamilton Martinez is one of the factors in this musical shift, adding new, textural guitar tones that blend the indie-pop gems of the band’s past with modern pop electronics. Brosquitos cemented this new chapter with Sorry, It’s Been Awhile, the group’s first album since 2017’s Vinyl Image. For more information, visit instagram.com/brosquitos.
What was the first concert you attended?
A Mac Ayres concert in Los Angeles.
What was the first album you owned?
Viva La Vida by Coldplay. I would listen to it in its entirety every night to go to sleep.
What bands are you listening to right now?
Mk.gee, Dabeull, Vacations, Last Dinosaurs and GELO.
What artist, genre or musical trend does everyone love, but you don’t get? I really don’t understand the fad with EDM music or any of its affiliates.
What musical act, current or defunct, would you most like to see perform live? I would love to see The 1975.
What’s your favorite musical guilty pleasure?
My favorite musical guilty pleasure is Drake or Future, although I’ve started listening to Zach Top and Morgan Wallen a lot more.
What’s your favorite music venue?
I really like The Novo’s GA (general admission) section (in Los Angeles).
What’s the one song lyric you can’t get out of your head?
“Well my buckle makes impressions on the inside of her thigh. There are little feathered Indians where we tussled through the night,” Tyler Childers, “Feather Indians.”
What band or artist changed your life?
The Beatles inspired me to learn the guitar when I was growing up. I would spend hours dissecting their guitar parts, bass lines, vocal harmonies or any type of musical arrangement.
You have one question to ask one musician. What’s the question, and who are you asking?
I would ask Mk.gee how he gets that ’80s sound down on the guitar—a much more analog tone.
What song would you like played at your funeral?
“Didn’t Cha Know” by Erykah Badu.
Figurative gun to your head, what is your favorite album of all time?
I Like It When You Sleep, for You Are So Beautiful Yet So Unaware of It, by The 1975.
What song should everyone listen to right now?
Everybody should listen to “Bedroom Song” by the Brosquitos. The song is a perfect preview to a brand-new EP coming soon. I pride myself in this song and our upcoming songs. I tried paying homage to those vintage and analog tones from the ’80s.
OPINION COMICS & JONESIN’ CROSSWORD
style
37. At ___ end (perplexed)
39. 1983 comedy starring Michael Keaton
41. Actor Cole of Angie Tribeca and black-ish
42. Brand used in potato chips in the 1990s
44. ’60s skirts
46. Greek consonants
47. Trick-y student, so to speak?
49. Most creepy
51. 2019 auto racing movie starring Christian Bale
53. Seem imminent
54. Block, legally
58. Avocado, e.g.
61. 1985 sci-fi comedy starring the late Val Kilmer
65. The Handmaid’s Tale streamer
66. Newsperson of yore
67. Frozen character
68. Sound from a pound
69. Entertainer Gorme
70. “Round and Round” band Down 1. Hurt 2. Actor Hayes 3. Overly dry 4. Daughter of Pablo Picasso
Find the answers in the “About” section at CVIndependent.com!
Bring your family and friends to the Agua Caliente Cultural Museum for summer 2025 activities. Learn, create, and explore during select hands-on Sundays from June to July.
SUNDAY, JUNE 8, 11 A.M.- 3 P.M.
PALM CANYON
Learn about Palm Canyon with Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians Tribal Member Anthony W. Purnel. After you visit the canyons in the Permanent Gallery, complete your own desert animal track art activities in the Museum classroom.
SUNDAY, JUNE 22, 11 A.M.- 3 P.M.
BEGINNER POTS
Join Museum educators to view and learn about ollas, clay pots, and make a small clay vessel with traditional potter Tony Soares. Please be aware that depending on capacity, there may be a wait to participate.
SUNDAY, JULY 13, 11 A.M.- 3 P.M.
TÁVUT, MÁLMAL, AND MÁNAL
Come discover more about desert plants and animals like the távut (cottontail rabbit), málmal (butterfly), and mánal (beavertail cactus) through art and observation! Create a watercolor landscape project and experience hands-on educational objects.
RSVP for Summer Sundays to programs@accmuseum.org. Space is limited. Free same-day Museum admission with RSVP (admission not guaranteed).
