Coachella Valley Weekly - June 3 to June 9, 2021 Vol. 10 No. 12

coachellavalleyweekly.com • June 3 to June 9, 2021 Vol.10 No.12

Ilze Volkweis Fashion

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Steve Barton

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Summertime=Beer

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Tucson Botanical Garden

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June 3 to June 9, 2021

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June 3 to June 9, 2021

BY NOE GUTIERREZ Coachella Valley Weekly (760) 501-6228

publisher@coachellavalleyweekly.com coachellavalleyweekly.com facebook.com/cvweekly twitter.com/cvweekly1 Publisher & Editor Tracy Dietlin Art Director Robert Chance Sales Team Kirby Club Crawler Nightlife Editor Phil Lacombe Head Music Writer Noe Gutierrez Head Feature Writer Crystal Harrell Feature Writers Lisa Morgan, Rich Henrich, Heidi Simmons, Tricia Witkower, Jason Hall, Esther Sanchez Writers/Contributors: Robin Simmons, Rick Riozza, Eleni P. Austin, Craig Michaels, Janet McAfee, Bronwyn Ison, Haddon Libby, Sam DiGiovanna, Dale Gribow, Denise Ortuno Neil, Rob Brezny, Dr. Peter Kadile, Dee Jae Cox, Angela Romeo, Aaron Ramson, Lynne Tucker, Aimee Mosco, Michelle Anne Rizzio, Ruth Hill, Madeline Zuckerman Photographers Robert Chance, Laura Hunt Little, Chris Miller, Iris Hall, Esther Sanchez Videographer Kurt Schawacker Website Editor Bobby Taffolla Distribution Phil Lacombe, William Westley

CONTENTS Grady James with guest Rick Shelley at Palm Canyon Roadhouse .......................... 3 Ilze Volkweis Fashion .................................... 6 Club Crawler Nightlife ...................................6 Consider This - Steve Barton ........................ 8 Screeners ...................................................... 11 The Vino Voice ............................................. 12

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ith this week’s announcement that Stagecoach, California’s Country Music Festival, will be making a triumphant return April 29, 2022 - May 1, 2022, we fortuitously feature, arguably the best Country artist to ever come out of the desert, Mr. Grady James! Talk about someone who’s earned his way to the Mane Stage.

Now I may have lived a majority of my life in the City of Festivals, Indio, California but I know great Country music when I hear it. I was born in Lubbock, Texas, so I have some sort of street cred. Believe me when I tell you, Grady James and band are on the precipice of mammoth musical greatness.

James’ new single, Try It All (2021), has everything I want in Country music; melodiousness, substance, great hooks, catchy choruses, a body-moving tempo and a beer-drinking sentiment. Listen to it now on Spotify and Apple Music!

We saddled up next to James, his bandmates, Tim Johnson and Adam Nounnan as well as Americana ace Rick Shelley to find out what’s cookin’! These fine gentlemen will be performing together at Palm Canyon Roadhouse at 535 S. Palm Canyon Drive in Palm Springs on Saturday, June 5, 2021, at 9 p.m. You can purchase tickets on eventbrite. com. For more information you can call (760) 327-4080.

GRADY JAMES CVW: You now have three formidable songs available for the public to enjoy the Grady James sound. The singles game seems to be working for you but when will we see an EP or album? Asking for a friend (me) James: “Yes, I have three songs out now!

I am very excited about all three of them for different reasons. Going Home was the first one, and a very personal song to me after losing my dad. Born Again Country was the first song that I wrote and produced with Adam Nounnan and Tim Johnson. Now after what we all went through in 2020, I felt like Try It All was the right one to come back with.

I haven’t released an EP or LP yet but it’s not for lack of material. I had two full-length records already recorded before 2020. We delayed releasing them as we couldn’t tour to promote them. Adam, Tim and I went

out to a secluded lake house and wrote and recorded five more during quarantine.

Try It All was one of those five. I have done everything from production to distribution myself, so I’m looking for some help before I release a full record.”

CVW: I hear a graceful blend of Honky Tonk, Outlaw Country and Rockabilly in your music. Have you developed your sound instinctively or is there a more conscious effort to achieve the sound?

James: “I work as a record producer in Nashville so I find a lot of sounds in the studio by helping other artists achieve their sound.

I guess I have achieved my sound by kind of cherry-picking sounds that I have liked while making other records for people along the way.”

CVW: Try It All is the new single and I love it! It’s fun and danceable. The song seems to send the message that we should do more and do it well. What can you share about your intent in the lyrics?

James: “Yes, I wrote Try It All during a particularly divisive time last year. I was just watching the news and playing downtown in Nashville. And what I experienced playing music for people, of every different background, and what I was watching on the news just didn’t add up. From my experience everyone is pretty like-minded and just wants to ‘try a little bit of everything before we’re gone’ to quote my own song, ha-ha! So I wrote this song as a statement to say I don’t care much about the reason people divide anymore. I am just trying to ‘try it all’ like anyone else.”

CVW: In many people’s minds you are such a unique songwriter, voice and musician. That’s really the trifecta to have, isn’t it? Being a student of music as well as a connoisseur, what more would you like to conquer?

James: “Ya, I feel like my reputation has evolved over the years. I earned a degree from the Musicians Institute for guitar performance and moved to Nashville as a guitar player. I got to play guitar on some of the biggest stages across the country for some great Country artists. Then an artist Gyth Rigdon was runner-up on NBC’s The Voice and he released a song I wrote called Proof

I’ve Always Loved You which went to #1 on the iTunes/Apple Music Top 100 Country Chart and was top 5 on the All Genre Chart.

After that my reputation was as a songwriter and now I’ve mainly just produced records this year. I love doing it all. Some people only know me as a singer and some who call me a producer don’t even know I can sing. I am just happy to be making music.”

CVW: You and the band have a show coming up on June 5th at Palm Canyon Roadhouse in Palm Springs, CA. What has the High/Low Desert meant to you in your career?

James: “Yes we are excited to be playing there again. The scene here in the desert has been a truly awesome thing to be a part of. I think I speak for Adam and Tim as well when I say winning ‘Best Country Band’ and ‘Best Male Vocalist’ at the 2019 Coachella Valley Music Awards was a big high point! Even when I am back in Nashville, everyone knows about the Coachella Valley and Joshua Tree.

I wear coming from the desert as a badge of honor.”

Keg Whisperer ............................................. 13 Pet Place ................................................. 14-15 Haddon Libby .............................................. 16 Dale Gribow ................................................. 16 Spoerts Scene .............................................. 18 Travel Tips 4 U .............................................. 19 Free Will Astrology ..................................... 19 Safety Tips.................................................... 20 continue to page 5

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GRADY JAMES

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CVW: You’ve kept your band tight in Tim and Adam. What are the benefits of keeping it a trio and what do you want to share about these two classy dudes that others may not know about them?

James: “Well, I suppose something that you probably already know about Tim and Adam is that Tim works with AVIR, Inc. and Adam is a realtor for BHGRE/Leaskou Partners and they are part of the desert community even when they are not playing shows. Tim, Adam and I are more than just bandmates, we are all great friends, like a family. I am an independent artist and I simply could not do everything myself.

My mom, Lynne Arnold, another beloved member of the desert community and my biggest fan, was the only one helping me with my career when Adam and Tim joined the band. You may know that they are in the band but you probably don’t realize that they help with everything from booking shows to writing songs.”

We asked James’ bandmates how they feel about being a part of the Grady James Band.

Tim Johnson (drums): “Being a part of this project with Grady has been very fun for me personally. I needed that rebirth, ya know? I wasn’t doing much at all band-wise. We’ve been at it now for 5 years and watching it develop musically is pretty exciting and gaining great friends out of it is even better!

Grady, Adam and I have truly bonded like brothers.”

Adam Nounnan (bass): “There’s so many reasons why I love being a part of this band.

I’ve been close friends with Grady since high school and I have always played bass guitar for him in every project he has going. To be in the spot we are now with music released on music platforms and playing live shows, I guess the only word I can come up with is honored. I feel so privileged to be a part of such a talented songwriter and producer’s band. To say I play music with Grady James just makes me feel like I’ve always wanted to feel playing music. Grady is such a talented musician, songwriter and producer. It’s hard not to feel like I’m playing with one of the best guitarists in the world. It’s just so much fun! Tell you the truth it’s a dream come true.

To hear songs on the radio and on Spotify that I get to represent alongside Grady James himself is just so surreal.”

RICK SHELLEY CVW: You’re playing with Grady James at Palm Canyon Roadhouse on June 5th, 2021.

What are you looking forward to most and how will you be presenting your music?

Shelly: “I think I’m just looking forward to connecting with people in person. I’ve heard about Grady and his music, it’ll be great to hear him and his band play. As for me, I’ll be solo, just me and my guitar this time out.”

CVW: You were recently featured on Americana Highways Facebook page and performed a 30 minute live set. How did it feel to dust off the cobwebs after such a long layoff?

Shelley: “It felt great to have something to direct my focus on. To put a set list together and play. I really enjoyed it, more than I expected really. The virtual stuff was tough to

get into for me…I only did two virtual things over this last 15 months. Josh Heinz’ Concert for Autism benefit (wouldn’t miss that) and the Americana Highways stream. Happy I did both.”

CVW: Many of your more recent recordings are accessible on Reverbnation and 1909 Miles (EP) and Hope Wrapped In Razor Wire (LP) are available on Spotify and Apple Music. Thinking back, how do you feel about your catalog of music and where does Rick Shelley go from here?

Shelley: “I am happy with the songs I’ve been able to share…whether they’ve

June 3 to June 9, 2021 been on a record or just a scratch demo. I recently pulled down the demos I had up on Reverbnation. Not sure which of those will make it to a record, but it’s time to prep them for a studio effort and figure out what kind of sound they should ultimately have.”

CVW: Rick Shelley and the Desert Dogs is a collaboration between you and a collection of High Desert drifters like Chris Unck (guitar), Damian Lester (stand-up bass), Tyler Saraca (drums), Matt Pynn (pedal steel guitar), and Bobby Furgo (fiddle). What are ya’ll up to?

Shelley: “The Desert Dogs collaboration is really a special thing. Each of those players are gifted musicians. Chris Unck really made all that happen. I met all those guys because Chris brought them in while producing my recordings. I’m lucky that they all like the songs and do live shows with me too. I look forward to getting back with them all sometime in the near future.”

CVW: In the past, you’ve talked about how songwriting has changed your life. Can you please elaborate?

Shelley: “Songwriting? Well…some songs are just for fun, they may be rooted in something factual or just totally made-up out of thin air…sometimes though, a song might be the only way to examine a feeling and let it out. It’s a companion. I’ve grown up with it and I’m glad I’ve had it as an outlet to sort things out when I’ve needed to. I’ve changed how I write over the years. I’m still hoping to write my best song.” gradyjames.net rickshelleymusic.com palmcanyonroadhouse.com

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LOCAL BUSINESS

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or those looking to find unique style and authentic flare while supporting desert designers, The Shops on San Pablo in Palm Desert has been a local fashion funhouse. The Shops on San Pablo feature a vast array of clothing and accessories just in time for the summer season. A Ribbon Cutting and Grand Opening Ceremony was held in early May by the Greater Coachella Valley Chamber of Commerce, allowing for members and the public to experience the The Shops on San Pablo, while enjoying COVID-safe festivities, live music, and delicious food.

The Shops on San Pablo are owned and operated by Lorie Loftis, who was inspired to join Palm Desert’s initiated San Pablo Pedestrian Corridor Project to create a new shopping experience for the future community core of the city. The Shops on San Pablo also host in-store photoshoot parties where reserved guests can try on clothes from local designers and pose for professional pictures.

One new designer featured in The Shops on San Pablo is Ilze Volkweis, who is launching her new self-titled fashion line. Following the

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COVID-19 pandemic, Ilze realized that she wanted to work more with art and incorporate that dynamic into her clothing.

Ilze is a designer extraordinaire who has made her mark from Rio de Janeiro to Los Angeles as a fashion model, costume designer, and wardrobe consultant. Her one-of-a-kind pieces have been sold on the famous Melrose Avenue, and she has worked for a variety of celebrity clientele as a personal stylist and designer, such as Alexis Gershwin and cast members from the hit television series Beverly Hills, 90210. She has even sold her fashions locally on El Paseo and is excited to sell her designs at The Shops on San Pablo.

“I wanted to focus on the things I love: art and creation. I felt the need to embrace the natural world and escape from the ‘plastic’ one. I began talking with a wonderful woman named Erika from Brazil to put my fashion line in a new direction, and I came to The Shops on

San Pablo shortly after. I am so blessed to be here,” said Ilze.

Ilze’s new fashion line is all handmade and made in Brazil. The intricate design of the clothing originates from European colonization in the 1800s near the Amazon, and is the same technique women would use to make fishing nets out of thread centuries ago.

This design method was also used for other home furnishings at the start of the 1900s. It became more popular in the 1980s, where this threading method was used to make clothing.

“Erika captured my ideas so perfectly.

When I said how I wanted to do something, I never had to explain myself because she already knew what I was talking about. I‘m so lucky to find someone to collaborate with who compliments my vision,” stated Ilze.

Ilze is a go-getter and it is now in this stage of her career that Ilze realizes that every decision and turning point in her life led her to

BY CRYSTAL HARRELL

where she is now, and there is nowhere else she would rather be.

“I had so many opportunities to make money and be famous, but I just wanted to be happy. That was my main priority. When I came to America, I was following a passion. I wanted to create my art and design clothes,” said Ilze.

Ilze is very content with her journey so far, and views joining The Shops on San Pablo has a chance to share her love for creating, while also getting to play in her own dollhouse— dressing up clients in the outfit of their dreams and designing her shop just how she likes it.

Visit Ilze Volkweis’ Instagram page, @lzgirlz, for clothing samples and business inquiries or email her at ilzevolkweis@aol.com.

Monday, June 7

Casuelas Café - Mighty Sweet Country Night w/ The Desert Suit Band – 6pm The Nest – The Trebles – 6:30-9:30pm

Tuesday, June 8

Thursday, June 3

Casuelas Café – Avenida – 6pm Chef George’s – Marc Antonelli – 6:30-9:30pm Cunard’s – Bill Baker – 6pm Lit @ Fantasy Springs – Brad’s Pad – 7-10pm Melvyn’s – Mikael Healey – 5pm The Slice – Leanna Rogers – 5-8pm Tack Room – Derek Jordan Gregg – 7-10pm Vicky’s of Santa Fe – John Stanley King and Danny Flahive – 6-9:30pm

Friday, June 4

Casuelas Café – The Myx – 7pm Chef George’s – Lizann Warner – 6:30-9:30pm Coachella Valley Brewery – Josh Heinz and Courtney Chambers – 7pm Cunard’s – Bill Baker – 6pm La Quinta Brewery – Daniel Bonte – 6:308:30pm Lit @ Fantasy Springs – Tre’Sure – 5:30-10pm Melvyn’s – Mikael Healey – 5pm

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Pete’s Hideaway – Darci Daniels – 7pm Rockyard@Fantasy Springs – Just Like Priest (Judas Priest Tribute) and Steel Rod – 7pm The Hood – Drag Queen Bingo – 8pm The Nest – The Trebles – 7-10:30pm The Slice – Marc Antonelli – 5:30-8:30pm Twelve @ Fantasy Springs – Mark Gregg and Co. – 7-10pm Vicky’s of Santa Fe – John Stanley King and Danny Flahive – 6-9:30pm

Saturday, June 5

Casuelas Café – Vinny Berry – 12:30-2:30pm, Lisa Lynn & the Broken Hallelujahs – 7pm Chef George’s – Marc Antonelli – 6:30-9:30pm Cunard’s – Bill Baker – 6pm Four Twenty Bank – Red Hot Cholo Peppers – 8pm Lit @ Fantasy Springs – Tre’Sure – 5:30-10pm Melvyn’s – Mikael Healey – 5pm Palm Canyon Roadhouse – Moon Colony – 9pm

Rockyard@Fantasy Springs – Felix Cavaliere’s Rascals and Thank-U-Drive Thru – 7pm The Hood – Comedy Night – 9pm The River – Jasmine and Lorenzo – 7-9pm The Slice – Leanna Rogers – 5:30-8:30pm Twelve @ Fantasy Springs – Mark Gregg and Co. – 7-10pm Vicky’s of Santa Fe – John Stanley King and Danny Flahive – 6-9:30pm Wildest – Derek Jordan Gregg – 6-9pm

Casuelas Café – Voices Carrie – 6pm Chef George’s – Lizann Warner – 6:30-9:30pm Cunard’s – Bill Baker – 6pm Four Twenty Bank – Mikole Kaar and the Kaar Club – 4:20-7:20pm Rockyard@Fantasy Springs – Country Nation – 6pm The Nest – The Trebles – 6:30-9:30pm The Slice – Sergio Villegas – 5-8pm

Sunday, June 6

Ace Hotel – Jazz Night w/ Mekala Session – 7-9pm Casuelas Café – Lisa Lynn and the Broken Hallelujahs – 6:30pm Chef George’s – Tim Burleson – 6:30-9:30pm Cunard’s – Bill Baker – 6pm Melvyn’s – Mikael Healey – 5pm The Nest – The Trebles – 6:30-9:30pm The Slice – Marc Antonelli – 5-8pm Vicky’s of Santa Fe – John Stanley King and Danny Flahive – 6-9:30pm

Casuelas Café – Las Tias – 12-3pm, Johnny Meza Duo – 7-9pm Melvyn’s – Mikael Healey – 5pm Palm Canyon Roadhouse – Mikole Kaar Jazz Event – 2-5pm, Sunday Night Jam – 6-11pm The Hood – Bingo – 8pm The Slice – Sergio Villegas – 5-8pm Vicky’s of Santa Fe – John Stanley King and Danny Flahive – 6-9:30pm

Wednesday, June 9

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CONSIDER THIS

“The world is a question-the world is awake an obsession for confession, yeah the world is a snake, I’m on the corner searching for you...” he world is a prankster-a dirty weekend, out of hand on the quicksand, looking for a friend, I’m on the corner searching for you” That’s Steve Barton pursuing love in these morally bankrupt times on “The World Is A Gangster,” a song off his excellent new album, Love & Destruction.

Originally from Los Angeles, Steve was a musically precocious kid. By age 11 he had formed his first band, The Present Tense. A couple years later they actually recorded some tracks for Curb Records, but the songs were shelved when a bandmate’s father wouldn’t allow his son to sign a recording contract. That effectively broke up the band.

Undaunted, Steve threw in his lot with a Beatles tribute band. Assigned the John Lennon role, they played everywhere from high schools and amusement parks, and even toured Japan. He quickly bonded with bandmate, drummer Dave Scheff (Ringo), and the pair plotted to form their own band. First and foremost, they settled on a name, Translator. At first bassists came and went, before Dave enlisted his old Santa Cruz pal, Larry Dekker. As a Punky trio, they lasted about six months before pilfering singer/songwriter guitarist Robert Darlington, from another local band, The Lies. With Robert in the mix, the Translator sound quickly coalesced.

Although they paid their dues as part of the club scene that thrived in late ‘70s Los Angeles, Translator didn’t really make a name for themselves until they relocated to the Bay Area. Connecting with producer David Kahane, they recorded a demo that immediately garnered airplay on KUSF radio. That brought them to the attention of Howie Klein, who not only hosted a show at the station, but also ran his own label, 415 Records (pronounced “four-one-five,” the name referenced San Francisco’s area code, and alluded to local law enforcement’s code for disturbing the peace).

They signed with the label, which also included Bay Area sensations like Romeo Void, The Nuns, The Offs, Pearl Harbor And The Explosions and Wire Train. Hunkering down in the studio with Kahane, their fulllength debut, Heartbeats and Triggers arrived in 1982. Fortuitously, 415 had recently inked a distribution deal with Columbia (Sony) Records, boosting 415’s exposure.

Their first single, “Everywhere That I’m Not” quickly became a playlist staple on alternative radio stations like KROQ in L.A. and 91.X in San Diego. They also garnered airplay on the burgeoning music television station, MTV. The insistent Rocker definitely made an impression. Their guitardriven sound made an impression when

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STEVE BARTON

sandwiched between the shiny, Synth-Pop like A Flock Of Seagulls, Human League and Soft Cell. Although it never topped the charts, the song still resonates today.

Anytime it plays, I am instantly transported to 19 year-old me, fighting rush hour traffic in my hometown of Los Angeles, en route to an English Beat concert at the Hollywood Palladium. I’d never heard it before, and I turned the volume up! (I still turn it up).

Translator went on to make three more albums, partnering again with David Kahane for 1983’s No Time Like Now and switching to Ramones’ producer Ed Stasium for their self-titled 1985 effort and Evening Of The Harvest, which was released in 1986.

Constant touring meant they had cultivated a passionate fan-base, but never really broke through commercially. They amicably called it quits in the late ‘80s.

After a brief period of hibernation, Steve jump-started his solo career at the turn of the 21st century. Between 1999 and 2017 he released several solo efforts, plus a couple as front-man for Oblivion Click He also made time for a few Translator reunions, most notably at SXSW in 2006 and a soldout show at Slim’s in San Francisco. Three years later a fifth Translator album, Big Green Lawn was released and in 2015 the band assembled Sometimes People Forget, a collection of demos recorded between 1979 and 1985. Now Steve has returned with his latest solo effort. The album’s opening three cuts immediately display the breadth of Steve’s musical dexterity.

“Freedom’s Not Free” starts off tentatively with searching bass lines, sidewinder guitar and a thwacking beat, before Steve’s somber vocals kick in. Bleak lyrics reflect a country in distress; “Freedom’s not free, it comes at a cost, when the treasure map leads to paradise lost.” Even as the song’s opening notes suggest a mid-tempo Folk song, the proceedings take a sharp left turn, incorporating honking baritone saxophone and a swelling horn section. The result is moodily elegant, each instrumental break exhales like a post-coital cigarette.

Semaphore guitar riffs waft over skronky brass, wailing tenor sax and a tensile rhythm section. The song’s final line addresses our nationwide malaise; “The flag is upside down.”

“Last For Best” completely shifts gears, employing an aggressive Folk/Power Punk template that Translator (as well as guys like Elvis Costello and Peter Case) pioneered.

Shivery acoustic guitars careen out of the speakers hotly pursued by stuttery electric riffs, angular bass and a jittery backbeat. Steve’s biting, caustic delivery nearly undercuts his obvious delight at the prospect of beginning a romance with someone he addresses as “You thrilling, tempestuous tempest.” As the melody hopscotches along, the arrangement navigates a series of aural switchbacks, slowing down on the break. Introducing

“LOVE + DESTRUCTION” (STEVEBARTONMUSIC)

BY ELENI P. AUSTIN

chunky guitar chords and a conga-fied beat before revving back with marauding guitars and search-and-destroy bass he exults “I don’t need no royal wedding to prove my love is true, I’m already forgetting my life before you.” If Nilsson ever collaborated with Lou Reed, it might have sounded like the next track. “Coulda Been Me, Coulda Been You” executes yet another stylistic 180, as Bluesy acoustic riffs connect with boomeranging bass and a see-saw rhythm.

Steve’s sardonic mien is tempered by lyrics that bemoan the frustration of lost connections; “It could have been you, how come we never knew, all the traces of the faces in and out of the blue.”

As the cool kids used to say, this album is “all killer, no filler.” The songs on “Love & Destruction” run the gamut from intimate and introspective to wide-ranging and expansive. Take “Burying Suit” which mines the same ragged-but-right rusticity that The Band trailblazed during the “Big Pink” era. Initially, jagged acoustic strumming accompanies Steve’s wistful vocals, but rather quickly a hi-hat roll is eclipsed by a kickdrum beat, spidery bass lines and woebegone keys. Dour lyrics seem to search out harbingers of death amongst the flora and fauna; “Dark-Eyed Junco only comes in with the cold, all you have to do is show me a sign, and I’ll put yours with mine/ When the old world falls through my DarkEyed Junco we know that nothing’s really new.” But it’s funny, even as he prepares for the big nowhere, the arrangement and instrumentation refuses to wallow, positively levitating on the break. Shimmery guitars wash over roiling organ and clunky percussion that becomes something of a junkyard symphony.

“Tonight You’re Buying Me A Rainbow” is as sonically shambolic as the title suggests.

Squally guitars partner with wily bass lines and a walloping rhythm, Steve’s doubletracked harmonies lattice on top, creating a symbiotic dissonance. The lyrics, the product of a misinterpreted chorus heard at a Minus 5 gig, offer a vivid pentimento; “There are answers that will always be concealed, sometimes the darkest hour is not before the dawn. another painting under this one is revealed, but you only see

it when the x-ray light is turned on.”

Two tracks, “From Never And Nowhere” and “Fallen Hearts” find Steve acting as a one-man-band. The action slows on the former, plangent acoustic fretwork wraps around his shivery croon. As guitars intertwine the ache of the chorus is palpable; “Then I see you, random as destiny/I stagger to your ragged view with my lock and broken key, from never and nowhere.”

The latter is a sinewy Rocker powered by slashing power chords, prowling bass lines, a jangly acoustic fanfare and a stompy backbeat. Cryptic lyrics speak to what Jimi Hendrix labelled “Love Or Confusion,” asking “are you wonderful, or full of wonder,” and insisting “the secrets of love are written in smoke.”

The record’s tour de force is the aforementioned “The World Is Gangster.”

Built around a loop that blends splayed guitars, heavy bass and a kinetic pulse, it’s sinuous and seductive, and utterly irresistible. Despite his deadpan delivery, apocalyptic lyrics still detonate like smart bombs; “The world is quiet-the world’s a disaster, the world is a gangster-the world is desire, I’m on the corner searching for you.” A bit of a rave-up, it lands somewhere between Bob Dylan’s “Subterranean Homesick Blues” and R.E.M.’s “It’s The End Of The World,” but in the immortal words of Mystikal, it makes you want to “Shake Ya Ass.” Other interesting tracks include “Mind Song,” an acoustic thrash-rocker that weds strummy, spiraling guitars droning organ and a tambourine shake to a modal melody.

It’s a welcome collaboration between Steve and Translator-brother Robert Darlington.

While Steve supplies the inspiration; the true story of a comatose patient who heard everything his grieving relatives utter even as he flatlined. Robert contributes wickedly droll lyrics from the patient’s P.O.V.; “Look at them cry-look at them run, my body is gone-but it’s only begun, a light in the tunnel-a fish in the sea, a kiss from your lips and you’re looking at me/I know it happened-I really was there, out on the edge, the very last ledge, trying to wedge myself between forever and never, as I sever whatever’s trying to keep it all together.”

“Velvet Curtains” manages to feel cynical and hopeful at the same time, blending smoldering guitars and a pounding big beat.

On the chorus, Steve confesses “Nothing I think I believe is true, it’s a heartless world these days, heartless through and through and nothing I think I believe is true.” But in the next breath he offers a glimmer of optimism; “When it rains it shines and shines, and when it shines it rains/Tear away the walls and lines until only a kiss

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remains.” Some playful wah-wah guitar underscores the uplift.

Meanwhile, the sprightly melody of “Never Gonna Last,” is propelled by stacked guitars that ring and chime, whooshy keys, rippling piano and a driving backbeat. If it was 1972 this song would rule the AM radio dial, sandwiching nicely between Gallery’s “Nice To Be With You,” Spiral Staircase’s “I Love You More Today Than Yesterday” and Badfinger’s “No Matter What.”

The album’s last three songs simultaneously pay homage to the past while looking forward. Up first is a ringing take of Bob Dylan’s scabrous “To Ramona.”

A potent, combo-platter of Byrdsy jangle, waspish bass lines yoked to an analeptic rhythm. Even as the velocity accelerates he manage to explicate that elusive wild, thin mercury and manages to attenuate the lyrical vitriol. Stately and elegiac, “To Get To You” starts out a plaintive, piano-driven ballad before the full band roars in at the bridge. Written during the pandemic, the lyrics truly trace the thematic heft of the album, searching for meaningful contact in the midst of love and destruction. The arrangement builds to a stunning crescendo before powering down to just voice, piano and a hi-hat kick. Steve issues a last entreaty, an emotional S.O.S.; “Heard the whistle of a train, like the howl of a lonesome ghost/ Sometimes the place you gotta aim for is down a road you fear the most, I’m calling out from here to get to you…”

June 3 to June 9, 2021

A poignant end to an amazing… but wait, there’s more! The last cut belongs to 11-year old Steve, bashing his drums with anarchic abandon as he wrangles the Stones’ “Last Time.” As he maniacally bangs his kit, adding an extemporaneous “oh LORD no” to Jagger and Richards’ bitter kiss off, the whole enterprise collapses in on itself as his cymbal stand falls apart. A chaotic and endearing end to an amazing record.

Steve produced the album with longtime compadre-and former Translator drummer Dave Scheff. Horns were arranged and played by Doug Wieselman. Dave maintained the momentum on drums and percussion. Bassist Hilary Hanes (formerly of Pearl Harbor And The Explosions) holds down the bottom on every track except “Burying Suit” and “To Get To You,” which features former Translator bassist Larry Dekker. Steve played all guitars and keys, plus some drums here and bass there. A couple tracks were mixed by the legendary Ed Stasium.

Love & Destruction is one of those essential recordings that refer to all that came before: Dylan, the Fab Four, Leonard Cohen, the Stones, the Band, Power Pop and Punk. All the sounds that shaped Steve Barton’s musical world view. But it manages the neat trick of sounding fresh, yet familiar and wholly original. What more could you ask for?

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SCREENERS

CRUELLA Emma Stone stars in Disney’s new liveaction theatrical feature about the unruly early days of one of cinema’s most infamous but ultra fashionable villains – Cruella De Vil. Set in London during the 1970s punk rock scene. We meet Estelle, the ambitious young con artist/fashion designer.

Estelle befriends a couple of thieves who appreciate her talent for devilry. Working together, they make a life for themselves on the bustling London streets.

One day as luck would have it, Estelle’s eccentric fashions catches the eye of Baroness Von Hellman (Emma Thompson).

But their new relationship triggers a series of events and disclosures that causes Estelle to embrace her dark side and become the raucous, revengeful fashionista fascist that we know and love from previous Disney iterations that have sprung from English writer Dodie Smith’s beloved 1956 novel.

So, is it worth seeing it on a really big theater screen with all the expenses of stepping out after our prolonged shutdown?

Not really, since you can be assured it will soon be available on your relatively big 4K home theater screen. But when all is said and done, what if any is the compelling interest in knowing Cruella’s backstory? Does knowing her origin make her sympathetic? Is that the point?

Yes, this is a visually dazzling, beautifully crafted film that’s not not especially rooted in the source material and previous Disney films. In theaters now. Check local listings for show times.

GENNDY TARTAKOVSKY”S PRIMAL:THE COMPLETE FIRST SEASON Eat or be eaten! Kill of be killed!

Get into survival mode with Adult Swim’s #1 prehistoric animated series with the release of Tartakovsky’s critically acclaimed (by audiences and critics alike). The series

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No. 476

June 3 to June 9, 2021

NEW NOW

BY ROBIN E. SIMMONS

was recently awarded 3 Juried Emmy® Awards for Outstanding Achievement in Animation, Travel back in time and binge on all 10 fascinating episodes from the first season and go behind the scenes with interviews from the incredible talent that created this wordless (!) series that rightly relies on stunning imagery with sounds and an evocative score to tell the surprisingly emotional, edge-of-your-seat story about a caveman at the dawn of evolution and his friendship with a dinosaur on the brink of extinction. Recommended. Warner Bros.

Blu-ray.

His hits include “Everybody Talkin’” and “Without you>” As well as “Coconut” and “One (is the Loneliest Number).” MVDvisual.

Blu-ray.

The film reveals to what extent his personal life was as complex and contradictory as his music, from his spirited relationship with John Lennon to his close bond with Ringo Starr.

Director John Scheinfeld paints a detailed

and memorable portrait of an extraordinary artist featuring over fifty Nilsson recordings, as well as rare or never-before-seen film clips, home movies, photos from the Nilsson family album and ijterviews with those who knew him. Nice bonus material with additional interviews and deleted scenes and a music video with an intro by Yoko Ono. Paramount. Blu-ray. robin@coachellavalleyweekly.com

THE VAULT Freddie Highmore and Famke Janssen star in this globe-trotting action packed thriller following a high-risk heist.

When an engineer (Highmore) learns of a mysterious, impenetrable fortress hidden under The Bank of Spain, he joins a crew of master thieves who plan to steak the legendary lost treasure lockd inside while the wole country is distracted by Spain’s World Cup Final.

With thousands of soccer fans cheering in the streets, and security forces closing in, the crew have just minutes to pull off the score of a lifetime. This engaging film also stars Astrid Berges-Frisbey (Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides) and LiamCunningham (“Game of Thrones”).

Paramount. DVD. WHO IS HARRY NILSSON? (And Why Is Everybody Talkin’ About Him?) The Beatles said that Harry Nilsson was their favorite American musician. Nilsson won two Grammys® and was the recipient of seventeen gold records, yet he is relatively unknown today.

This star-studded, wildly entertaining documentary, tells the story of one of the most talented-singer songwriters in pop music history.

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June 3 to June 9, 2021

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THE VINO VOICE

BY RICK RIOZZA

CANTINE ERMES VENTO DI MARE

I

guess we could have written the title in English, but it is good for the mind to practice a foreign language—if even just a few words. The title of this piece, translated more or less, is “Hermit Cellars Wind of the Sea”. And—it would both be good for the mind and the body to enjoy a tasty organic wine from Sicily at under $15 a bottle!

For those of you fortunate folks who’ve visited and traveled to Sicily, you already know the joys of the island’s cuisine which include the famous seafood, pastas, gelato, and wine.

The story of Ermes's Winery has its roots in a recent past of destruction and reconstruction.

During the night between the 14th and the 15th of January 1968, a devastating earthquake wiped out part of the small towns in Sicily’s Belice's Valley which included such towns as such as Partanna, Salemi, Santa Margherita, Montevago and Sambuca of Sicilia. From that same land, where so much was taken away, a group of young grape growers decided to start over, embarking themselves onto a path of evolution.

In 1998 a social and economic redemption was accomplished by founding Ermes's Winery, whose headquarters are located in the heart of Belice's Valley, on the west side of the island.

Nowadays, Ermes's winery is one of the most important producers in Sicily, with its 2,000+ members and around 10.000 hectares of vineyards located amongst Trapani, Agrigento and Palermo's district. In these areas, with passion and sacrifices, are grown the best selection of indigenous and international varietals.

In the heart of Sicily, with unique territory, characterized by different micro-climate and soils of different geological origins, the members take care of the environment. In some particular windswept areas, it is preferred the ancient method of “Head training farming” which protects the plants and its fruit throughout its production cycle.

The Ermes Cellars Co-op includes several wine portfolio line-ups. The Vento di Mare is their “entry-level” portfolio that include some of the best deals around town—or, rather, around the world! The two Vento di Mare Organic Wines that I’m discussing below is the white wine Grillo [GREE-loh] and the red Nerello Mascalese [Neh-REHL-loh MAHS-kah-LEH-zeh] Perhaps ten years ago or so, most American wine quaffers would not have heard of these two grape varietals. Lately, however, they’ve been getting a little more press as the wine world becomes more educated. Indeed, I’d have to give some high-fives to Trader Joe’s Markets for, at least, giving the two grapes a little shelf

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space and a little recognition. Their stuff sells for pretty cheap—because it’s more on the bulkwine side.

But for those who really appreciate and enjoy Italian wines—if you haven’t already, you’ll wish to spend just a few bucks more and step up to the “wind of the sea” wines from Cantine Ermes.

Again, those familiar with Italian white wines can always differentiate them from California or New World whites. Like the Vermentino, Arneis, Falaghina, the Grillo grape will always show the Italianesque flavors that include an “herby” note throughout the palate and a touch “bitter” note on the finish; thus, Italian whites are rarely cloying.

The 2019 Vento di Mare Grillo Organic ($11) is golden in color, light bodied, clear and bright.

Chilled up, you’ll find general flavors of melon and pineapple. But as one would expect, as it warms, there’s some yellow peach and a whiff of grapefruit alongside zesty acidity. It’s a treat for the summer with a good alcohol content of 12.5%.

(Bonus points for those who already knew the Grillo grape is one of the predominant varietals used to produce Sicily’s world-famous Marsala wine.)

Nerello Mascalese is an indigenous grape of Sicily that typically grows on the volcanic slopes of Mt. Etna. The 2019 Vento di Mare Organic Nerello Mascalese ($12), however, is sourced from organic vineyards in the sandy soils of western Sicily. This wine is so much more complex than the Mt. Etna bulk wine sold at Trader Joe’s. It’s one of the best tasting red wines to come out of Sicily at any price!

It’s got a great garnet color with a nose of cherries, black cherries, a touch of smoke, and a slight herby note. On the palate, it carries black fruits of all sorts and underlying pepper and char. Excellent acidity and a long finish. It’s been described as “a mythical blend of Pinot Noir and Zinfandel. This wine is medium bodied with a 13.5 alcohol level that works so well with pasta, seared tuna, grilled meat and roasted vegetables. It’s a real winner at such a great price. Ask your wine merchant to order some— subito! Saluti!

KEG WHISPERER

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O

n the heels of a seemingly endless string of wind advisories, Summer has made its entrance to the valley.

Summer is relatively unheralded here, more of a season to put up with as opposed to being a reason for celebration. The turning of calendar pages also signifies a seasonal change in the beer world as alcohol-laden stouts go into hibernation, replaced by lighter, crisper options.

The timing is excellent as well, with the lightening of Covid regulations by the Federal and State governments allowing restaurants and bars to open with inside seating just as the mercury tops the triple-digit mark.

Combine all of the above with a lowering of the collective tension which has kept Coachella Valley residents from socializing and we have the perfect reason to celebrate with a beer.

The addition of increased patio space and boulevard-side tables by desert eateries seemed at times eerily like the many of the pop-up experiences in Belgium and the Netherlands. It’s my hope that following the blistering summer temperatures these outdoor options are allowed to remain.

A recent tasting event reminded me of why summer beers are necessary, both in terms of refreshment and attitude adjustment. Think of how simply the wine world splits their craft into two completely different categories…Red and White. Red

wines, with their full bouquet and big, rich flavors are meant to be savored at warmish temperatures. White wines, on the other hand, are served much cooler; and who doesn’t find a nice Chardonnay or Zinfandel to be a refreshing change on a hot summer night?

Like the wine world, beer splits its organizational chart with two categories as well; Ales and Lagers. Broadly stated, most ales taste better while approaching cellar temperature (55°F) while lagers are meant to be served cold enough to turn the thermalprinted mountains on the can Periwinkle blue. The brewing process for both is the same on the hot side of the brewery as the brewer prepares his sugar-laden recipe for yeast to go to work during fermentation. The similarities, however, stop right there.

Ale yeast works at a relatively high

temperature, generally around the 70°F mark…give or take a handful of degrees. The fermentation process is relatively quick as well, with the yeast polishing off the bulk of the sugar in ten days or less. The result of this process is lots of interesting aromas, from fruity banana and clove to that of stone fruits.

Ales fall into the sip and savor category, not unlike Red Wines.

Lager yeast, on the other hand, works much more slowly and at lower temperatures as well, generally anywhere between 38°F all the way up to 58°F. The resulting fermentation is much cleaner, resulting in an almost neutral flavor profile when compared to its faster-working ale counterpart. The duration of the fermentation process is more than doubled, with some slow-working strains taking up to four weeks in duration.

Even after that month, however, the beer still needs additional conditioning time in order to round out the flavor profile. The word Lager is German and quite literally means ‘to store’. With almost two months of tank time, these beers require much patience and a lot of brewing capacity.

With their clean, easygoing demeanor, lager beers are the easy Summer choice.

Moving down one sub-category, Pilsners are one form of lager and in my opinion, the perfect choice for a Summer beer to chase away desert heatstroke. The original example is Pilsner Urquell, which debuted in 1842 in the Czech Republic city of…wait for it…Pilsen.

With its burnished golden body, capped with a stark-white collar of foam, she is a sight to behold.

But Urquell doesn’t just look pretty, it checks all the boxes for a perfect Summer beer. It’s naturally carbonated, thus imparting a crispness unmatched by many American brewers. The nose is perfectly balanced between light European malted barley and decidedly rich Saaz hops grown in the same Czech region. Saaz is one of the original, OldWorld hops…often referred to in the business as one of the four Noble Hops.

June 3 to June 9, 2021

BY BREWMASTER ED HEETHUIS The taste will tease with just the slightest hint of caramel before the pleasing, slightly bitter hops take over, thereby leading to a crisp, clean finish. An added bonus is that this beer clocks in at a relatively light 4.4% ABV (alcohol by volume), a nice number allowing you to have more than one before questioning your ability to operate heavy machinery.

Pilsners have a few sub-categories, and Pilsner Urquell falls into the Bohemian Pilsner fold. Fondly referred to as Bo-Pils by brewers, they tend to be a little more bitter than their counterparts, a feature I find attractive. Another sub-category is German Pilsner, which is much more balanced than its Czech counterpart. German brewers have perfected the art of balancing their malty sweetness perfectly with a blend of OldWorld hops and the resulting beer is easily consumed in elevated quantities with a flavor which pairs perfectly with German cuisine.

My personal favorite of this style is Rothaus Pils from the southern Black Forest region of Germany. With roots which extend back to 1340, the current incarnation was incorporated in 1791. Its official Germanic name, Tannen Zäpfle, literally translates as, “Little Fir Cone”, a nod to the locally grown Tettnang and Hallertau hops used in its production.

Rothaus claims to be the only German export Pilsner that makes it to our starspangled shores unpasteurized, thereby retaining all of the subtle nuances lost when beer is heated in order to completely stop yeast in its tracks. Heck, even all the European kegs sent to us across the pond are pasteurized…so in forgoing this step, Rothaus is already kilometers ahead of the competition in terms of flavor. It’s crisp, clean, and eminently crushable.

While you will find Pilsner Urquell in stores across the Coachella Valley, I urge you to buy twelve packs for their inherent ability to stop the beer from being light-struck, and therefore skunky. If purchasing a six pack, ask your Retailer if you might obtain one from an unopened case. If said Retailer understands anything about beer, all you will get is what you requested as well as a knowing nod of approval. Rothaus is a little tougher to find as they seem to be in between distribution partners at press time. Generally, my go-to is Total Wine and More! In Palm Desert and if it happens to be on the shelves, I will stock up heartily. With the arrival of Summer, we can certainly all raise a toast to an ice-cold Pilsner, no matter where the origin!

When Ed Heethuis isn’t brewing at Spotlight 29 Casino for 29 Brews, you will find the Certified Cicerone® / Brewmaster out on his road bike, looking to set a stoneskipping record at Lake Cahuilla, or talking beer with the patrons at Taproom 29. He may be reached at: heethuis.ed@gmail.com or wherever beer may be found in the wild.

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June 3 to June 9, 2021

PET PLACE

M

aybe you grew up on a farm or in a rural area where cats were allowed to roam outside. Today most cat rescue organizations will require adopters to keep cats and kittens indoors.

Some people still think that cats are happier if they have the "freedom" to live outside.

Nothing is worse than having a beloved pet go missing, and never know their fate.

Here are some of the reasons to keep your cat inside, as much as you might think he would enjoy a romp out in the sunshine.

1. Outdoor cats are subject to predators Coyotes are the primary threat to felines in the Coachella Valley. They are frequently spotted inside our gated country clubs and other residential communities. Stray dogs can also kill a cat, particularly if they are running in packs. Predatory birds such as hawks and owls kill and devour small animals including cats.

2. Risk of Injury or Disease Thousands of cats are killed every year from cars. Other hazards on our landscape such as barb wire fencing, rodent traps, and poisons can cause grave injury or death. Cats like the sweet taste of anti-freeze, but it is extremely toxic and will result in death within hours. Some feline diseases are transmitted from other stray cats. Fleas, ticks and ringworm can be picked up while Felix strolls through the neighborhood.

3. Fights with other Cats Cats are territorial animals, and injuries

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KEEP KITTY SAFE AND INDOORS

from cat fights can run up some major veterinary bills. Their territorial battles can result in abscessed wounds which can be deadly if not treated.

4. Malicious Individuals Sad to say, there are people in our community who are cruel and sadistic. When your cat wanders, you cannot protect them from the dangers humans intentionally or accidently cause.

5. Theft Even if they don't intend to harm your pet, finders may decide to "adopt" and keep your cat. Tracking them down and proving ownership may be difficult. If your cat is a sought after breeds such as Siamese or Persians, thieves steal them to resell.

Worse yet, "bunchers" steal and sell cats to laboratories for animal experimentation or research. Always keep an ID tag with your cell phone number on Kitty, and have him microchipped should you ever have to prove ownership.

6. Run Aways We hear incredible tales of cats that travel thousands of miles to return home. But there are also stories of animals that wander off and are unable to return home for a variety of reasons. Unneutered Tom cats will wander for miles in search of females in heat.

7. Public Shelters Your friendly cat could be taken in by someone who thinks he's an abandoned animal. They might take him to a public

shelter where a majority of the cats are euthanized.

8. Songbird Conservation Cats are predators, and it is an instinctual behavior for them to kill and eat birds and other small wildlife. Your well-fed pet may deposit a dead bird as a present on your doorstep. Bird lovers may become angry when they observe your cat running loose.

9. Neighbor Relations Some of your neighbors might not appreciate a cat defecating and roaming on their property. Gardeners in particular are wary of animals that tromp through their greenery.

Ways to keep Kitty Happy Indoors - Cats are perfectly content to sit in the sunshine on a safe window ledge INSIDE your home. You can provide exercise with a supply of toys, a carpet covered cat tree, and a cat scratching post. You can purchase "cat grass" at any supermarket or pet specialty shop. Get your cat a buddy...there is nothing more joyful than two cats at play.

Here's the best reason to keep your cat indoors rather than outside. The average life span of indoor cats is between thirteen and nineteen years, while that of outdoor cats is about five years. Isis, my wonderful British Blue cat, lived to the ripe old age of twentyfour years, happy to view the world outside from a sunny window ledge.

Janetmcafee8@gmail.com -----------------------------------------------

ADORABLE LITTLE BOY

MEET SMUDGE

Check out those adorable ears! This little 1-yr-old friendly fellow waits for a home at the Coachella Valley Animal Campus shelter. They are located at 72-050 Pet Land Place, Thousand Palms, www.rcdas.org.

This 12-lb pup is a Chihuahua/ Parson Russell Terrier blend, dog ID#A1623390. Call (760) 343-3644 for same day appointment.

GORGEOUS PRINT COAT ON THIS PRETTY CALICO GIRL! This lovely 1-yr-old kitty waits for a home at the Palm Springs Animal Shelter, cat ID#A3812139. Go online at www. psanimalshelter.org and see Smudge and her other feline buddies.

Complete the online application and they will call you for an appointment.

Located at 4575 E. Mesquite, Palm Springs, (760) 416-5718.

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BY JANET McAFEE Here is a partial list of Inland Empire shelters and rescue groups where you can adopt a cat or dog. Please check their websites in advance for updates on adoption procedures during the quarantine.

COACHELLA VALLEY ANIMAL CAMPUS – The county shelter is closed but you can call for an appointment to adopt. You can view the animals at all four Riverside county shelters at www.rcdas.org, and get the ID number of the animal you want to adopt. Email them the animal’s ID number at shelterinfo@rivco.org, or schedule a virtual adoption appointment at www.rcdas.org, 72050 Pet Land Place, Thousand Palms, (760) 343-3644. (Public) PALM SPRINGS ANIMAL SHELTER – The shelter is closed but you can call for an appointment to adopt. They schedule appointments Wednesday through Monday. View their animals online at www. psanimalsshelter.org, 4575 E. Mesquite Ave, Palm Springs, (760) 416-5718. (Public) ANIMAL SAMARITANS – The shelter is closed but you can call for an appointment to adopt. View their animals at www. animalsamaritans.org. Email acorrow@ animalsamaritans.org to foster. Located at 72307 Ramon Rd, Thousand Palms, (760) 6013918. (Private) CALIFORNIA PAWS RESCUE - The shelter is closed but you can call for an appointment

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to adopt. Located at 73650 Dinah Shore, Palm Desert. View their animals at www. californiapawsrescue.com, (760) 656-8833.

(Private) HUMANE SOCIETY OF THE COACHELLA VALLEY – The shelter is closed but you can call for an appointment to adopt a dog or cat. This shelter has lots of big dogs and some cats. View some of their animals at www.orphanpet.com. Located at 17825 N. Indian Canyon, Palm Springs, (760) 329-0203.

(Private) KITTYLAND – The shelter is closed so call for an appointment to adopt a cat. Located at 67600 18th Avenue, Desert Hot Springs, www.kittylandrescue.org, (760) 251-2700.

(Private) FOREVER MEOW – Foster based rescue for cats located in Rancho Mirage. Contact them at www.ForeverMeow.org, (760) 3356767. (Private) PRETTY GOOD CAT – Foster based rescue for cats located in La Quinta. Contact them at www.prettygoodcat.com, (760) 660-3414 (Private) BFF4pets – Foster based rescue for dogs and cats located in La Quinta. Email them at rescues@bff4pets.com, (310) 431-7818 (Private)

June 3 to June 9, 2021

LOVING ALL ANIMALS – The shelter is closed but you can call for an appointment to adopt. Located at 83496 Avenue 51, Coachella, www.lovingallanimals.org, (760) 834-7000. (Private) LIVING FREE ANIMAL SANCTUARY – Large outdoor shelter for dogs and cats up Hwy 74, view animals at www.living-free.org, and call (951) 659-4687 for an appointment (Private) MORONGO BASIN HUMANE SOCIETY – Located at 4646 Sun View Rd, Joshua Tree, www.mbhumanesociety.com, call between 11am-4pm for updates (760) 366-3786 (Private) CITY OF SAN BERNARDINO ANIMAL SHELTER – The shelter is closed but you can call for an appointment to adopt. Hours for adoption 10am – 4pm Tuesday thru Sat. Google “City of San Bernardino Animal Shelter” for website to view animals and get the ID number of the animal you want to meet. Located at 333 Chandler Place, San Bernardino, (909) 384-1304 or (909) 3847272. (Public) SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY ANIMAL SHELTER AT DEVORE – Shelter is now open for walk ins 7 days a week. Call (909) 3869280. View animals at www.sbcounty.gov/ acc and get the ID number of animal you want to meet. Located at 19777 Shelter Way, San Bernardino (Public).

DREAM TEAM ANGELS RESCUE - Foster based rescue located in Grand Terrace/ San Bernardino area. Contact them through website www.DreamTeamangelsrescue.com, (360) 688-8884. (Private)

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June 3 to June 9, 2021

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HADDON LIBBY

BONDS: RETURN-FREE RISK?

F

ixed income investors who have not yet begun to contemplate the low returns in an inflationary world need, better get started. With a 10 year Treasury at 1.6% and an inflation rate of 4% excluding fuel and fuel, and a Federal Reserve that is in no hurry to slow the post-pandemic economic activity, challenges related to bond investing is just getting started.

Since the pandemic struck, the Federal Reserve has purchased $7.8 trillion in government and corporate debt. By taking these debt obligations out of circulation, the interest rates paid by borrowers is significantly lower than would have been the case if the Fed had been less proactive. By keeping interest rates down, companies that could have gone bankrupt during the pandemic were able to issue debt at extremely favorable rates and survive. This meant fewer people were unemployed as a result. It also meant that those relying on the fixed income provided by bonds earned less.

What happens when the Federal Reserve and U.S. Treasury stop buying bonds? Logic tells us that interest rates will go up.

While this will be welcomed by investors, higher rates cause existing bond values to go down in value. This means that if you hold the bond until maturity, the loss is essentially an opportunity cost. The opportunity cost is that you would be getting a return that is below the market for the length of the investment.

If you sell the bond prior to maturity, that loss opportunity is realized. Earlier this year, a 0.6% increase in long-term rates caused a 10%

loss in the value of the underlying bonds. If you own a bond fund, these losses are initially felt with a decline in value that is eventually offset by higher returns.

If we use the 5 and 10 year Treasuries as our benchmarks or base cases, returns are 0.8% annually for the 5 year and 1.6% for the 10 year. This return on investment is less than the inflation rate meaning that the real value of these investments is declining when you consider the buying power of the underlying currency.

The Federal Reserve refers to recent price increases as “transitory” and due to pentup demand and shortages caused by the pandemic. While extraordinarily large relief

and stimulus at the federal level has done its job in keeping the economy together, the clear consequence is and will continue to be inflation.

The Federal Reserve has also been adamant in stating that they are “not even thinking about thinking about” increasing rates. This makes sense as they must discontinue asset purchases first.

For investors in bonds, this current scenario means that you are essentially getting a negative return on your money as inflation chews up any interest that you might receive from the purchase of a new bond.

Higher inflation means that you need to earn a higher return just to stay even yet Federal Reserve policies have created this negative return environment that is more favorable to borrowers than investors.

What does an investor do when an existing bond holding matures?

Some extend duration risk. This means that they replace a 5 year bond with a 30 year bond in order to earn more interest income today. Others buy riskier and riskier debt – this is referred to as taking on greater default or repayment risk. Both strategies work well so long as the economy remains strong and Federal Reserve interventionist policies remain in effect.

As it is highly unusual to have the intersection of easy money and a strong economy, we must be prepared for a time when interest rates are higher, and the economy is not doing as well. When that day comes, the value of bonds with long maturities

BY HADDON LIBBY or poor credit quality will fall quickly unless the Federal Reserve intervenes in a massive way as we are currently experiencing.. As we saw when rates rose by a mere 0.6% earlier this year, long-dated bonds fell in value by 10%.

When rates are manipulated to be this low despite heightened risks, Investors are better served by reducing the duration of their investment portfolios and considering the use of dividend paying equities as replacements.

Reducing duration means that the investor who had a 5 year bond mature might replace it with a two year bond fund. While the return stinks, the risk of loss is mitigated while the investor waits for higher rates.

The use of dividend paying stocks is another useful strategy until market conditions normalize. Like bonds, the companies paying higher dividends are more often more risky than those paying a lower dividend yield.

When using this strategy, make sure that the companies you invest in can afford to pay the dividend, invest in the company and pay taxes.

Haddon Libby is the Founder and Chief Investment Officer at Winslow Drake Investment Management, winner of Small Business of the Year by the City of Cathedral City Chamber of Commerce. For more information, please visit WinslowDrake.com or email Hlibby@WinslowDrake.com

DALEGRIBOW ON THELAW

MEMORIAL DAY ACCIDENT IN THE AGE OF COVID? HERE'S WHAT TO DO..

F

or those of you that asked me Sunday at Pat Rizzo's celebration of life to post this week's legal column: My regular legal column readers know that I often comment that law is an information-gathering game. We all know it is not a game though insurance company’s take that approach. I am often asked Why is that true for an auto accident?

“Both my Los Angeles Legal Column and my radio show were entitled, “Accidentally Yours”. In them, I often informed my readers/ listeners to write down all the facts of how the accident happened. I tell them to list what was hurting them from the top of their head to the bottom of their toes. A lawyer needs this information, and your memory is better shortly after the accident than it is 6 months or several years later.

I tell my clients to use their cell phones at the scene to take pictures of the damage to the cars, injuries, the other driver’s license, and insurance card etc. In addition, a driver should get statements from the wits and get the other driver’s statement. With today’s smartphones, this is easy to do.

If injured, drivers should go to the ER or Urgent Care for a checkup asap. Travel by ambulance is better than driving to the

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hospital, as it validates the seriousness of the injury and provides the information your lawyer will later need to get you a fair settlement.

However, many victims do not want to spend money on the hospital, ER, or ambulance. They do not realize they will get it back in SPADES in the settlement if they were not at fault.

The victim/plaintiff that talks to the defense lawyer or adjuster puts his lawyer at a disadvantage as it provides INFORMATION to the defense. A client does not always remember what they told the adjuster and it is not just what the victim said, but what the adjuster/attorney THOUGHT s/he heard them say.”

Victims should all take down their social media. Checking Social Media is the latest trick used by the defense in both Accidents and DUI cases. The other side will Google the victim in an auto crash and check your Facebook to gather information on you. They may also contact your Facebook friends to get negative information about you.

For instance, IF you post you were just in an accident and thus were 1 hour late for golf or tennis, it arguably suggests you were not hurt that badly. If you blog/post about

playing a sport, going dancing, to the beach or on a ski vacation, while you are still seeing a doctor, this might suggest you were ok and thus faking your injuries…..or so the defense would argue. We all know one can be injured and still play tennis or golf, but with some pain.

Some clients wait a week to see their family doctor who tells them “go home and soak in a hot bath and come back in a month or two.” The next month the doctor says the same thing and they returned 2 months thereafter. After 3 visits, over 6 months, they were discharged with a bill of $600 and the insurance company offers them $1000. They then want to know why their case wasn’t worth a lot more since they were in pain for 6 months and they are still hurting?

The bottom line is that “If you don’t see a doctor on a regular basis, the delay may decrease the value of future treatment. The value of the case is lowered substantially, and the case may not be financially worthwhile for an attorney. In other words, the insurance company will argue if you were really injured you would have found a way to get medical care.”

Ideally, you should see a doctor you have never seen before, so there are no skeletons

in your closet when this doctor prepares a medical report. In addition, you need to treat with a doctor that knows how to write medical/legal reports.

If you delay treatment, the insurance company will argue the treatment may not have been from this accident and ask how do we know the treatment is from this accident.

The insurance company thinks all claims are false. They ponder whether you slipped and fell while running around the pool or fell in your shower and then you thought, “I will say it is from my recent accident.”

DALE GRIBOW - Representing the Injured and Criminally Accused “TOP LAWYER” - California’s Prestige Magazine, Palm Springs Life (PI/DUI) 2011-21 “TOP LAWYER” - Inland Empire Magazine 2016- 2019 PERFECT 10.0 AVVO Peer Rating “DON’T DRINK AND DRIVE OR TEXT AND GET A DUI OR ACCIDENT... CALL A TAXI, LYFT OR UBER….THEY ARE A LOT CHEAPER THAN CALLING ME” SUGGESTIONS FOR FUTURE ARTICLE? CONTACT DALE GRIBOW 760-837-7500/ dale@dalegribowlaw.com

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June 3 to June 9, 2021

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June 3 to June 9, 2021

SPORTSSCENE

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MLB VALUE IN UNDER RADAR STARTING PITCHERS BY FLINT WHEELER

S

everal MLB pictures have been putting on dominant performances in relative obscurity and having not yet claimed the respect from oddsmakers they should be receiving. This means value to me. I would endorse backing any of these pitchers until the prices catch up.

Here are four pitchers you should back in the coming weeks because oddsmakers are still doing you a favor and keeping their prices low.

Nick Pivetta (Boston) The biggest question facing the Red Sox this spring was their starting pitching. Posting career bests in almost every key statistical category. Pivetta was the Red Sox’s biggest unknown after getting only two late-season starts with the team last year after a trade with Philly, which gave up on him after four seasons. In 2021 he’s into the mid-90s on his fastball and is striking out hitters like he did in his first two years in the majors. It also doesn’t hurt that he’s getting 7.2 runs of support per start from the Boston lineup.

He isn’t priced anywhere near ace level, but Pivetta is delivering results worthy of an ace.

Taijuan Walker (New York Mets) The Mets have been saddled with injuries, notably to slugger Pete Alonso. Because of the vast number of injuries, oddsmakers have downed this team considerably in their ratings, meaning the Mets are getting juicy prices every night. While most bettors and fans tend to focus on Jake deGrom or Marcus Stroman, Taijuan Walker is commanding nearly as much attention. He was acquired to assume the No. 4 starter’s role in what would have been one of the league’s best rotations had it avoided injuries. Walker is on his fourth team since arriving in MLB in 2013 and is posting his best career numbers, picking up where he left off at the end of last season with the Blue Jays. In fact, in his last 15 starts overall, Walker has an ERA of 1.67 and a WHIP of 1.05, and his teams have gone 13-2 for + 11.6 units of profit. He is doing his job

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on a team that is simply winning in the face of adversity. That's the definition of value.

Zack Wheeler (Philadelphia) Zack Wheeler was once expected to be the fourth or fifth option in a Mets rotation that featured Jacob deGrom, Noah Syndergaard and Matt Harvey. As it turns out, Wheeler is second only to deGrom in terms of that group’s effectiveness. The only problem for Mets fans is that Wheeler has started to reach his full potential with a different club, the Phillies. After a solid 2020, he is putting it together this year, on pace for the best ERA and strikeout numbers of his career.

He’s also occasionally hitting triple digits on the radar gun while mixing in four other pitches, so it is easy to see why the numbers are coming around. But oddsmakers aren’t treating him like an elite starter yet, so take advantage while you can, and then watch his next start.

Kevin Gausman (San Francisco) Kevin Gausman might be the hottest pitcher in the majors right now, having allowed just four runs in his last eight starts for an ERA of 0.71. Perhaps even rarer, he has gone at least six innings seven times.

Sounds like ace material, right? Yes, but Gausman hasn’t earned the role of ace in the eyes of oddsmakers yet, pitching as an underdog four times during this torrid recent stretch and topping out as a -180 favorite at home over lowly Pittsburgh. Before 2021, there was simply no reason to expect such an outburst from Gausman, who toiled in mediocrity with Baltimore, Atlanta, and Cincinnati. For anyone thinking he is due for regression, meaning you shouldn’t back him further, consider that his strikeout numbers are the highest they’ve been in his career over the last two years, and he gives nearly full credit to the emergence of his split-finger fastball, which he developed fully before 2020. This doesn’t feel like a fluke. He is a major reason San Francisco is much better than expected. G’Luck!

TRAVEL TIPS4U

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ARTICLE & PHOTOS BY LYNNE TUCKER

T

he Tucson Botanical Gardens, a tranquil oasis in the heart of Tucson, strives to be recognized and respected as the best small public garden in America. Visit Them!

Located on the site of the historic Porter property, the Canadian Garden Council and the American Public Gardens Association named Tucson Botanical Gardens as one of the top 10 North American Gardens worth traveling for. Among mature trees and expertly cultivated foliage, specialty gardens such as the Cactus & Succulent Garden, Barrio Garden and Herb Garden highlight the diversity of native plants while offering a lush oasis in the heart of Tucson. Tropical butterflies from around the world are featured in the Cox Butterfly & Orchid Pavilion Oct.– May. Experience year-round tours, community events, classes, and art exhibits, as well as the creative, seasonal menu of Edna’s Eatery. Now celebrating over 40 years of living beauty, The Tucson Botanical Gardens is a unique gem not to be missed.

The Gardens is a living museum. For its protection and the enjoyment of others, please follow these simple guidelines: • Stay on the maintained paths.

• Do not climb on trees, walls, sculptures

or foundations.

• Smell the flowers but do not collect any plants or plant materials.

• Pets are not permitted except for service animals. The exception is our Dog Days of Summer (June – September).

• PLEASE DO NOT leave pets in your vehicle.

• No Soliciting.

• The Gardens is a non-smoking facility, this includes e-cigarettes.

The Tucson Botanical Gardens values and appreciates feedback from visitors. Although they may not be able to respond to individual comments and inquiries, all feedback is reviewed by senior management and taken into account in their strategic and planning processes.

HOURS: Daily: 8:30am – 4:30pm Butterfly Magic is currently closed until further notice.

CLOSED: Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve & July 4th ADMISSION (Prices subject to change) Adults $15 / Students, Seniors (62 & up) & Military $13 / Children (4-17) $8 / Children under 4 Free Members & Member Children (4-17) Free Think Botanical Gardens and Enjoy all the Beauty!

June 3 to June 9, 2021

FREEWILL ASTROLOGY

WEEK OF JUNE 3

ARIES (March 21-April 19): “There is ecstasy in paying attention,” writes Aries author Anne Lamott.

That’s always true for everyone, but it’s extra true for you Aries people. And it will be extra ultra especially true for you during the next 20 days. I hope you will dedicate yourself to celebrating and upgrading your perceptual abilities. I hope you will resolve to see and register everything just as it is in the present moment, fresh and unprecedented, not as it was in the past or will be in the future. For best results, banish all preconceptions that might interfere with your ability to notice what’s raw and real. If you practice these high arts with exhilarating diligence, you will be rewarded with influxes of ecstasy.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Your guiding wisdom comes from Taurus author Annie Dillard. She writes, “I think it would be well, and proper, and obedient, and pure, to grasp your one necessity and not let it go, to dangle from it limp wherever it takes you.” I suspect that Dillard’s approach will enable you to maintain a righteous rhythm and make all the right moves during the coming weeks. If you agree with me, your crucial first step will be to identify the nature of your “one necessity.” Not two necessities.

Just the single most important.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): “All I want to be is normally insane,” said actor Marlon Brando. Yikes!

I have a different perspective. I would never want to be normally insane because that state often tends to be sullen and desperate and miserable.

My preferred goal is to be quite abnormally insane: exuberantly, robustly, creatively free of the toxic adjustments that our society tells us are necessary.

I want to be cheerfully insane in the sense of not being tyrannized by conventional wisdom. I want to be proactively insane in the sense of obeying my souls’ impulses rather than conforming to people’s expectations. I bring this to your attention, Gemini, because I believe the coming weeks will be a fruitful time for you to be my kind of insane.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): “It’s one thing to make a mistake, it’s another to become wedded to it,” advised author Irena Karafilly. Let’s make that one of your key truths in the coming weeks. Now is a good time to offer yourself forgiveness and to move on from any wrong turns you’ve made.

Here’s a second key truth, courtesy of composer Igor Stravinsky: “I have learned throughout my life as a composer chiefly through my mistakes and pursuits of false assumptions, not by my exposure to founts of wisdom and knowledge.” Third key truth, from Sufi teacher Pir Vilayat Inayat Khan: “Don’t be concerned about being disloyal to your pain by being joyous.”

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): According to my analysis of the astrological omens, the number of perfect moments you will experience during the next two weeks could break all your previous records. And what do I mean by “perfect moments”? 1. Times when life brings you interesting events or feelings or thoughts that are novel and unique. 2. Pivotal points when you sense yourself undergoing a fundamental shift in attitude or a new way of understanding the world. 3. Leaping out of your own mind and into the mind of an animal or other person so as to have a pure vision of what their experience is like. 4. An absolute appreciation for yourself just the way you are right now.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): “There is strong shadow where there is much light,” wrote Virgo author Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749–1832).

That’s a good metaphor for you these days. Since I suspect you are currently shining as brightly as you possibly can, I will urge you to become acutely aware of the shadows you cast. In other words, try to catch glimpses of the unripe and unformed parts of your nature, which may be more easily seen than usual.

Now, while you’re relatively strong and vibrant, investigate what aspects of your inner world might need improvement, care, and healing.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): According to physicists, it’s impossible for a human being to suck water up

© Copyright 2021 Rob Brezsny

through a straw that’s more than 34 feet long. So please don’t even try to do that, either now or ever.

If, however, you have a good reason to attempt to suck water up a 33-foot straw, now would be an excellent time to do so. Your physical strength should be at a peak, as is your capacity for succeeding at amazing, herculean tasks. How else might you direct your splendid abilities? What other ambitious feats could you pull off?

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Scorpio poet Ezra Pound had character flaws that bother me. But he also had a quality I admire: generosity in helping his friends and colleagues. Among the writers whose work he championed and promoted with gusto were 20th-century literary icons James Joyce, T. S. Eliot, Marianne Moore, Hilda Doolittle, William Butler Yeats, Ernest Hemingway, William Carlos Williams, and Robert Frost. Pound edited their work, arranged to get them published in periodicals and anthologies, connected them with patrons and editors, and even gave them money and clothes. In accordance with astrological omens, I encourage you to be like Ezra Pound in the coming weeks. Make an extra effort to support and boost your allies. Assist them in doing what they do well. To do so will be in your own best interest!

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Poet Tess Gallagher praises those times “when desire has strengthened our bodies.” I want you to have an abundance of those moments during the coming weeks. And I expect that cultivating them will be an excellent healing strategy. So here’s my advice: Do whatever’s necessary to summon and celebrate the strong longings that will strengthen your body. Tease them into bountiful presence. Treasure them and pay reverence to them and wield them with gleeful passion.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): “To live is so startling it leaves little time for anything else,” observed poet Emil Dickinson. That’s the truth!

Given how demanding it is to adjust to the nonstop challenges, distractions, and opportunities of the daily rhythm, I’m impressed that any of us ever get any work done. According to my astrological analysis, you Capricorns are now experiencing a big outbreak of this phenomenon. It’s probably even harder than usual to get work done, simply because life keeps bringing you interesting surprises that require your ingenuity and resourcefulness. The good news is that these surges of ingenuity and resourcefulness will serve you very well when the hubbub settles down a bit and you get back to doing more work.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Aquarius-born August Strindberg (1849–1912) was a masterful and influential playwright. He also liked to dabble in painting and photography. His approach in those two fields was different from the polish he cultivated in his writing. “I am an amateur and I intend to stay that way,” he testified about his approach in the visual arts. “I reject all forms of professional cleverness or virtuosity.” Just for now, Aquarius, I recommend you experiment with the latter attitude in your own field.

Your skill and earnestness will benefit from doses of playful innocence, even calculated naiveté.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Which of the astrological signs feels the deepest feelings? I say it’s you Pisceans. You’re connoisseurs of deep feelings, as well as specialists in mysterious, multi-splendored, brushes-with-infinity feelings. And right now, you’re in the Deepest Feelings Phase of your personal cycle.

I won’t be surprised if you feel a bit overwhelmed with the richness of it all. But that’s mostly a good thing that you should be grateful for—a privilege and a superpower! Now here’s advice from deepfeeling author Pearl Buck: “You cannot make yourself feel something you do not feel, but you can make yourself do right in spite of your feelings.”

Homework. Testify about how you redeemed the dark side. Newsletter@freewillastrology.com ---------------------------------------Rob Brezsny - Free Will Astrology freewillastrology@freewillastrology.com

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June 3 to June 9, 2021

SAFETY TIPS

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FROM THE CHIEF’S CORNER

BY FIRE CHIEF SAM DIGIOVANNA

D

o you know about the 100 Deadliest Days of Summer? No, I’m not referring to the danger of heat exhaustion or increased gun violence during the summer months—although those are very real risks in many places. The 100 Deadliest Days are the days between the end of May and the beginning of September— the days when our teenage children hit the streets with lots of time on their hands.

What makes it deadly? Driving. Per mile driven, drivers aged 16 to 19 years old are nearly three times more likely than drivers older than 20 to be in a fatal crash. During the summer months, teenage deaths in vehicle accidents increase by 26% compared with the other months of the year.

Let’s look at some more facts: • Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for teens.

• The risk of crashes is higher among 16-19-year-olds than any other group.

• An average 260 teens are killed in car crashes each month during the summer.

• 60% of teen crashes are caused by distracted driving.

• Having other teens in the car increases crash risk.

• In 2015, only 61% of high school students reported they always wear seat belts when riding with someone else.

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• Teens are more likely to speed and use shorter following distances.

• Teenage drivers also have the highest rates of crash involvement resulting in the deaths passengers, pedestrians or occupants of other vehicles.

For Teens: • Passengers create risk. When possible, limit the number of passengers. And if you find yourself distracted by conversation, slow down, pull over or ask your friends to hold it down.

• Turn your cell phone off while driving or use an app that blocks calls and text messages while still allowing you to use navigation functions.

• If you’ve had any alcohol to drink, call a taxi or a ride share or find a sober friend to drive you. Or call your parents. Impaired driving is not only dangerous; it is a crime. If you’re caught, it can ruin your ability to get into the college of your choice or secure a job. And it’s expensive—lawyer’s fees, fines, increased insurance rates, etc.

• Don’t ride with dangerous drivers.

Whether it’s someone who’s been drinking or someone who can’t keep their hands off their cell phone, saying “no thanks” may make the difference between life and death.

• Have a plan. What will you do if your phone battery dies? Do you know how to change a flat tire? Who will you call if something goes wrong—and can you remember that number or are you relying on your phone to tell you?

For Parents: • Don’t serve alcohol or drugs at parties where teenagers are present.

• Give your children permission to call you if they are in a potentially bad driving situation.

• Discuss with your children how they will react if the person they’re supposed to ride with has been drinking or taking drugs or is driving irresponsibly. During these conversations, listen. You might think you have the answers, but kids need to have strategies and “talking points” that will work for them, not you.

Summer is a time to relax, get outside and have fun with family and friends. Let’s change those deadly days into delightful days!

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June 3 to June 9, 2021

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H S A R T Y A W A L AU H WE

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