Coachella Valley Independent June 2019

COACHELLA VALLEY INDEPENDENT | JUNE 2019

Power struggles over the Coachella Valley’s water supply have dominated recent headlines.

What’s really going on? Here’s an explanation.

By Kevin Fitzgerald

PAGE 12

VOL. 7 | NO. 6

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JUNE 2019

COACHELLA VALLEY INDEPENDENT // 3

JUNE 2019

A NOTE FROM THE EDITOR One of the great joys of running a modern newspaper—and yes, I am being extremely sarcastic—is dealing with the technical side of running a good, functional news website.

While I am mostly happy with how we’ve done with CVIndependent.com, we’ve certainly faced challenges over the years. One of those challenges involves how we’ve dealt with photo galleries.

For the first three years or so of CVIndependent.com, we posted all of our event photo galleries on Flickr, and embedded them on our site using a plug-in program. (Why? It worked well; it saved disk space. It seemed like a good idea at the time.) Well, at some point in 2015, the Editor/Publisher Flickr folks changed something (eff you, Yahoo!), meaning the plug-in stopped working. The galleries were still visible on Flickr, but not on our own website … which was kind of a problem.

Jimmy Boegle From that point on, we hosted our own photo galleries, and I put the task of going back and Assistant Editor fixing the now-missing photo galleries on my Brian Blueskye to-do list.

Then, well, four years went by. You know how it goes. coveR and feature design I was finally spurred to act when Flickr was Beth Allen sold to a new company, and that new company decided it was capping the number of photos for users at 1,000—unless said users ponied Contributors up some cash. Well, I didn’t want to pony up Elizabeth Aguilera, Stephen Berger, some cash for a service we weren’t really using Max Cannon, Kevin Carlow, Katie Finn, anymore. So about six weeks ago, I started Kevin Fitzgerald, Bill Frost, Bonnie the process of retrieving all the archived photos from Flickr; sorting all the photos back Gilgallon, Robin Goins, Bob Grimm, their proper galleries (because the mass Michael Grimm, Alex Harrington, Dwight into download from Flickr was just huge files of Hendricks, Valerie-Jean (VJ) Hume, hundreds of unsorted photos each); resizing Keith Knight, Brett Newton, Dan Perkins, the photos for our website; and, finally, uploading the galleries into our website’s Guillermo Prieto, Anita Rufus, Jen archives.

Sorenson, Robert Victor I am about two-thirds of the way through that final step. The process has, been in a word, tedious. (Sympathetic? Free to send The Coachella Valley Independent print bourbon.) However, it’s also been oddly edition is published every month. nostalgic. Yeah, we’re only talking about All content is ©2019 and may not be photos that are four to seven years old—but, published or reprinted in any form my, how some things have changed. I’ve teared up upon seeing photos of people who are no without the written permission of the longer with us … and I’ve grimaced when publisher. The Independent is available seeing pics of people who have been disgraced. free of charge throughout the Coachella (Like those photos of Kevin Spacey yukking it up with Will Ferrell at a charity tennis Valley, limited to one copy per reader. tournament back in March 2014. Or that piece Additional copies may be purchased about then-Palm Springs Mayor Steve Pougnet for $5 by calling (760) 904-4208. The and developer John Wessman appearing Independent may be distributed only by together in February 2013 at the beginning of the Independent’s authorized distributors. the Desert Fashion Plaza’s demolition.)

This task has reminded me of that old The Independent is a proud member and/or supporter saying that newspapers are the “rough draft of history.” We’re proud of the rough draft of of the Association of Alternative Newsmedia, the Coachella Valley’s history we’ve been doing CalMatters, Get Tested Coachella Valley, the Local since October 2012 … and we look forward, Independent Online News Publishers, the Desert Business Association, the LGBT Community Center of with your support, to continuing that draft the Desert, and the Desert Ad Fed. for many years to come. Want to help? Go to CVIndependent.com; click on the Supporters of the Independent page; and consider throwing us a few bucks so we can continue producing this free-to-all rough draft.

Welcome to the June 2019 print edition of the Coachella Valley Independent. As always, thanks for reading; please send any feedback you may have to the email address below.

—Jimmy Boegle, jboegle@cvindependent.com Mailing address: 31855 Date Palm Drive, No. 3-263 Cathedral City, CA 92234 (760) 904-4208 www.cvindependent.com

Cover photo by Kevin Fitzgerald

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JUNE 2019

OPINION OPINION

CVINDEPENDENT.COM/OPINION

KNOW YOUR NEIGHBORS F

BY ANITA RUFUS

elina Danalis, 46 and now a Palm Springs resident, was making a difference on a global scale.

After graduating magna cum laude in international relations from Georgetown University, she earned a graduate degree in international economics at Johns Hopkins’ Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies, including a year studying in Italy and an internship with the Associated Press. She then walked straight into a job with the World Bank.

“I was in the department that helped countries get development money,” she says. “I wanted to help make the world a better place. After all, I had been schooled in free-market solutions to everything, and I wanted to know more about the world. I traveled to places like Guatemala, the What I learned that year in Kefalonia was Dominican Republic and Macedonia. It was that my emotions and compassion were my fascinating, and the best training I could ever greatest assets. I felt that the system that was have had as a first job—if you don’t count preparing me to make it in the capitalist world folding sweaters at Benetton while attending had lied to me.” college.”

Danalis moved to Athens and was there After her three-year stint at the World Bank, for 10 years, working as a consultant to the Danalis worked for the Greek foreign minister, sustainability and corporate responsibility who wanted an adviser to his cabinet who had industry, helping companies improve their international-development expertise. bottom line by focusing on people and the “I couldn’t read or write Greek,” she says, planet as well as profits. “in spite of my parents both having come to An only child—born in New York and America from Greece. I actually lost a lot of my arriving in Southern California in 1980— hair the first six months, just from the stress.”

Danalis came to the desert in 2011 to take care After two years advising the Greek cabinet, of her mother, who had Stage 4 cancer.

Danalis was recruited by the European Union “I stayed in Palm Springs because by the to go to the Balkans as a program manager time my mom died, I had made a home here,” when the European Parliament allocated funds she says. “Besides, I met the love of my life! for the Serbian government.

“My parents met each other at a Greek “I was on track to being a true American restaurant in Greenwich Village. Mom had success story,” she says, “but then I was in come to the U.S. when she was 9, my dad when Belgrade when I witnessed a horrendous he was already an adult. My mom had had a incident that would change my life.” traumatic childhood, so although she was very In 2002, Danalis and a friend were sitting artistic, she never had the self-confidence to in their car when a man walked past them stick with any idea. But she always told me, and began to get into the car parked in front ‘You can do anything you put your mind to.’” of them.

While taking care of her mother, Danalis “He opened the door—and the car just studied Buddhism and taught at the Buddhist exploded, and so did he,” Danalis says. “I meditation centers in both Palm Desert couldn’t sleep, couldn’t eat, couldn’t be alone and Palm Springs. Since 2011, she has been and couldn’t be with people. It was a very pursuing her mission as a “mindfulness frightening place to be. Everyone around me coach.” Danalis (felinadanalis.com) is a regular was well-meaning and said the equivalent presenter at the Golden Door spa in San of, ‘Suck it up. If you’re going to do work like Marcos, working with individuals and groups this in the world, then things like that will online, and presenting programs for Planned happen.’”

Parenthood, Cancer Partners in Palm Desert, In 2003, Danalis left Belgrade and went to and the Mizell Senior Center in Palm Springs. live on the Greek island of Kefalonia, where “There’s too much homogenization in the her father had been born. world right now,” Danalis says. “We need to “I told people I was going to write a book,” she recalls. “That’s what you say instead of, ‘I’m stay in touch with our individual cultural roots, having a nervous breakdown.’ In my year there, combining the best of our traditions with modernity. We’re all so stuck to our phones; I learned so much about myself. it’s all about transactions but not about “When I got my graduate degree, it was relationships. We sometimes forget that we are handed to me by (former U.S. Secretary human beings with a connection to our history of State) Madeleine Albright, who was the underneath it all. embodiment of a tough woman. I believed “I’m concerned about the implications of that my toughness was my greatest asset.

Meet Felina Danalis, a European Union economist motivated by a traumatic incident to become a spiritual coach

economic inequality that results in a lack of access to health care. Stress has an impact on illnesses, and I believe we can make a difference in our own well-being by not focusing so much on ‘self-help,’ but rather on the cultural and social impacts that influence our health.

“Mindfulness, to me, is helping particularly women master resilience in the face of stress, anxiety and the drama in their lives, so that they are able to have more impact in the world.

It’s a kind of spiritual fitness—just as we exercise our physical muscles to be physically stronger, we need to exercise our spiritual fitness muscles in order to be able to be still.

Only then are we able to have a social impact that can change the world.”

Sometimes, traumatic events do not stop us; they can make us stronger. Felina Danalis exudes a positive energy that is infectious. She is still making a difference on a global scale—just not in the way she originally thought she would.

Anita Rufus is also known as “The Lovable Liberal.” Her show That’s Life airs Tuesday-

Felina Danalis.

Friday from 11 a.m. to noon on iHubradio, while The Lovable Liberal airs from 10 a.m. to noon Sundays. Email her at Anita@LovableLiberal. com. Know Your Neighbors appears every other Wednesday at CVIndependent.com.

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JUNE 2019

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JUNE 2019

NEWS

CVINDEPENDENT.COM/NEWS

TRIBAL TUTELAGE T

by brian Blueskye

he California Indian Nations College is celebrating its first year of offering unique highereducation courses to local Native Americans students.

While the school didn’t start offering courses until the fall of 2018, its genesis occurred in 2015, when Theresa Mike began meeting with local tribal leaders and academic leaders in Southern California. While there are currently 37 accredited tribal colleges in the United States, there is not one in California.

In 2017, CINC received seed funding from the Twenty-Nine Palms Band of Mission Indians.

The school’s partners include College of the Desert; the University of California, Riverside; and CSU-San Bernardino. The college’s offices are on the UCR Palm Desert Campus. everybody. Having been someone who took T. Robert Przeklasa, CINC’s vice president 12 years to get an (associate’s) degree, I come of academic affairs, said the college fills a from an understanding that you go where disconcerting need. you are comfortable. Some of them don’t feel “The latest figures were put out in 2016. comfortable.”

CSU-San Marcos’ California Indian Culture Townsend said she and her colleagues were and Sovereignty Center put out figures that surprised by the immediate demand for what showed in California and the United States, CINC was offering.

(Native American college) enrollment is “We moved in here last year in July, and inching down,” Przeklasa said.

September was when we were approved to Celeste Townsend, the interim president offer the general-education courses for CINC,” of CINC, suggested a possible reason for that Townsend said. “We had 3 1/2 weeks to decrease. recruit, and we needed to have 12 students “Not everybody claims (they’re) Native in each class. In 3 1/2 weeks, we landed American,” Townsend said. “When you go 40 students. Seeing the age range and the around to these colleges and universities, the students wasn’t just really exciting; it was enrollment is 1 percent. How many students really heartfelt. … We were like, ‘Wow! (The are claiming Native American as their primary demand) is really out there! We’re just trying ethnicity, and how many are choosing not to to start!’ claim?”

“We’re still developing policies and Even though there’s a sizable Native procedures, and we still need to get our American population in the Coachella Valley, necessary accreditation. We’re cart before the Townsend said she’s dealt with a lot of horse, offering these courses through College misconceptions. of the Desert, which is our incubator and our “During our meetings with College of the host, with UCR supporting our offices. We’re Desert as one of the first points of contact trying to establish California Indian Nations we had, they asked us, ‘Where are you going College as a standalone college.” to get your students?’” Townsend said. “We Townsend said they learned a lot from their were like, ‘Are you kidding? We’re in the first year of offering courses. desert. There are so many tribes within this “Our vision at first was to offer these area!’ So there’s a lot of misunderstanding, culturally infused courses for our students, and misconceptions. … A lot of universities but seeing the diversity we have in the age go after those (students) straight out of high and desires of our students, there has to be schools. We opened it up to anybody and that personalized focus,” Townsend said. “We have a personal approach: ‘What can we do?

How can we help you?’ We’ve found that (some students) are struggling with writing. You have those who are needing that extra writing and math support, which we have begun to offer through workshops. We concentrated on offering English 1A, which is composition, and a counseling class to develop an educational plan for themselves. … We’re trying to accommodate their needs by offering these classes while still trying to build a college, build CINC staff members Daisy Ocampo, Nicholas a program and build degrees.”

Rajen-Dine, Celeste Townsend, T. Robert Przeklasa and Ryan Mariano. BRIAN BLUESKYE California Indian Nations College is seeking

The California Indian Nations College celebrates a year of offering classes—but the school has a lot more work to do

regional accreditation, which can take years to achieve.

“Regional accreditation is quite a process,” Przeklasa said. “You have to become eligible for accreditation. In California, the accrediting body is the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges. You have to be operating for three years with students and finances before you can even apply to be eligible. Once you’re granted eligibility, you have to supply more years of records. …

Basically you’re looking, at the very earliest, of seven years of operations.

“We wanted to be sure our classes counted. … If we were offering them on our own, it wouldn’t fly. (Other colleges) wouldn’t recognize the courses. So we started with this partnership with UC Riverside, and the plan was to offer classes through their extension.

When we started talking more with the accrediting commission, they said, ‘UC doesn’t offer associate’s degrees, so you can’t work with them. Find an institution that offers twoyear degrees.’ That’s when we started working

with College of the Desert. We’re doing our best to operate and move toward accreditation while still getting our students those courses that can be transferred.”

While looking at the courses offered, I noticed a class for tribal-law-related matters.

That led to a discussion of why college education is important for tribal sovereignty to survive.

“We have a student who is from one of the tribes east of here. She is a little older and has said to me, ‘My tribe doesn’t have leaders anymore. They’ve passed on, and somebody needs to take over. I need to educate myself so I can take over,’” Przeklasa said.

Townsend said CINC has a lot more work to do.

“When you look at the college as a whole, we need educated board members. We need faculty recruitment. We still need to recruit and focus on these students. We need to continue to work on our curriculum.”

For more information, visit cincollege.org.

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NEWS FOUR DECADES OF FESSIER B

by BRIAN BLUESKYE

ruce Fessier has seen the Coachella Valley’s arts and entertainment culture completely change—repeatedly—during the 40 years he’s worked as the entertainment writer at The Desert Sun. On June 3, Fessier’s column will be appearing for the last time before he heads into retirement.

“The industry has changed quite a bit, and it’s not as satisfying as it used to be,” Fessier said during a recent interview at The Desert Sun’s offices. “I still have some brain cells, so I would still like to do some other things before I no longer have those brain cells. I never wanted to spend my entire life as a journalist. It just kind of worked out that way. Having the opportunity to take an early-retirement benefit gives me enough of a cushion that I can try some other things.” instruments, and it was just not enjoyable.

When Fessier arrived at The Desert Sun in … I would see some of those guys at Adrian’s 1979, there wasn’t much to cover.

Dance Club or something like that, but I can’t “I often say that the difference between say I was a participant in the generator scene. now and then is that when I first started, “Back in 1989, you could hear this music there wasn’t enough entertainment to have coming out from the middle of nowhere, and a calendar,” Fessier said. “Now there is so you didn’t know where it was coming from, much entertainment that they don’t want me because they never told anybody. Jesse Hughes spending my time assembling a calendar. So I (of Eagles of Death Metal) recently posted on don’t do a calendar anymore, and I’m back to Facebook about how I covered him in the early where I started. I covered the nightclubs, and days. I saw him and one of his bands at this I covered the lounge scene. They had concerts drive-through Italian restaurant in Cathedral at Palm Springs High School, and most were City where you could get spaghetti for $2, and either big band or classical.” he was playing there. That’s the thing: You’d Fessier said skater culture was helping see these people playing in little nooks and launch a local music scene when he started at crannies. Even though I didn’t go out and hang The Desert Sun. out in the hills, I was still aware of what was “There was a guy named Myke Bates who going on.” started a company called Bates Skates. That There was one name in town that you became the centerpiece for this skating couldn’t avoid back then. culture,” Fessier said. “There was a rebellion “Everybody idolized Sinatra in those days,” that was happening right after I got here.

Fessier said. “I wrote a column one time back A lot of the people were skateboarding and then about how you could go to every bar in roller-skating on sidewalks in Palm Springs. town and hear ‘New York, New York.’ I got The city of Palm Springs created ordinances so sick of that song. That came out in 1979, to prohibit them from skating. This guy Bates and everybody was singing it. That’s what it was the head of the skating culture and was was like in 1979 in Palm Springs. They were a punk-rocker. He was in the band Target 13. all close personal friends of Frank and all had That generated this punk-rock culture, and stories about him, and I’d run into him at all I started covering a lot of that. Most of that these different places. That was kind of fun, was in Desert Hot Springs and not in Palm actually.

Springs itself, but there was a real scene that “I wasn’t really a big Frank Sinatra fan at was developing. I covered that in the early the time, but just seeing the impact he had on days, and it was always the alternative to the all the people and discovering his generosity classical stuff you’d see at Palm Springs High in person—it made me a big fan of his. Once School and the lounge scene.”

I stopped getting over the generational thing Fessier was around when the desertthat I had and started appreciating his music, I generator scene developed. Bands such as became a big Frank Sinatra fan.”

Kyuss and Fatso Jetson played shows in the Fessier remembered seeing both the good middle of the desert as they cut their teeth— side and the bad side of the Chairman of the and Fessier doesn’t agree with the modern Board. romanticization of those desert parties.

“He was mercurial. If you caught him on a “I went out to one generator party, and it good day, you were intoxicated by him. If you was just terrible conditions,” he said. “Never caught him on a bad day, you were scared to mind how dangerous it was; it was the type death of him. I saw him on both sides,” Fessier of thing where there was so much sand said. “The first time I was in a room with him blowing. It would get in your face and all the CVIndependent.com

The retiring ‘Desert Sun’ entertainment scribe discusses 40 years of Coachella Valley culture

Bruce Fessier: “Once I stopped getting over the generational thing that I had and started appreciating his music, I became a big Frank Sinatra fan.” Brian Blueskye

was the first week I was entertainment editor.

This PR guy decided he was going to take me around town and show me all the lounges and restaurants. He told me he was going to take me to Don the Beachcomber, because that was where Sinatra hung out. I had a friend with me at the time who was a real drunken kind of friend. I wasn’t expecting this to be any big deal, and the last thing I expected was to see Sinatra at this place.

“We get there, and there was Sinatra. Don the Beachcomber was a tiny place. He was at the bar with about 20 friends, and he’s entertaining them all. This red light came on, and he said, ‘When that red light comes on, I sing.’ This PR guy said, ‘You do not talk to Frank Sinatra.’ My friend was drunk and said, ‘I don’t care what you say; I know people who are big shots, and I’m going to go up to him and say hello.’ (My friend) brushed us aside

and said, ‘Hey Frank,’ and Frank said, ‘Hey pal, how you doing?’ and shook his hand.

“Frank had this charisma, and it would hypnotize you a bit.”

Fessier also covered the local theater scene extensively.

“I saw the big change coming, and that was the McCallum Theatre (which opened in 1988),” he said. “When I got here, there was an organization called the Valley Players Guild, and they were always looking for their own home. Then there (was) the Palm Desert Community Theatre, and that was pretty much it. College of the Desert did their own shows. Then the McCallum (began) doing fundraising and the performing-arts series that they did at Palm Springs High School and the Annenberg Theater at the Palm Springs Art Museum. It became apparent that would not only dwarf community theater, but take up all

COACHELLA VALLEY INDEPENDENT // 9

JUNE 2019

CVINDEPENDENT.COM/NEWS of The Desert Sun’s resources: I was going to be covering what was going on at the McCallum instead of community theater.

“That’s the reason I co-founded the Desert Theatre League in 1987, because there were more groups that were starting, and there were other splinter groups. I thought they needed some sort of a promotion that I wasn’t going to be able to provide, and an award show would be that kind of promotion. I wanted it to also be a networking opportunity for people to share their resources. My co-founder was an actor in town who also worked in the advertising department for The Desert Sun, so some of these splinter groups that didn’t have nonprofit status could get the lower nonprofit advertising rate by being a member.”

Fessier and I were two of the five journalists invited to cover Paul McCartney’s 2016 show at Pappy and Harriet’s. I remember seeing him disappear and reappear many times throughout the show.

“I had an early deadline,” Fessier explained.

“We are always trying to be first, and so Robyn (Celia, the venue’s co-owner) let me use their office. Their office got so crazy with people coming in to where I went to the back of the office in this closet where I had my laptop, and I’d be writing and walking out to see what the commotion was. We didn’t get a photo pass, either, and I was trying to take pictures. That was crazy! … It was certainly historic, and I didn’t really appreciate it as much as I should have at the time.”

Fessier said covering the valley’s big festivals, Coachella especially, can be tiring and strenuous—but wind up being worth the trouble.

“Even today, the press accommodations are bad,” Fessier said. “I did an interview with (Coachella founder) Paul Tollett a week ago, and I was telling him how the press accommodations always suck. I told him, ‘You know what the sports guys get?’ The second year we were there, a colleague said that the press tent was four sticks and a canvas. The first year, they didn’t even have electricity in there. But at the time,

it was so magical, because you could just walk up to people. I walked right up to Moby and did an interview. There was nobody setting up any press interviews. It was magical from the very beginning.”

Fessier made a prediction about Coachella’s future.

“It’s going to be international,” he said. “I wouldn’t be surprised if J Balvin is the first international headliner not to use English as his primary language. That’s the direction it’s going in. It had more international stars this year than there were acts from the United States. Paul Tollett likes to nurture those guys and bring them up.”

Considering all the changes taking place in the media world, I had to ask: Do you feel that what we do will still matter in the future?

“I just did a talk to a class of broadcasters at College of the Desert, and I told them, ‘You’re living in an exciting time when you won’t need radio stations, and you won’t need newspapers, (but) you will need entrepreneurial skills to monetize your work. You have an opportunity to find out what you want to do and make a living at it without corporate ties,’” he said.

“Working for a corporation is very frustrating.

I’m happy to not have to be worried about rewriting some story from TMZ about herpes breaking out at Coachella.”

Fessier explained why he stayed at The Desert Sun for four decades.

“I got an offer at the San Francisco Chronicle, and I’m from San Francisco. I went to college there, and I always dreamed of going back to the Bay Area. But the salary they were offering me was not significantly more than what I was getting here,” he said. “I’ve always had other income opportunities and have never had to rely just on The Desert Sun. It’s between not being offered enough money and my wife saying, ‘I’m not going to live in Cincinnati!’

“This is a nice place to not only live but raise kids. I’m very proud that both of my kids are doing very well now. One is an animator for Bob’s Burgers, and the other one is managing a cannabis dispensary.”

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NEWS

VAPING’S FATE D

CVINDEPENDENT.COM/NEWS

The industry works to kill efforts to ban flavored tobacco products in California

by elizabeth aguilera, calmatters

espite the skyrocketing teen use of e-cigarettes, a proposal to make California the nation’s first state to ban flavored tobacco is struggling in the Legislature—and health advocates blame the political potency of the tobacco industry.

With negotiations under way behind the scenes, vaping interests hope to at least weaken the legislation, if not turn it in the industry’s favor.

On the Assembly side, all tobacco-related bills were effectively snuffed out when a key committee opted not to hear them. The committee’s chairman, Merced Democrat Adam Gray, declined to be interviewed. In an email, he wrote that “the authors of the various proposals and the committee are working together to develop a comprehensive proposal that addresses the issue relations for the American Cancer Society from all sides. We will develop a thoughtful Cancer Action Network. “That’s often package of reforms and move legislation where good tobacco bills go to die. There forward this year.” is no mystery why the tobacco companies In the state Senate, a flavored-tobacco ban disproportionately target their campaign has advanced and is heading for a Senate floor contributions to that committee.” vote, but only after it was amended to exempt Gibbs said no one has invited the network, hookah products and products patented before the American Heart Association or the 2000. Even if it passes the Senate, its future in American Lung Association to be a part of the Assembly is doubtful. negotiations to create a package of tobacco bills.

“What you are seeing there is the influence “It’s telling that the deadlines were missed of big money,” said Kati Phillips of California and that they haven’t invited public-health Common Cause, a government watchdog. stakeholders to any broader negotiation,” he “When you can afford to have direct access to said. “I would go further and say that it’s a lawmakers, they tend to listen to you.” farce, a charade to try to avoid the real issue— Tobacco money is nothing new in Sacramento, but now San Francisco-based Juul to avoid doing anything to hurt the tobacco companies’ bottom line.”

Labs, the largest electronic-cigarette maker, Health advocates reject the idea of is also moving thousands of dollars to elected criminalizing youth possession, but say they officials—particularly targeting members of welcome stricter penalties on retailers who sell the Assembly’s Governmental Organization vaping products to kids. Still, they maintain, Committee, which Gray chairs. that’s not enough.

Electronic cigarettes—known as e-cigarettes “It’s a way to pretend that something or vape pens—heat, for purposes of inhaling, a was done without actually doing anything,” liquid that typically contains nicotine.

Gibbs said. “We are all in favor of stepping Health advocates say California needs to ban up enforcement and making sure retailers flavored tobacco, because these products, with are not selling tobacco products to minors. flavors such as cotton candy, mango and green However, it’s not sufficient. Prohibiting the apple, lure teenagers and young adults into using e-cigarettes, or vaping. Manufacturers and sale of flavored tobacco products is the most other opponents of a ban insist the products are important thing we can do to halt the use of teenage e-cigarette use.” not targeted to or intended for young people, The Cancer Action Network has created and that flavored e-cigarettes help long-time a tracker of elected officials who accept smokers quit traditional cigarettes. tobacco money, and those who refuse. Of the It’s unclear exactly what compromise might 21 members of Gray’s committee, 11 didn’t emerge from negotiations. Gray mentioned receive tobacco money. alternatives in his email, suggesting “retailer Another possibility: The vaping industry penalties for selling to kids, penalties for might agree to weaker state restrictions if the youth in possession, advertising restrictions, Legislature simultaneously pre-empts stricter age-verified online sales, track and trace local bans. It’s the same strategy the soda systems, regulated packaging, and flavors are industry used last year, when it escaped city all areas where we need to take a good look at soda taxes by convincing the Legislature to pass how current law is failing. There is no single a statewide prohibition on local soda taxes. solution to this problem.”

So far, at least 26 counties and cities have Gray’s committee “has a long and sordid restricted flavored tobacco in some fashion, history of bottling up tobacco bills,” countered after Hayward became the first by prohibiting Tim Gibbs, senior director of government CVIndependent.com

its sale within 500 feet of schools. San Francisco banned its sale entirely—and city voters then overwhelmingly rejected a ballot initiative to overturn the ban. Campaign mailers and TV commercials advocating the overturn were required to acknowledge the source of funding behind the campaign to cancel the ban.

“The local campaigns can backfire, because the more they do, the more you know it’s paid for by the tobacco industry. And it turns voters off at the local level,” said Larry Tramutola, a campaign consultant who defended the ban. “More money spent at the Sacramento level, who cares? It’s just more money for politicians.”

Gray insisted the contributions are irrelevant to his actions. “If you want to support my agenda, my voting record, and the things I stand for, I’m happy to receive that support,” he wrote. “But it has zero role in how I represent my district or how I make decisions on public policy.”

Lindsey Freitas, senior director of advocacy in California for the American Lung Association, said more people need to stand up to the tobacco industry. “This is how they get the next generation of people addicted to their products: They entice them with these sweet flavors,” she said.

But Greg Conley, president of the American Vaping Association, credited watermelonflavored tobacco for getting him to quit traditional cigarettes.

“Vaping products are essential to helping adult smokers quit,” said Conley. “Some members may not want to hear this bill, because it will shut down multiple small businesses in their districts. This bans 90 percent of the nicotine-containing products sold at vape shops.”

If the Senate bill, SB 38, from San Mateo Democratic Sen. Jerry Hill, passes the full Senate by the end of the month, it will go to the Assembly, where it’s likely to land in Gray’s committee. That’s the same committee where a similar ban on tobacco-flavored products, Assembly Bill 739 by Sacramento Democratic Assemblyman Kevin McCarty, stalled without even a vote. McCarty declined to be interviewed about his bill.

So far this year, Governmental Organization committee members have received $23,500 from Juul Labs. Those members have also taken in $89,300 from the R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company, which makes the popular Newport brand of menthol cigarettes. In

addition, the “Valley Solutions Ballot Measure Committee,” an initiative committee Gray controls, took in $25,000 from Philip Morris, a tobacco subsidiary of Altria, last year. Altria also has a stake in Juul Labs.

“Our philosophy,” said Juul spokesman Ted Kwong wrote in an email, “is to support people and organizations to improve the lives of the world’s 1 billion smokers and to combat underage uses. … We keep JUUL products out of the hands of young people.”

Last year the U.S. Surgeon General issued an advisory about youth use of e-cigarettes, calling out Juul for making an e-cigarette that looks like a sleek USB flash drive.

“We must take aggressive steps to protect our children from these highly potent products that risk exposing a new generation of young people to nicotine,” the advisory said.

Last year, use of e-cigarettes among middle and high schoolers soared 78 percent over the year before, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control. The agency reported that more than 1 in 5 students now were using them. The popularity e-cigarettes alone drove a 36 percent annual rise in tobacco use among those students.

Juul contends it has never intended for its products to be used by youth. The company said that in the fall, it stopped selling its flavored product through retailers and now offers them only online, which it says is more secure because of a third-party age verification process.

Sen. Hill said in an email that his focus is on the Senate floor vote, and that he remains “committed to protecting children and teens from the health risks of flavored tobacco products.”

CALmatters.org is a nonprofit, nonpartisan media venture explaining California policies and politics.

COACHELLA VALLEY INDEPENDENT // 11

JUNE 2019

NEWS

CVINDEPENDENT.COM/NEWS

JUNE ASTRONOMY J

As the summer begins, look to the

Planets and Bright Stars in Evening Mid-Twilight skies for planets mutual For at June, 2019 opposition This sky chart is drawn for latitude 34 degrees north, but may be used in southern U.S. and northern Mexico.

N

By Robert Victor

une evenings will be wonderful for viewing the skies, especially if you stay up late enough until the sky fully darkens. With daylight saving time in effect on these longest days of the year, that might be a tall order!

Mercury starts 16 degrees to the lower right of Mars on June 1, climbing to 0.3 degrees above Mars on June 18, at their closest pairing. Mercury and Mars remain within 3 degrees June 14-24.

Mercury decreases in brightness, from magnitude -1.0 on June 1, through 0.0 on June 16, to +1.0 on June 30. Mercury fades rapidly in first days of July, but in June, it remains much brighter than Mars’ magnitude +1.8—as faint as Mars ever gets.

Elsewhere in the west to northwest, Procyon and Capella drop out of sight, but the Gemini Twins, Pollux and Castor, 4.5 degrees apart, the east-northeast morning twilight in late June. hold on. During June 18-21, first Mercury, then On June 10, Jupiter will be at opposition, Mars, pass 5.5 degrees south (to the lower left) 180 degrees from the sun and visible all night. of Pollux for two nights each, while the Mercury- Jupiter that night is low in the southeast at Mars pair widens from 0.3 to 1.8 degrees apart. dusk, and reaches its highest point in the Mercury is the brightest of the four. south in the middle of the night; it is low in the In June, Regulus slides down the western southwest at dawn. sky on its way to its conjunction with the sun Mercury, Mars and the Twins of Gemini: on Aug. 23. Spica and Arcturus pass their These four objects are visible in the westhighest positions in the south. Golden Arcturus, northwest at dusk throughout June, but at magnitude -0.1, is the brightest star on June Mercury is very low at start, and all are low in evenings, but the planet Jupiter, at magnitude the closing days. I already mentioned Mercury’s -2.6 in the southeast, appears 10 times brighter. fading brightness and Mars’ relative faintness.

Note red, twinkling Antares within 12 degrees Watch these changing arrangements of Mercury to Jupiter’s upper right on June 1, and within 9 and Mars with Pollux and Castor, the “Twin” degrees to its right at dusk on June 30. Jupiter stars of Gemini, 4.5 degrees apart. June 5: Mars is at opposition to the sun on June 10, and is forms an isosceles triangle with Pollux-Castor, retrograding, or appearing to move westward 11 degrees from each. June 12: Mercury forms against the background stars. an isosceles triangle with Pollux-Castor, 10-11 By mid-June, Altair rises north of east to degrees from each. June 18: Mercury-Mars complete the Summer Triangle with Vega appear closest, 0.3 degrees apart, within 6 and Deneb, just in time for the new season. degrees to the lower left of Pollux. June 18 and Summer begins at 8:54 a.m. on June 21, with 19: Mercury is 5.5 degrees south (to the lower the sun directly over the Tropic of Cancer. left) of Pollux. June 20 and 21: Mars is 5.5 Saturn rises in time for mid-twilight in degrees south of Pollux. June 25: A line from the last days of June. Watch for it in the eastCastor to Pollux, extended 8.7 degrees, locates southeast, 31 degrees to the lower left of Mercury. June 28: A line from Castor to Pollux, Jupiter. Saturn’s opposition will occur on July 9. extended 7.2 degrees, locates Mars.

On the morning twilight chart at The moon on June evenings: On June 4 at CVIndependent.com, you’ll find the stars, but dusk, look low in the west-northwest for the not fast-moving Venus, in roughly the same young crescent moon with earthshine, with positions they’ll occupy in evening twilight in bright Mercury 7 degrees to the lower right, and November. On June mornings, the Summer faint Mars 7 degrees to the upper left. Jupiter Triangle moves west of overhead. Bright rises about one hour before Mercury sets. Try to Jupiter, with Saturn to its upper left, will be view Mercury, Mars and Jupiter simultaneously, sinking into the southwest. Fomalhaut, Mouth within an hour after sunset. On June 5, find of the Southern Fish, will be low in the southMars 7 degrees to the moon’s lower right, and southeast to south. Capella, the “Mother Goat” Pollux 8 degrees to moon’s upper right. On June star, will be rising in the northeast. Aldebaran, 6, use binoculars to find the Beehive Cluster eye of Taurus, rises in the east-northeast late in within 3 degrees to moon’s upper left after the month. nightfall. Find Regulus near the moon on June Alignments: On May 31, Earth and Aldebaran 8. The moon passes first quarter phase on June are on opposite sides of the sun. As seen from 9. Spica is fairly near the moon on June 11 and Earth, Aldebaran appears in conjunction with the 12. From June 12 and for the rest of Mercury’s sun, hidden from our view until it emerges in evening apparition, Mercury and Mars are no

June's evening sky chart.

ROBERT D. MILLER

Deneb

Capella 1 Vega

8 15 8

Castor

Altair

1 Mars

29 22

22 29 Mercury

Pollux

E

W Arcturus

Procyon Regulus

Saturn 129

Spica 8

15

Jupiter 22 29

Antares

Evening mid-twilight occurs

more than 4when degrees Onhorizon.

June 14 at dusk, Sun isapart.

9o below 46 minutes aftermoon’s sunset. lower find AntaresJune 14 1: degrees to the 15:find 47 bright " " Jupiter " left. On June 15, 8 degrees 30: 46 " " " to the moon’s lower left, and Antares 7 degrees to moon’s lower right. On evening of June 16, the moon is 6 degrees to the lower left of Jupiter. The full moon later that night, at 1:31 a.m. on June 17, is the fourth during spring 2019. On the evening of June 17, the moon, past full, rises 18 degrees lower left of Jupiter.

Follow the moon in morning sky through the latter half of June. On the 16th, the moon, not quite full, sets in the west-southwest shortly before sunrise, 5 degrees to the lower right of Jupiter. On the next morning, June 17, the full moon appears 8 degrees to the upper left of Jupiter and 22 degrees to the lower right of Saturn. On June 18, the moon will have moved more than two-thirds of the way from Jupiter toward Saturn, and on June 19, the moon will appear 4 degrees to the upper left of Saturn.

S

Stereographic Projection

On June 25, the moonMap willbyreach last Robert D. quarter Miller phase, half full in the morning sky. On June 29, a beautiful crescent moon with earthshine will appear low, north of east, accompanied by the Pleiades cluster, 10 degrees to the upper left, and bright Aldebaran, eye of Taurus, 15 degrees to the lower left. On the 30th, a thinner crescent moon will appear with Aldebaran within 2 degrees below.

Check the website of the Astronomical Society of the Desert at www.astrorx.org for dates and times of our evening star parties.

Sawmill Trailhead, our high-altitude site (elevation 4,000 feet), will have its next monthly session starting at dusk on Saturday, June 1.

Robert Victor was a staff astronomer at Abrams Planetarium at Michigan State University. He is now retired and enjoys providing sky watching opportunities for a variety of groups in the Coachella Valley.

CVIndependent.com

12 \\ COACHELLA VALLEY INDEPENDENT

Power struggles over the Coachella Valley’s water supply have dominated recent headlines.

What’s really going on? Here’s an explanation.

JUNE 2019

LOCAL

news reports as of late have included alarming updates on a spate of disputes that have cropped up involving local water agencies.

For example, there’s the outrage expressed by the Desert Hot Springs-area’s Mission Springs Water District over what it refers to as the west valley-area Desert Water Agency’s “seizure” of groundwater management.

Or perhaps you saw a headline regarding the Imperial Irrigation District’s concern over the recent legislative action taken by local Assemblymember Chad Mayes. His Assembly Bill 854 proposed forcing the IID to expand its board of directors from five to 11 members, with the six new members all coming from Riverside County, whose IID electricity customers pay 60 percent of IID’s power-related revenues. Currently, only Imperial County constituents elect the IID board members, which leaves Riverside County customers with no voice in their power company’s operations.

Then there’s the biggest local water dispute—which began in 2013 with the filing of a lawsuit against the east valley’s Coachella Valley Water District and the Desert Water Agency by the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians. The suit claims the tribe possesses “senior water rights” to all the groundwater in the aquifer under the entire Coachella Valley. The tribe has been seeking control over all decisions, policies and groundwater-management strategies that either agency might implement.

Why is this all happening, and why is it happening now? What is causing this hypersensitivity among water stakeholders? What does it all mean for residents?

Here’s what we found out.

JOHN

Soulliere is the Mission Springs Water District’s conservation and publicaffairs officer. During a recent phone interview, I asked what led to the recent lawsuit and public attacks against the Desert Water Agency.

“What we’re talking about here is removing the ability from the five elected board members of the Mission Springs Water District to determine how we will develop our local water supply to meet demand and meet (the requirements) of economic development and growth,” he said.

“That right was taken away through a unilateral action of the DWA board, and through a somewhat stealth action by the state, to include (the DWA) in a new state law as an exclusive Groundwater Sustainability Agency without notification to the city of Desert Hot Springs or our water agency.”

The “stealth action” Soulliere refers to was taken by the DWA board back in 2015. So why the aggressive posture now—four years after the fact?

“Prior to taking the action they did in 2015, we had a court settlement with DWA and CVWD, who does pump and serve up in our area (as well). That court settlement put the three of us at the table to jointly manage. We spent $1.3 million developing a management plan. Within that plan, MSWD retained its rights to manage its local water supply and to develop the water as it saw fit—within state law, of course. DWA was, and continues to be, the state water contractor. They are here for the purpose of replenishment. We were functioning under that agreement just fine, (but the DWA’s) 2015 action basically threw that settlement off to the side. The management plan that came out of that settlement may still be in play, but the difference now is that we (MSWD) are removed from the governance and the authority. So it was a very divisive and hostile act that they’ve taken to move us out of the equation so that they can make autonomous decisions related to water in our basin.”

Kephyan Sheppard is the pastor at the Word of Life Fellowship Center in Desert Hot Springs, and the chair of the Mission Springs Water District’s Water Rights Study Group, which just issued its final report. I asked him why this issue had taken on such a sense of urgency now, when the action in question took place in 2015.

“Being a pastor in this community, I’ve been hands-on with the residents for seven years, and for the most part, it appeared that many didn’t even know that there was a dispute going on,” Sheppard said. “Recently, in like the last year and a half, people are starting to find out, and there’s a sense of pride and entitlement saying, ‘Keep your hands off our water.’ There’s a growing understanding of what’s at stake.”

I asked him if he could point to any examples of the DWA not fulfilling its responsibilities, or the DWA doing anything harmful to the interests of DHS residents.

“No, not necessarily,” Sheppard said. “The study group was formed because of the unprecedented action taken (by the DWA) without discussion with MSWD, and so for (DHS residents), that was the main thing. I know (Desert Hot Springs) is projected to have an economic and growth boom over the next decade, and I know that water is integral to everything that’s getting ready to take place. So, we need to make sure that we control our water.”

“Our” water? Doesn’t the water the DWA is managing as a Groundwater Sustainability Agency belong to all Coachella Valley residents?

Story and Photos by Kevin Fitzgerald CVIndependent.com

The Whitewater River flows near Interstate 10.

COACHELLA VALLEY INDEPENDENT // 13

JUNE 2019

Assemblymember Chad Mayes' bill to expand the Imperial Irrigation District's board of directors led to threats by the IID to stop providing electricity service to the Coachella Valley.

Obviously, the Desert Water Agency views the dispute differently. Ashley Metzger is the outreach and conservation manager of the DWA. “The Sustainable Groundwater Management Act is a law passed (by the California State Legislature) in 2015,” Metzger said. “We are one of approximately 20 or so agencies statewide that are actually designated by law as exclusive groundwater-management agencies. If you look at the language when we were established in 1961, it was for the purpose of (providing) groundwater replenishment and management. That is part of the reason why we have this exclusive designation. We have the unique ability within our boundaries to provide for both supply and demand management. The MSWD is missing a key part of the equation (replenishment capabilities) if we are not involved. If we are involved, as we have been for decades, then you have both sides of the equation.”

I asked Metzger about Mission Springs’ claim that the Desert Hot Springs agency has been effectively removed from any role in planning for future water-development needs.

“We are and have been a part of the Desert Hot Springs community,” Metzger said.

“We have facilities there, and we have the authority to manage the groundwater there by statute. There’s a water-management agreement that’s been in place since 2004.

As part of (the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act), you have to submit a plan to the state, and the foundation for that plan was the agreement that MSWD, CVWD and DWA had all signed onto.

“We’re not proposing anything radical.

We’re not trying to take any water away.

Groups come to our board meetings saying things like, ‘You’re trying to take our hot springs water and provide it in Palm Springs,’ and that’s certainly not true.

We’ve been fighting a bit of confusion and misinformation, which has been a challenge.

I think our biggest message to people is that we’re planning for the future. That’s a key part of our organizational role. … You know that Palm Springs and Cathedral City are largely built out. So when we talk about planning for growth, we’re thinking about the northern area of our boundary, where there is the most room for growth, which is the DHS area. We’re putting dollars out and committing to spending more money in the future to make all that possible.

“We’ve been communicating with stakeholders in the community and letting them know. I think we may have done ourselves a little bit of a disservice in the past by letting MSWD take the lead on being the face of water in the community out there. So we’re changing our approach, and we’re more active and engaged in the community.”

“WHISKEY

is for drinking.

Water is for fighting over.” This quote—attributed to Mark Twain, although there’s no evidence he actually said it—seems to apply to the Coachella Valley of today. How else might one explain the recent controversy over District 42 Assemblymember Chad Mayes and his AB 854?

Neighboring District 56 Assemblymember Eduardo Garcia recently stepped into the fray, tabling the bill in the Assembly Appropriations Committee (on which he sits), in a successful effort to get the Imperial Irrigation District and the east valley’s Coachella Valley Water District into discussions about “extending the (1934) electricity-service agreement in the Coachella Valley service area.”

The controversial bill was sponsored by Mayes, a Republican, to rectify what some perceive to be an injustice: Some Coachella Valley residents receive their electricity service through the IID, but they are not allowed to vote for any IID board members.

The IID provides no water to Coachella Valley residents, just electricity. This is one reason why Mayes’ call to increase the IID board size from five members to eleven, with the six new members all being from Riverside County (in other words, the Coachella Valley), drew public cries of outrage from multiple directions—including threats that the IID could pull out of the Coachella Valley.

Emmanuel Martinez is the IID’s government affairs specialist.

“The position of the Imperial Irrigation District is that this legislation completely ignores a longstanding relationship and agreement between the CVWD and the IID,” Martinez said during a recent phone interview.

“The long and the short of it is that through this contractual relationship, which is the 1934 compromise agreement expiring in 2033, the Coachella Valley was allowed to get water via the IID, and in return, the CVWD leased their power rights to the IID. So, this new legislation proposes to add six new directors to

the IID board and is a complete takeover, in our opinion.”

I asked Martinez if it was unfair that Coachella Valley residents had no right to vote on the makeup of the board of the IID, to which they pay their electric bills.

“IID and CVWD are similar agencies in that they are both water districts with competing interests for the same source of water, which is the Colorado River water,” Martinez said. “By virtue of that, this legislation would give double representation to the people of the CVWD, who would vote for CVWD board members and have control of that board, and also vote for IID board members.”

The Independent asked Mayes what prompted him to sponsor AB 854; he responded via email.

“IID has the ability to change utility rates, determine investment in communities, or cut service altogether,” Mayes wrote. “This power over 92,000 disenfranchised voters must be balanced with representation.

An individual’s right to a voice in any government exerting powers over them is one of the founding principles of this nation. AB 854 was introduced to honor this fundamental right and extends it to all IID ratepayers.”

We asked Mayes what his next steps would be, now that the bill has been tabled, at least temporarily.

“In order for this bill to pass the Legislature, we must ensure water rights are protected; representation is extended to those currently disenfranchised within IID’s service territory; and there is a strong and dependable public electrical utility in perpetuity in the IID service area,” Mayes wrote.

“I’m committed to finding a common ground that both sides can agree on and amending this

Coachella Valley Water History Timeline • 1918: Coachella Valley Water District (CVWD) is created.

• FEB. 14, 1934: Signing of the Agreement

of Compromise between the Imperial Irrigation District (IID), the Coachella Valley Water District and the Metropolitan Water District (MWD) governing access to Colorado River water.

• 1953: Mission Springs Water District (MSWD) is created.

• 1961:

Desert Water Agency (DWA) is created.

• 2004: An initial MSWD lawsuit against DWA and CVWD is settled requiring the Mission Springs Sub-basin to receive supplemental water from the other two agencies.

• May 14, 2013: Lawsuit filed by Agua

Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians against CVWD and DWA seeking groundwater rights, superseding all other water users in the region.

• 2013: The Mission Creek/Garnet Hill Water

Management Plan is adopted by the boards of CVWD, DWA and MSWD.

• 2014-2015: California State Legislature passes the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act, which takes effect on Jan. 1, 2015; it is amended in 2015.

• NOV. 13, 2015: DWA holds board meeting and votes itself to be the groundwater management agency supervising MSWD.

• 2016: MSWD files suit against DWA opposing designation of DWA as the Groundwater Sustainability Agency over DWA and MSWD boundary areas.

• NOV. 27, 2017: The U.S. Supreme Court

decides not to review the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals decision granting superior rights to groundwater to the Agua Caliente tribe.

• FEB. 20, 2019: AB 854 introduced by Assemblymember Chad Mayes.

• APRIL 19, 2019: U.S. District Court

Judge Jesus Bernal dismisses a significant portion of the Agua Caliente’s suit against DWA and CVWD, saying the tribe has not been substantially harmed by the agencies’ actions.

• MAY 16, 2019: Assemblymember Eduardo Garcia issues statement as a member of the Assembly Appropriations Committee placing a hold on AB 854 with the intention of holding negotiations between IID and CVWD.

continued on next page CVIndependent.com

14 \\ COACHELLA VALLEY INDEPENDENT

JUNE 2019

Assemblymember Eduardo Garcia tabled Mayes' bill in an apparently successful effort to get interested parties to the negotiating table.

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continued from Page 13 legislation to reflect that. From day one, I’ve said that IID’s water rights are sacrosanct. I did so publicly, and I did directly to IID. The final version of this bill will not infringe on those rights.”

Assemblymember Garcia, a Democrat, took credit for quelling the tensions raised

by AB 854. “Assemblymember Eduardo Garcia Engages to Bring Parties Together for Talks on Future of IID’s Electricity Service in Coachella Valley” was the headline on the press release issued by his office on May 16.

It went on to say: “After speaking with both Imperial Irrigation District and the Coachella Valley Water District, they have both agreed to begin meetings to examine the 1934 agreement and the possibility of extending the electricity service agreement in the Coachella Valley service area. The willingness of parties to come to the table demonstrates good faith efforts on all sides to resolve this matter locally without the need for legislation.”

LAST,

but certainly not least, is the recent development in the battle between the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians and the valley’s water agencies.

The tribe’s suit, seeking power over the groundwater underneath the valley, hit a significant wall in April, when U.S. District Court Judge Jesus Bernal dismissed portions of it because the tribe could not prove it had been significantly harmed.

The Coachella Valley Water District and Desert Water Agency claimed victory in an April 22 statement.

“The Agua Caliente Tribe was not harmed, because it has always had access to as much high-quality water as it needs,” the statement said. “The judge ruled that the tribe does not have standing, the right to pursue a lawsuit against the local public water agencies, Coachella Valley Water District and Desert

Water Agency. The only claim remaining in the tribe’s lawsuit is the “narrow issue” of whether the tribe has an ownership interest in storage space for groundwater under its reservation, the court wrote.”

This ruling is as close to a total victory as the water agencies could have hoped to achieve.

“Our top priority is and always has been to protect our groundwater supplies to ensure a sustainable, reliable water future for everyone in the Coachella Valley,” said John Powell Jr., the Coachella Valley Water District’s board president. “We are part of this community, and we are committed to its environmental and economic success.

The statement went on to read: “The water agencies have spent decades ensuring a safe, reliable water supply to all users in the Coachella Valley, including the five tribes in the basin. Both agencies remain committed to long-term water sustainability.”

The Agua Caliente tribe has not said what its next steps will be.

Several days later, the Coachella Valley Water District boasted in an April 30 statement: “An annual analysis of groundwater levels shows significant increases over the past 10 years throughout most of the Coachella Valley.”

The statement discussed studies done on both the Indio and Mission Creek sub-basins, which account for much of the valley’s aquifer.

The Indio Sub-basin is located under the vast majority of the Coachella Valley; over the past 10 years, there were increases in groundwater levels between two and 50 feet. There were localized portions of decreased water levels in the range of two to eight feet in the mid-valley area, which will soon benefit from the CVWD’s Palm Desert Replenishment Facility.

Meanwhile, the Mission Creek sub-basin, located under Desert Hot Springs and the unincorporated area of Indio Hills, showed increases in groundwater levels of up to 28.5 feet in most of the area.

So, there you have it: The Coachella Valley’s water supply is in good shape. But don’t expect fights and power struggles over it to end anytime soon.

COACHELLA VALLEY INDEPENDENT // 15

JUNE 2019

CVI SPOTLIGHT: JUNE 2019 Graduating Into Stardom: Pluko Comes to Splash House as a Rising Electronic-Music Artist

P

luko could be the next great electronic music artist—even though he’s only 18 years old.

Within days of his high school graduation, he’ll be appearing at Splash House in Palm Springs, on Sunday, June 9.

Pluko (Sam Martinsen) released his album Sixteen on ODESZA’s Foreign Family Collective label last year. Before I called Martinsen for our scheduled phone interview, I listened to Sixteen as it rained here in the Coachella Valley.

I found it calming—as if it were made for a rainy day. Strangely enough, Martinsen said that’s what influenced it, in a way.

“I think my biggest inspiration for Sixteen is where I live,” Martinsen said. “I live in Central Pennsylvania; it’s pretty much in the middle of nowhere. I’m constantly driving around and getting inspiration from being out on the road. The summer, when I spent a lot of the time writing the album, was pretty dreary and rainy. A couple of the moreuplifting songs were written when it was sunny out.

“What really made me want to write that album was my headspace and where I was in my life. It was also where I was at in terms of actual location.”

I asked Martinsen if he approached electronic music as a music composer.

“I like to think of it being more like that,” Martinsen said. “I definitely put a lot more care in the detail and the emotion; it’s not really the traditional DJ mentality. I’m not a DJ. I’ve never done a DJ set as Pluko. It’s been all live-set shows.”

Sixteen includes two tracks that feature guest vocalists.

“The stuff that I do is mostly by myself, because it’s hard to get other people to understand what you’re trying to do,” Martinsen said. “It’s much easier to explain

when it’s done, and you can show them.

But with the song ‘Asleep,’ MOONZz really understood what I was trying to do. We really worked well together. We both got what we wanted and what we were envisioning for that track. But it’s hard to get everyone to understand what your vision is.”

ODESZA not only signed Pluko to their label; the electronic-music duo personally supported him as he took the final steps in releasing the album.

“When I first started talking to them, and they said that they wanted to do the record, I figured I’d be talking to all the people who work at the label,” Martinsen said. “But as soon as I was on board, I was on the phone with them right away, and they were sending me e-mails and notes. I went to one of their shows to meet them for the first time. They were really welcoming; they are super-great guys. It was such as a crazy feeling to have that support right away and for them to be so genuine and helpful with the entire project.

“Sixteen was pretty much done when we were trying to find the home for it. When they said they were going to give me an e-mail with notes, it felt very nerve-racking to see what they had to say. Once I got all the notes from them, it really made me feel good, because most of it was positive, with just a little bit of critiquing here and there. To have the support of two guys who I’ve listened to since I began making music—it was a really crazy feeling.”

Martinsen was focused on film and photography while growing up—until he suddenly found the inspiration to make music while in middle school.

“I never played an instrument when I was growing up,” Martinsen said. “I would go to my sister’s band and orchestra concerts, and that made me not really want to see anything

Pluko, aka Sam Martinsen. SCARLETT RAYNER

with music, because it was so boring, and I was so young. I’m someone who gets really involved when I find something that I’m excited about. I dive in, and I work as hard as I can. I discovered the world of making electronic music, and I was super-interested in that. I just kept working at it and finding my sound.”

Being in high school while also being a rising music star was tough at times, he said.

“Once I started to make more of a name for myself and get more traction with shows, it was difficult to be able to do those shows, because I was still in school,” he said. “… I always found time to make as much music as possible, even if that meant not hanging out with friends and (instead) staying inside making music. I was willing to do whatever it took to get better and make music I was happy with.”

Martinsen will be releasing a mixtape right around his high school graduation, CLASS XIX—just before Splash House.

“The mixtape is going to have a brand-new and refreshing version of the Pluko sound and vibe,” he said. “It’s a lot more summer-y and a lot more upbeat. It’s a mixtape, so it has a lot more energy behind it, and it’s a lot more fun. It’s something I really haven’t done before. I’m putting it out right before summer, and I want it to be something people can throw on and enjoy.”

Splash House’s June edition takes place Friday, June 7, through Sunday, June 9, at various venues. Passes are sold out, but may be purchased through a fan exchange; after-hours passes remain, starting at $45. For more information, visit www.splashhouse.com.

—Brian Blueskye

Call Travis today!

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JUNE 2019

ARTS & CULTURE

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HIGH DESERT DESTINATIONS S

By stephen berger

ummer looms large on the horizon. Months of triple-digit temperatures take their toll, and we all look for ways to escape the heat—even if only for a brief period.

The high desert cities of Joshua Tree and Yucca Valley offer some relief, with temperatures averaging about 10 degrees cooler than those in the Coachella Valley. The cities also offer an opportunity to engage with a thriving and diverse art scene.

A weekend day trip—some galleries are only from Los Angeles to Yucca Valley to help open on Saturday and Sunday—can be a great establish the cutting-edge gallery. He designs way to experience (slightly) lower temperatures all the shows with the aid of a scale model of and see some unexpectedly sophisticated art. the gallery, complete with the movable walls.

These three suggestions represent just the In addition, the center can display large-scale tip of the art-scene iceberg, but are a good artworks in a lighted outdoor gallery. introduction to the treasures waiting to be “We want to be an international arts facility, discovered. but also serve the local community,” he says.

Located in the former Harley Davidson The commitment to the local population showroom on the frontage road of Highway extends to the studio spaces as well. Children 62, the Yucca Valley Visual and Performing in the high desert can participate in a variety Arts Center provides state-of-the-art of mediums and have their work displayed in a exhibition and studio space that artists in gallery setting. The studios include spaces for many large cities would envy. The center is visual arts, dance, broadcast, metal/wood— the western annex of Joshua Tree’s Hi-Desert where sets are produced for the Hi-Desert Cultural Center.

Cultural Center’s theater in Joshua Tree—and The Visual and Performing Arts Center a fabric studio where the costumes for the will be celebrating its first anniversary with theater are designed and created.

Perplexing Visions and Unrealities, featuring Yucca Valley Visual and Performing Arts artists Matthew Couper and Pablo Romero. An Center, 58325 Highway 62, Yucca Valley; 760opening-night reception will be held from 6 to 366-3777; yvarts.org.

9 p.m., Saturday, June 8.

The 4,500-square-foot gallery contains he Joshua Tree Art Gallery is a small many technological innovations that allow for jewel-box space currently featuring works dynamic visual displays. These include movable by several accomplished local artists, including walls, tunable spectrum lighting with full color poetic desert landscapes by artist Marcia mixing, and ultra-high-definition 4K video Geiger. Geiger also is a board member of the projection. The current exhibition makes full Morongo Basin Cultural Arts Council. use of these technologies and features a mix of JTAG began 10 years ago as a collective contemporary art and works from local school gallery in response to the lack of display space students. in the area. As members came and left, the Executive curator Michael McCall relocated responsibilities of running and promoting the

T

“The Kirby Express,” 1995-1996, by Noah Purifoy.

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Joshua Tree and Yucca Valley have a lot to offer lovers of visual arts

The Yucca Valley Visual and Performing Arts Center.

gallery fell on current owner Frederick Fulmer.

It grew into a full-time job. Fulmer—a painter who also has a studio in Venice, Calif., and has worked with acclaimed artists such as Jasper Johns and Joe Brainard—recently put the gallery up for sale. He cited his desire to get back to producing his own art. Good news: On May 15, the Morongo Basin Cultural Arts Council unanimously voted to purchase JTAG, and the council will start running the gallery in July.

Over the past year, Fulmer has invited some big-name artists to show at JTAG, including exhibits by Ed Moses and Ed Ruscha. He said he wanted locals to be able to see art that was otherwise only available after driving to Palm Springs or Los Angeles.

A special two-day exhibit will open with a reception from 6 to 8 p.m., Saturday, June 8.

The event features three visual artists and a writer from the Joshua Tree Highlands Artist Residency On Saturday, June 15, the gallery will open the JTAG EXPO 2019, a communityinvitational salon-style showcase. This is one of the gallery’s largest exhibits. Fulmer said it’s a great opportunity to see diverse styles of work at affordable prices. The opening reception takes place from 6 to 8 p.m.

Joshua Tree Art Gallery, 61607 Twentynine Palms Highway, Joshua Tree; 760-366-3636; joshuatreeartgallery.com.

N

o art day in the high desert would be complete without a visit to the Noah

Purifoy Desert Art Museum of Assemblage Sculpture. The 10-acre site is filled with foundobject sculptures by the renowned artist.

Purifoy was born into a former slave family in 1917 in Snow Hill, Ala. After serving in the Navy in the South Pacific during World War II, he moved to Los Angeles to study art and earned a degree from the Chouinard Art Institute (now CalArts) in 1956. He founded and was the first director of the Watts Towers Art Center.

With six other artists, Purifoy created the groundbreaking 66 Signs of Neon traveling exhibition a year after the 1965 Watts riots.

The assemblage sculptures were fashioned from two tons of debris left over from the riots and were a stinging commentary on the economic and political conditions of the time.

Purifoy moved to Joshua Tree in 1989; until his death in 2004, he created sculptures on his land that spoke to his concerns about life. The assemblages range wildly in scale and go from whimsical to macabre.

In 1999, a volunteer foundation was formed to protect and maintain the site. Purifoy had no interest in his pieces once they were completed. He famously said, “I’m not a maintenance man!”

Expect a self-guided tour with brochures available at the entrance. Occasional docentled tours give a deeper insight into the many layered meanings of the works.

Noah Purifoy Desert Art Museum of Assemblage Sculpture, 63030 Blair Lane, Joshua Tree; www.noahpurifoy.com.

COACHELLA VALLEY INDEPENDENT // 17

JUNE 2019

FOOD & DRINK

ON COCKTAILS M

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If you like good booze, tip your hat to the wonders of yeast and fermentation

BY kevin carlow

y kitchen counter looks like a biology lab.

Milky water and floating produce sit in jars that burp when I loosen the cap a tiny bit. The smells of cabbage, garlic and onions waft through the air. The sauerkraut, in the largest jar, is diminishing steadily by the day—and the cauliflower giardiniera is being enjoyed as well. The slimy pickles have been a harder sell; they taste, as my chef put it, “Weird.” They’re definitely pickles, but kind of carbonated.

Microorganisms are a crapshoot … what can I say?

My expedition into natural fermentation got me thinking about the less-than-sexy process of making very-sexy booze. You see, I am what they call a “nerd.” Being a bartender hides that a bit, but the craft-cocktail scene is infested with us. Why else would we care about a cocktail from 1879 when vodka-and-soda pays the bills better? Because I am a nerd, I care— and wish others also cared—about how these amazing alcoholic products are made. Liquor companies throw around phrases like “single barrel” or “10 times distilled” or whatever the marketing term of the moment is, but how many actual consumers or bartenders really know how the sausage is made, so to speak?

I am reading Proof: The Science of Booze, by Adam Rogers, which covers everything about alcohol from yeast and sugar to hangovers.

Without giving away his tales of the unsung people who contributed to the history of distilled liquor (and you should definitely pick up a copy for your bar library …. wait, you don’t have a bar library?), I thought I would share some of the basics about what goes into making your favorite spirit.

Let’s start with sugar. Most people have heard the terms “malt whiskey” or “malt beverage,” but what does that actually mean?

Malting is a process by which grains, often barley, are turned from starch—a form of sugar that yeast can’t eat—into something that yeast can eat. I am going to skip most of the technical jargon here, but basically you trick the grain into “thinking” it should start breaking down its starchy body so it can grow.

Scotch-makers love to brag about their malting floors, where earnest men with shovels and boots turn grain in an old barn.

Sure, some (tiny) distilleries actually do that for their entire output. Chances are, however, the Scotch you last enjoyed wasn’t really made that way. Yes, it was malted—at a large industrial operation controlled by one of the major beverage giants. When an American distillery attempted to skip the malting stage using a process created by Japanese scientist Jokichi Takamine, the facility suffered a massive fire, as well as a more-than-suspicious comedy of errors putting it out. As a result, malted grain is here to stay; after all, tradition

reigns in the high-end spirits world.

Other spirits—rum, brandy, tequila/mezcal, etc.—that are not made from grain don’t have to worry about this step at all. Makers of cognac and tequila still emphasize the sources of their sugars—limited quantities of grapes and blue agave, respectively, both of which need to be grown in a small region as dictated by law. Some higher-end vodka-makers often market their source sugars, so only rummakers tend to stay away from glamorizing the humble grass that makes their product … at the moment, at least.

Sugar is just sugar until the magic happens—and that magic comes from yeast.

But where does the yeast come from? It’s often already just sitting in the environment, ready to go. If you leave wine grapes in a bucket long enough, they will become wine (of a sort).

According to various scientists interviewed in Proof, humans may have “domesticated” yeast, just as they domesticated the wine grapes.

Perhaps the yeast “used” us too, because as we spread the v. vinifera, we spread the yeasts along with them. The funny thing is the ancients had no real concept of yeast—just that grapes became wine in the way that clouds become rain, or something like that.

Brewers both old and modern use closely guarded strains of yeast that contribute to the specific flavors of their beer—but they always need to worry about getting the right flavors and not letting unwanted yeasts ruin the finished product. These days, strains of yeast are so specific that someone can actually go into a tasting room and try products that are identical, aside from the yeast used. I’ve done this myself at a bourbon distillery, and I can tell you the differences range from subtle to striking. When you buy a “single barrel” bourbon, you’re buying a particular batch with a particular yeast blend, and not hedging your bets on the distiller blending different batches together. It’s a matter of trust that the distiller is choosing the whiskey where the yeast, among other factors, is giving you a flavor profile that justifies the higher price.

What other factors make alcohol taste

differently from maker to maker? Many things, depending on the actual spirit. There is the “mash bill” for whiskey, the agave and elevation for mezcal, the barrels used for aged spirits, the actual method of distillation— and a maker is going to put whatever makes the product unique and marketable on the label. Since many get their sugars and yeasts from the same large facilities, the production methods are often what get marketed.

So … what do those pickles on my counter have to do with making all that sweet hooch? The bacteria and yeast in the air that are turning my chilis into beautiful hot sauce also affect the methods that lead to

the creation of spirits. While you may not taste the byproducts in the finished spirit in the way that you might in a wine or beer, the fermentation process is still one of the beautiful mysteries of nature. It’s controlled chaos, where we as humanity stumbled for millennia without scientific precision, using our taste buds are our guide. Apparent mistakes can become beloved styles of food or drink as a culture embraces their particular microbes. Maybe my pickles will be next … that is, if I can get anyone to try them.

Kevin Carlow is a bartender at Truss and Twine, and can be reached at CrypticCocktails@gmail.com.

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JUNE 2019

FOOD & DRINK

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CAESAR CERVISIA A

By brett newton

s I type this, I’m taking shelter from the wind that is offering another merciful reprieve from the inevitable heat to come. When the heat does arrive, you can bet I’ll be looking to get the hell (no pun intended) out of the Coachella Valley when I can. Thankfully, there are many escape options, all within a two-hour drive—many with treats for the craft-beer lover.

Julian is a little mountain town, founded by a former Confederate soldier; Julian later saw a gold rush started by the find of a former slave. It’s about 100 miles from the Coachella Valley, a good way to the northeast of the more-densely populated parts of San Diego County. The first I heard of the town was due to the opening of Julian Hard Cider, which is fitting, because—as the hop flavors and aromas seem a little more many area signs will inform you—the town is alive. Nickel didn’t disappoint: I tried at least known for its apple pies. There was also the lesser-known Julian Brewing Company that was four different beers all utilizing the wet hops, and every one was tasty and very quaffable. started by Vince Marsaglia (co-founder of Pizza When the latest newsletter promised Port Brewing) and Tom Nickel (owner of the beers using South African hops (a newer and legendary O’Brien’s Pub in San Diego). I visited brilliant hop-growing region whose hops 2013 and was very impressed by the handful of are locked down pretty tightly thanks to AB highly drinkable beers they had on tap. During InBev—truly the evil empire of the beer world) a tour of their three-barrel brewhouse, the and a collaboration with New Hampshire’s highlight was the view of the horse next to a Moonlight Meadery, I figured it was a good tree on the hill from the nearby window. To call time to take another drive up the mountain. it “rustic” would be to exaggerate.

That same year, Tom Nickel sold his stake in This was the Monday after the last weekend the company and opened Nickel Beer Company of the shitshow we’ve come to endure every year called Coachella, so I decided to head just a few minutes away. Julian Brewing the opposite way, past the Salton Sea and up Co. eventually closed (only to be reopened through Anza-Borrego Desert State Park. I in 2017), while Nickel continued to take inspiration from local ingredients and was able like to try to work for my beers if possible, so I hiked up to Cuyamaca Peak (a mere 20 to sell his wares at his own bar to boot. I was feet from being the highest peak in San Diego finally enticed to drive up to the brewery three County). It’s paved, but the views—even of the years ago with a newsletter’s promise of “wet once fire-ravaged landscape—are well worth hop” ales. “Wet hops” are hops harvested from the haul. After a bite to eat at the top (thank the bines (fun fact: hops grow on bines, not vines) in the fall and thrown into the kettle (or you, TKB Bakery and Deli, for making the beautiful sandwiches that you do!), it was time “dry-hopped” in the tanks … somehow, that is to head back into Julian and claim my prizes. not an oxymoron). Wet hops give off different As you pull up to the brewery, you see characteristics than their dried and pelletized just how small it is and how bucolic its counterparts—usually bright grassy flavors, surroundings are. The patio-seating area is but it can run the gamut. When you find a almost as large as the entire building in square good one, the difference is noticeable, and

feet. But as we craft-beer fans know, it’s not the size of the ship, but the motion in the brew kettle.

I began with a few tasters to get the lay of the land. There was just too much I wanted to try, and a two-hour drive home awaited me. I tried the aforementioned pale ale containing the very tropical South African hop goodness.

I can’t find this beer’s name (I failed to record it), but there is a wet hop version, and the hops for that were acquired from Star B Ranch in nearby Ramona.

Meanwhile, Dark Side of the Moonlight was decadent. This is the previously mentioned meadery collaboration; it’s an imperial honey porter using more than 100 pounds of local avocado honey which is dangerously drinkable for its 10.3 percent alcohol by volume. The grapefruit version of their Volcan IPA was filled with citrus character without being too big of a bitter bomb. But the winner of the Get in My Growler Prize was the Tahoma IPA. Tahoma hops were new to me (but then again, most hops are; there is a dizzying number of strains, with more coming out all the time); they impart a wonderful melon and bright

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A trip up the mountain to Julian offers both a respite from the heat and some fantastic craft beers

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citrus aroma and flavor. With the delicious malt base underneath, this got me ordering a full glass to accompany my view of the scenery.

A few beers I wanted to try, but couldn’t, are worth mentioning here. On the list is the Pickel Weisse. From their website: “Our Berliner Weisse is blended with our house made Spicy Garlic Dill Pickel Juice to create a very unique beer with a definitive pickle flavor and aroma. Great with Bloody Mary mix. Four percent alcohol.” I really want to try it and need to drop what I’m doing the next time it goes on tap. Sour Apple Pie Ale has me thirstily curious as well.

I feel like I could copy and paste the “Our Beers” section, and most of them would be on my wish list, but I think you get the point that I’m trying to make here: You should take your own trip up the mountain, and see for yourself.

Brett Newton is a certified cicerone (like a sommelier for beer) and homebrewer who has mostly lived in the Coachella Valley since 1988. He currently works at the Coachella Valley Brewing Co. taproom in Thousand Palms. He can be reached at caesarcervisia@gmail.com.

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JUNE 2019

FOOD & DRINK

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VINE SOCIAL

A lot of people say merlot has made a comeback … but has it?

JASON DAVID HAIR STUDIO

E

By KatieLOVE finn YOUR

HAIR

verywhere I look these days, wine publications, blogs and even the occasional Cosmopolitan article are all proudly announcing: “Merlot is back!”

But is it?

I often talk about merlot in my tasting seminars as oneClub of theand most underrated Country Cook Street varietals in production. Not only it is the primary grape in some of thePalm world’s wines like Demost-expensive sert Chateau Petrus, Chateau Cheval Blanc and Ornellaia; it has the ability to produce wines that are complex while still being approachable. savvy760-340-5959 public. The only take away was a primal Its exceptional juiciness and integrated “merlot bad, pinot good.” but not overpowering tannins are the very Some winemakers will say that the Sideways www.jasondavidhairstudio.net reasons it became so hyper-popular in the effect, as it’s now called, was a good thing for ’90s. It was just so damn delicious, velvety the industry—that it forced producers making and easy to drink. subpar merlot to abandon the varietal, because Fast forward to 2004 and a little indie movie it wasn’t selling, and that the merlot grapes that the producers probably thought no one planted in places they shouldn’t be, being was going to see. By now, we are all familiar vinified in ways that weren’t suitable, were with Sideways and how it directly affected the effectively pushed out of the marketplace. wine industry—skyrocketing the popularity But I argue that great merlot producers were of pinot noir, while totally and unabashedly pushed out, too. Wine lists everywhere went tanking merlot, even if that wasn’t the intent. from featuring dozens of merlot selections to a That now-famous line—“I’m not drinking mere handful, and retail wine shelves became any fucking merlot”—had absolutely nothing merlot-bare. Even now, at the wine shop where to do with merlot and everything to do with I work, we house less than 10 offerings. the fact that Miles, the train-wreck antihero And if pushing all the “bad merlot” out of the movie, had his heart ripped out by was a realistic or desirable outcome, what his ex-wife. Her favorite varietal was merlot, about all the god-awful cabernet sauvignon and he couldn’t bear to be reminded of her out there? Why hasn’t all the proselytizing in any context. He was so fragile and broken about ABC (anything but chardonnay) weaned that something as simple as a glass of merlot out all the cheap, ghastly, manufactured could push him over the edge. The last scene chardonnay? And at what point is someone in the movie shows Miles sitting in a roadside going to get on their wine box and openly diner, by himself, with his prized bottle of begin slamming the horrific things now done wine that he proceeds to drink out of a foam to pinot noir? The Sideways effect not only cup. A contented smile washes over his face. eliminated merlot; it also created pinot noir That wine is Chateau Cheval Blanc—a merlot. monsters. The beautiful, elegant, silky, highThe symbolism is that he is now finally over acid, food-friendly, bright red-fruit style that his wife. He can move on and enjoy merlot was quintessential to pinot noir began to without it breaking his heart. But nobody devolve into overly ripe, high-alcohol, supergot it. The joke was lost on the non-wineconcentrated fruit bombs. The evolution was

so predictable. After all, what were those bad merlot drinkers going to switch to now that they were convinced their wine of choice was passé? Voila! Here’s your glass of pinot noir that dangerously resembles the merlot you’re not supposed to drink anymore!

However … the Duckhorn Three Palms Merlot was the top selection in the Wine Spectator Top 100 in 2017. Countless articles are touting merlot’s comeback. I personally love the grape known as the iron fist in a velvet glove. So why am I so skeptical that it’s making a return? Because there simply isn’t a lot of good, inexpensive merlot anymore—or maybe these wines are just a lot harder to find. I can’t help but think maybe it’s been out of sight and out of mind for just too long. It doesn’t even cross the consumer’s mind anymore.

And the hip, millennial wine community that would totally embrace a wine that’s gone the way of the dodo bird will only get on board with something they think they’ve discovered or somehow revitalized—yet merlot is just

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not obscure enough to be trendy. So all this attention to bring merlot back is only going to turn off the cool kids who will drink it if they think it will make them a rebel in some way.

Don’t get me wrong: I want merlot to make an epic comeback. It makes me sad that consumers who like and appreciate wine would write off an entire varietal based on nothing more than a fleeting reference in pop culture.

And yes, the perceived quality of merlot has improved as a result of the downturn, mainly because there is less crappy merlot from which to choose.

So dear reader, here is your challenge: Go buy a bottle of merlot. Curl up on the couch, and have a glass. I’m willing to bet you’ll be pleasantly surprised, and a contented smile will wash across your face, too.

Katie Finn is a certified sommelier and certified specialist of wine with more than 15 years in the wine industry. She can be reached at katiefinnwine@gmail.com. award-winning

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COACHELLA VALLEY INDEPENDENT // 21

JUNE 2019

the

FOOD & DRINK INDY ENDORSEMENT This month: a sweet treat from France, and delicious morsels from Mexico

By Jimmy Boegle

WHAT The almond croissant WHERE The French Corner Café, 72423 Highway 111, Palm Desert HOW MUCH $5.50 CONTACT 760-568-5362; www. frenchcornercafe.com WHY It’s pure decadence.

In an area of Palm Desert that has seemingly become overrun by chains, the locally owned French Corner Café continues to stand out.

Since 2007, brothers Marc and Aimeric Davy have been serving delicious French fare for breakfast, lunch and dinner (they take weekday dinners off during the summer)— crepes, quiches, omelets, sandwiches, salads and some intriguing entrées (including rack of lamb on the weekends). But as wellknown as French Corner is for its savory food … it’s the baked goods that have put the restaurant on the figurative map. French Corner is a perennial finalist in the Best Desserts category of our Best of Coachella Valley readers’ poll, after all.

They offer pastries. Macarons. Petits fours.

And what’s described on the desserts menu as the “best croissants ever.” That may be somewhat hyperbolic … or perhaps it isn’t.

I was in a hurry on my recent visit— rushing from a meeting in Palm Desert to a meeting in Palm Springs—so I got a few items to go, including a piece of ham quiche and an almond croissant. Between the meetings, I scarfed down the delicious quiche, and intended to eat just half of the croissant. Well, somehow, I found the time to eat the whole thing: It was pure, flaky, buttery decadence.

It came cut in half, with almond paste spread on the inside, and it was truly one of the best croissants I’ve ever enjoyed.

As I’ve mentioned before in this space, I’ve been trying to cut back on carbs, and the French Corner Café is not helping with this effort. This almond croissant is one of the Coachella Valley’s most delicious sweets—and is definitely worth breaking one’s diet.

WHAT The al pastor taco WHERE Taqueria Tortilla Factory, 35270 Date Palm Drive, Cathedral City HOW MUCH $2.99 CONTACT 760-324-6505; taqueria-tortilla-factory.business.site WHY It outshined the main course.

Sometimes, the supporting player outshines the star.

Such was the case during a recent lunch I enjoyed at Taqueria Tortilla Factory, located in a busy little strip mall in Cathedral City. I was trying to get over that terrible cold that’s been going around, and I was craving soup— specifically, that fabled cold remedy known as menudo.

I understand that menudo isn’t for everyone—the main ingredient is tripe, aka cow’s stomach—but when it’s done right, I think it’s delicious.

I’d never had the menudo at Taqueria Tortilla Factory, and I’d heard good things, so I decided to give it a shot. I ordered it at the counter—and decided to add on an al pastor taco, because, well, tacos are delicious.

The verdict: The menudo was pretty darned good. It wasn’t the best I’ve ever had—while the tripe, hominy and other ingredients were perfect, the broth could have been more flavorful—but it was enjoyable, and it was a welcome salve for my sniffles. After downing most of the bowl, I turned my attention to the taco.

Wow. It was fantastic. The pork meat was delicious and just a little crispy—as good al pastor should be. Some might balk at the $2.99 price; while you can get cheaper tacos in town, those tacos likely won’t come with this amount of meat.

In addition to making its own fantastic tortillas (as the name makes obvious), Taqueria Tortilla Factory cooks up a wide variety of delicious food, from breakfasts to seafood plates to all the Mexican-restaurant standards one would expect. I am not sure what I’ll order on my next visit … but I am sure that I’ll add on an al pastor taco.

FIVE MORE SECRETS TO FINDING A GOOD AESTHETICS PROVIDER

By Shonda Chase, FNP Nurse Practitioner, Co-owner, Artistic Director and Advanced Aesethetic Injector at Revive Wellness Centers in Palm Springs and Torrance, and Medweight, Lasers and Wellness Center in Irvine

M

ay 2019’s column revealed three ways to research if an aesthe�c prac�ce might be great for you. This month, I’m sharing five more secrets to help you determine if a prac�ce can help you achieve your rejuvena�on goals.

Secret No. 1: Make an appointment for a consult. Let the scheduling person know what areas of improvement you’d like to talk about so they can give you enough �me with the medical provider. Ask them if they charge for consulta�ons. $50-$100 is a common range. Add an extra “star” for the prac�ce if they charge for consulta�ons. A consult charge o�en reflects their experience and how they value everyone’s �me and exper�se.

Secret No. 2: Look at the staff members when you arrive. Do they look natural or “overdone”? All good prac�ces see their staff members as representa�ves of the quality of their treatments and can begin informing you about what your results might be.

Secret No. 3: Pay a�en�on to the “personality” of the prac�ce. Is it calm versus tense and harried”? Is the provider confident and happy during your consult? Is your consult session conversa�onal? Does the provider ask if you’d like their opinion about how to help you accomplish your goals?

Secret No. 4: Remember that improvements take �me to achieve. Mul�ple and combina�on treatments usually accomplish significantly be�er results. Did the provider create a treatment plan for you and share how much improvement is realis�c for you?

Secret No. 5: Talk to the provider about the cost to accomplish what you both agree would make you happier with yourself. Finally, inquire about any packages the prac�ce offers to help you get the best results and value.

I hope these five secrets help you be�er assess if a new aesthe�c medical prac�ce and provider is going to be right for you to help you con�nue your journey of a�rac�veness.

You can email your individual ques�ons to Shonda Chase FNP or Allan Y. Wu MD, Revive’s cosme�c surgeon, at info@revivecenter.com.

CVIndependent.com

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Restaurant NEWS BITES

By Jimmy Boegle NOW OPEN (AT LEAST A LITTLE, WE THINK): THE ALIBI PALM SPRINGS You’ve probably heard this one before: Owners announce a new restaurant is going to open on a tentative date. That date comes … and goes. A new date is announced; it passes, too. Cycle repeats a time or three.

Such has been the case with The Alibi Palm Springs, opening under new ownership and after significant renovations at the former Azul/Alibi/Georgie’s etc. space at 369 N. Palm Canyon Drive.

The new owners opened the space for the Lesbo Expo Launch Party—bringing in outside food— during Palm Springs Pride last November. In December, The Alibi Facebook page (www.facebook.com/ TheAlibiPalmSprings) announced a soft opening would take place on Jan. 25. We don’t know whether that actually happened; we do know signs went up a little later on The Alibi’s front doors, announcing an April opening. Which, of course, didn’t happen.

In recent weeks, The Alibi’s Instagram page (www.instagram.com/thealibipalmsprings) has sprung to life with encouraging photos of things like functional misters and a new jukebox. However, three pics got me really excited: One shows newly renovated glider seats on the patio—and those unique glider seats helped put the old Azul/etc. on the map (before mismanagement pushed it off); another shows meat being grilled; and a third shows a patio view—with an announcement that the patio would be open over Memorial Day weekend. Yes! This column went to press before that, so we can’t say for sure that occurred—but we’re thrilled this fantastic space is finally coming back to life. Watch this space and the aforementioned social media links for more information.

FIRE LEADS TO TEMPORARY CLOSURE OF ALL ASPEN MILLS BAKERY LOCATIONS A fire on May 17 at Aspen Mills Bakery, 555 S. Sunrise Way, in Palm Springs, has led to the closure of all four of the much-loved bakery’s valley locations.

“Our oven serves all our locations in the desert, so every one of our stores will be affected by this setback,” said a message on the Aspen Mills Facebook page. “We hope to be doing what we do best at Aspen Mills as quickly as we can.”

We sent an email to owner Marty Webster asking when Aspen Mills may reopen, but we did not get a response as of our deadline.

Here’s hoping the closure is very short. Watch www.facebook.com/AspenMillsBakery for more information.

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WORTH CHECKING OUT: HOLEY SCOOPS ICE CREAM, IN PALM DESERT If you’re inclined to support a small business started up by young, enthusiastic entrepreneurs, and you happen to like good ice cream, I recommend trying out Holey Scoops Ice Cream, located at 74600 Highway 111, in Palm Desert.

Siblings Becca and Aaron Brukman opened the shop around six months ago. After growing up in Long Beach and attending the University of Arizona, they moved to the Coachella Valley and decided to open Holey Scoops, using Aaron’s business acumen, and Becca’s experience with people, marketing and customer service.

“We’re a brother and sister. We’re young. We’re trying this whole small-business thing out,” Becca told me.

Holey Scoops offers 16 ice cream flavors (including a no-sugar-added flavor), plus dairy-free bars, chocolate-covered bananas and other treats like cookie pies. If you stop in, chances are Becca and Aaron will be the people helping you: So far, they’re their only employees.

For more information, visit www.facebook.com/holeyscoops.

IN BRIEF Sad news: Three Sixty North, at 360 N. Palm Canyon Drive, in Palm Springs, was slated to close on Sunday, May 26. After word started spreading on Facebook that owner Tony Gallardo had decided not to renew the lease, we reached out to the restaurant via Facebook—and confirmed the news. Gallardo and some staff will remain available for catering, however; call 760-797-5733 for details. … Now open: El Patron Crafted Tacos and Drinks, located in the old Starbucks space at 101 S. Palm Canyon Drive, in Palm Springs. The renovated spot looks gorgeous, and the menu—featuring tacos, burritos, ceviche and all sorts of tequilafueled cocktails—looks delicious. Get details at www.facebook.com/elpatronpalmsprings and www. elpatronps.com. … Congratulations to Vicky’s of Santa Fe, at 45100 Club Drive, in Indian Wells, on its 30th anniversary! Get more info, including the restaurant’s amazing $29 Greater Palm Springs Restaurant Week menu, at www.vickysofsantafe.com. … PS Underground, which has presented an amazing array of themed culinary experiences at venues across the valley over the last six years, now has a permanent home in Palm Springs: 1700 S. Camino Real, Suite 2; that’s the old Appetito space next to Koffi. Awesome! Details at www. psunderground.com. … Now open again: Los Arcos Mexican Restaurant, at 68718 E. Palm Canyon Drive, in Cathedral City. It had been in the side space of the old IMAX theater in Cathedral City. However, CVRep needed that space after taking over the building, and Los Arcos closed down for a bit before reopening on the other side of the “downtown Cathedral City” complex, near The Roost Lounge. Welcome back! Get details at www.facebook.com/LosArcosMex.

COACHELLA VALLEY INDEPENDENT // 23

JUNE 2019

24 25 27 28

The evangenitals return to Pappy and harriet’s Reborn by the Sunshine shares its Americana sound on A new EP SUBATOMIC: A Shameless Plug for a New Monthly Pool Party at Arrive THE LUCKY 13: Meet a busy performer and a frontman

26

JUNE 2019

By Brian Blueskye

www.cvindependent.com/music

Thoughts Contained’s new hip-hop record keeps things positive

The Blueskye REPORT

BEATS WITH A MESSAGE

Warren G

June means the start of summer—and a relatively quiet month as far as big events go. However, never fear, because there’s still plenty of entertainment to enjoy.

The Fantasy Springs Resort Casino’s Special Events Center is fairly calm in June, but the Rock Yard is in full swing on Saturday nights.

Here’s the list of performers, with each show starting at 7:30 p.m. June 1: Journey tribute band Escape. June 8: Sammy Hagar tribute band Three Lock Box. June 15: Eric Clapton tribute band Clapton Road. June 22: Ozzy Osbourne tribute band Mr. Crowley.

Saturday, June 29: The Who tribute band The Who Experience. All Rock Yard shows are free!

Fantasy Springs Resort Casino, 84245 Indio Springs Parkway, Indio; 760-342-5000; www. fantasyspringsresort.com.

Agua Caliente Resort Casino Spa Rancho Mirage has a fine June slate. At 8 p.m., Friday, June 7, Mexican singer-songwriter Christian Nodal will be performing. When he released his first album Me Dejé Llevar in 2017, he took the music charts by storm, with the album reaching No. 2 on the Billboard Latin Albums chart. The 20-year-old recently released a new album, Ahora, and his star is continuing to rise. Tickets are $65 to $125. At 7 p.m., Saturday, June 15, Art Laboe’s Love Jam VIII will be happening.

The lineup includes Baby Bash, MC Magic, Tierra, Frankie J, and LSOB. Come celebrate the popular radio show where you can call in your shout-out to your homeboy or homegirl in lockdown. Tickets are $45 to $65. Agua Caliente Casino Resort Spa Rancho Mirage, 32250 Bob Hope Drive, Rancho Mirage; 888-999-1995; www. hotwatercasino.com.

Spotlight 29 Casino has a June event you won’t want to miss. At 8 p.m., Saturday, June 29, the Summer Rap Jam will take place. The lineup includes Warren G, Ying Yang Twins and Petey Pablo. I remember when Warren G released “Regulate” back in the mid ’90s, and everyone was playing it in their cars, on continued on Page 27 CVIndependent.com

24 \\ COACHELLA VALLEY INDEPENDENT

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THE EVANGENITALS ARE EVERYTHING

The good-time band takes a break from its 100-song demo to return to Pappy and Harriet’s

By Brian Blueskye

W

hen Juli Crockett of the Evangenitals called, I asked her how she felt about the band returning, yet again, to Pappy and Harriet’s Pioneertown Palace.

“We can only go so long without returning to the source!” she replied.

The Evangenitals band has become a Pappy and Harriet’s regular due to its popularity among the crowd, and will be returning on Saturday, June 29.

Crockett explained the mutual love between new Evangenitals recordings.

Pappy’s and the Evangenitals, a self-described “After you do an album on Moby Dick, the “folked-up genre-bending good time band.” question is, ‘OK, now what?’ You’ve taken on “We try to keep it on a schedule of at least a literary epic,” Crockett explained. “One of once every three months, or at least once a the jokes that we have is (our) repertoire is so season,” Crockett said. “Every time we play, we gigantic. We have so many songs, and we’re so kind of start the process of, ‘When is the next behind schedule in releasing them. We’ve been time we can come back?’ Robyn (Celia, Pappy’s trying to catch up. The working title that we’ve co-owner) loves us, and we love Pappy’s. been talking about forever for the next album “It’s funny, because people in Los Angeles is The 100-Song Demo. Everybody asks us, ask us where we play locally, and we always say, ‘What kind of music do you play?’ And we’re ‘Um, Pappy and Harriet’s?’ We’d always rather like, ‘Hmm, I dunno.’ We can always say, ‘Well, take the trek to the desert and play there than you can listen to our demo; it’s 100 songs!’ We play in Los Angeles.” figured that should fulfill the requirements In 2014, the Evangenitals released Moby for an epic follow-up and give people a real Dick; or, The Album. Since then, there have no overview of the things we do.”

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The Evangenitals. Greg Cohen

How, exactly, would a 100-song demo work?

“How do you release such a thing? Are we really going to release an eight-volume album?” Crockett said. “I recently gave a CD to a millennial artist who I met on the Melissa Etheridge Cruise, but she’s like, ‘I don’t own a CD player! Who owns a CD player anymore?’

So … our idea is to release the 100-song demo as a podcast, so every episode is another song, but then after 20-odd episodes, we’ll release these in albums, and call (the first one) Season 1. I also want to do the 100-song livestream where we actually play them all over a span of 24 hours. We’ll move from being a band into performance artists.”

Wait, the Melissa Etheridge Cruise?

“It was amazing. It’s ruined cruises for us forever. It was incredible,” Crockett said.

“Her cruise is its own floating country. It was such an incredible experience. For one, just the demographic: The cruise was 93 percent women, so it was just the energetic difference of not being in a patriarchal society, (but instead a society) dominated by women. It was like being in the Amazonian culture for a week.

“It was such a bad-ass, loving, supportive, talented group of people, from the artists to the fans. My husband, Michael (Feldman), who plays keyboards in the band, said it was such a weird experience, because of the 7 percent of men on the cruise, 1 percent of them were in the Evangenitals. He said it was an interesting experience to see every conversation and every important decision made between women.

Women were the deciders of everything. I got to kick off the ’80s-night show in a metallic thong singing Prince’s ‘Let’s Go Crazy.’ I’m still having a hard time coming back from that experience.”

One of the obvious influences of the

Evangenitals is Ween.

“We’ve been playing ‘Alone’ from The Pod album a lot lately. That’s one of our favorite things to play right now, period,” Crockett said.

“Sometimes we do ‘Cold Blows the Wind’ from The Mollusk album. It’s a Chinese poem that they sing that goes into our sea-shanty aquatic theme.

We’re actually going to license ‘Alone,’ because we’ve been working on a recording of that.”

I asked Crockett what the best part of an Evangenitals show is.

“I have no idea what it’s like to see our band, because I’m in it, so I’m always asking, ‘What is this like for a human being to come to Pappy and Harriet’s and be like, What the fuck is happening?’ The feedback that I get that I love the most is that it’s so different than what anyone’s expectation might be. If you think it’s going to be a punk band, it’s like, ‘Yeah, but there’s this other stuff.’ If you think it’s going to be a country band, it’s the same thing.

People tell me how life-affirming it is, because it’s so open, so dynamic, and so full of love and humor—which I feel is what the world needs right now. That’s why we keep it so open in terms of genre and everything else.

“There’s a Kierkegaard quote that says (paraphrased), ‘Either God is everything, or God is nothing.’ Part of the Evangenitals is, ‘God is everything, including the fucking shit on the ground, anal sex and anything else you can think of.’ You don’t have to exclude parts of yourself to be alive or have an experience.”

The Evangenitals will perform with The Shadow Mountain Band at 8 p.m., Saturday, June 29, at Pappy and Harriet’s Pioneertown Palace, 53688 Pioneertown Road, in Pioneertown. Admission is free. For more information, call 760-365-5956, or visit www.pappyandharriets.com.

COACHELLA VALLEY INDEPENDENT // 25

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eborn by the Sunshine has flown somewhat under the radar for the last two years—but that’s now changing, thanks to the group’s new EP, These Old Feelin’s.

The five-member band has a rustic Americana sound with some roots rock ’n’ roll thrown in. During a recent interview at Luscious Lorraine’s in Palm Desert with frontman James Dorris and bassist Brett McLaughlin, they explained how they began as a band.

“We started with songs that I wrote myself that were just me and a guitar,” Dorris said. “Once Brett started playing with me, things just started to change, and we started making different songs. Over the past two years, we’ve been a band and have been writing together, and our music has developed differently. I don’t feel there and Joshua Tree, but there is a great feeling was ever a script, or, ‘This is exactly what we when you walk into the room. We tracked most want!’ … We have a broad spectrum of music of the EP live and did overdubs for vocals. to pull from, and that’s why it falls into that Most of it was live runs.”

Americana/roots-rock genre.”

Both Dorris and McLaughlin said that Said McLaughlin: “We definitely wanted a recording live, all in a room together, made throwback vibe—stuff that we used to listen to them a better band. when we were kids, something that would jog “You really have to connect in a room like memories. We wanted our songs to have their that, because you’ll be staring at each other own vibe.” trying to figure out these songs and tracking Dorris and McLaughlin said it can be them,” Dorris said. “I’d absolutely do it again. challenging to write songs that represent the There’s something to that. Anyone can track a band’s identity. guitar, drums, bass and vocals individually and “Finding your own sound is the hardest do it in a day. It’ll sound decent, but there’s thing in the world,” Dorris said. “It’s something this real warmth from having bleed from the we’re still doing. We’re writing songs, and we’re drums, the guitars, and vice versa. That’s how more comfortable writing with each other. Our it all used to be, and that’s why there’s all that music is still taking all these different turns.” warmth in those old records.”

Added McLaughlin: “What helps is pulling Added McLaughlin: “(After) the rigor and things from different band members. “That way, that constant playing the songs together over we can come up with our own genre, just with and over like that—we grew as a band. If different riffs. Even Scott (McLaughlin), our you ever want to grow as a band, record live, drummer, comes up with riffs to incorporate because you have to be a good band to do that.” into a jam (with guitarist Brian Gelesko), and we Both Dorris and McLaughlin are currently can see if there’s a song later on.” dealing with family additions. James Dorris’ These Old Feelin’s was recorded at Hi-Dez wife, Chelsea, the band’s banjo player, Recording in Joshua Tree. is currently expecting their third child.

“Our engineer was Nathan Sabatino,” Dorris McLaughlin arrived at the interview stating said. “It’s a really cool spot up in Joshua Tree that he only had two hours of sleep after in the middle of nowhere. You have to drive caring for his newborn baby while his wife was for a couple of miles on an actual dirt road recovering. and scratch up your car. But you get there, “You need to have something (creative), and it has this beautiful energy to it. I feel like especially when you have children,” Dorris everyone always says that about the studios said. “I always tell everyone, ‘(Having children) is the most beautiful and amazing thing that can happen to you, and it’s also the hardest thing that can happen to you.’ It makes you a different person. So if you have that release like music to get that creativity out, it’s a good thing.”

Dorris then added with a laugh: “Or, you can start drinking, I guess.”

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MUSIC

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BEATS WITH A MESSAGE Thoughts Contained’s new hiphop record keeps things positive

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fter I saw Thoughts Contained perform at The Date Shed back in January, I left in awe of both the duo’s beats and message.

During an interview in Palm Springs, Savier1 (Sal Gomez) and Zeke Martinez talked about their recently released EP, and the group’s evolving hip hop sound.

“We started around 2009,” Gomez said. “We were a full band. We had a bass player, a drummer and two guitarists. It was too hard to keep it going.”

Added Martinez: “It was really hard to keep it together and work out schedules with everyone.”

Thoughts Contained’s self-titled album has a lot of positive and uplifting messages. One song that grabbed me in particular is called “Life people not always seeing eye to eye,” Gomez Savings.” It talks about saving money and said. “With Zeke and Thoughts Contained, appreciating life instead of material objects. we’ve learned from that and have come to the It includes the lyrics: “It’s not how much you conclusion to move forward and keep going make; it’s how much you keep.” without wasting time.”

“We like to talk about stuff that most Added Martinez: “It has happened before rappers don’t talk about,” Gomez said. “It’s where he’s wanted to do something and say it all about different ideas and things people this way, where I want to say it another way— don’t talk about. We try to keep it uplifting but it’s never a clash.” and positive. Our new stuff sounds a little Most local hip hop has come out of the east different. We’re trying to incorporate more of a side of the Coachella Valley, but Martinez and modern sound, beat-wise. A lot of stuff sounds Gomez said that may be starting to change. like it’s from the ’90s. Pretty soon, we’re going “Now there’s more hip-hop stuff coming to start mixing it up.” (out of the west side) of the valley, too,” Many of the songs on the EP include a guest Gomez said. “It’s always good to hear new DJ. Gomez explained that these collaborations, stuff, and it’s dope to see the culture of hip while rewarding, can be difficult. hop spreading. It was always small, but now “It’s already hard enough to get your own it’s growing in the community. It feels like the music going. The DJ is a whole different spotlight isn’t on (the west) side of the valley, element and another artist,” Gomez said. “You but everyone is working, and it’s changing. I have to plan ahead of time with their schedules feel like everything has its time.” and be a little more patient. For some songs, At Coachella, local band Ocho Ojos packed you’ll have to wait it out.” the Sonora tent both Sundays—and Gomez Both Gomez and Martinez said their joined local rappers Verzo Loko and J. Patron experience in larger bands has helped them onstage with Ocho Ojos. with Thoughts Contained.

“It was really exciting, and it felt like a big “I was in a couple of bands before this, with achievement,” Gomez said. “I went to Coachella 12 or 13 years in a row, and I was always watching bands and hip-hop artists. … To me, it felt like one of my life goals to scratch off the list. I’m really grateful for that opportunity.”

The members of Thoughts Contained promised more new material in the near future.

“Right now, we’re writing new music. We’re trying to modernize it, like I said earlier with the beats,” Gomez said. “We’re not going to completely change our sound, but try new things. There will probably be a new album, too, within a year or so. We’re trying to work on merch as well. We have ideas and drawings, given I’m an artist, too.”

Thoughts Contained. BRIAN BLUESKYE

CVIndependent.com

By Brian Blueskye

For more information, visit www.facebook.com/ thoughtscontained.

COACHELLA VALLEY INDEPENDENT // 27

JUNE 2019

Subatomic

The Blueskye REPORT

A SHAMELESS PLUG FOR DISCO RELIEF, MY FANTASTIC NEW MONTHLY POOL PARTY AT ARRIVE

By Alex harrington ALEX MARTINEZ

Summer is upon us, and one of the best ways to escape the heat is to enjoy a local pool.

However, we aren’t talking about the local YMCA or the community pool at your parents’ condo or friend’s apartment complex (not that there’s anything wrong with those). No, we’re talking about pool parties—so let’s take a dive into one that I’m bringing to the desert each month this summer.

Being a DJ here in the Coachella Valley for almost a decade, I’ve been fortunate enough to play at most clubs in the valley.

Palm Springs in particular has venues where people enjoy hearing disco and house music.

By playing at places like Toucan’s and Chill, I was able to reach an audience that wanted to hear new music. Yes, everyone loves the classics—but there is so much great music out there that people haven’t heard yet, which is a shame.

Now that I am older and wiser (OK, I am definitely older; the verdict is still out on the wiser part), I have taken the experience from my years of working in the valley and created a new Palm Springs poolside event. Disco Relief is a “Tropical Disco House Pool Party” that takes place once a month at ARRIVE in downtown Palm Springs. It’s a concept I’ve been working on for a few years, and I felt this year was the right time to bring it out. I’m especially excited about the fact that this is a regular event; we don’t seem to have a lot of music events that occur regularly, especially events that feel fresh and exciting.

The music at Disco Relief is both new and old, known and unknown—so you can both enjoy the classics and hear great new music!

Sets are created on the spot, which means each event is different. The guest DJs and I always strive to “feel the crowd” and create an experience that is reflective of the audience that day. Disco Relief an event that should appeal to a wide age range—and I am excited to say our first event had a diverse crowd, jamming out together and relaxing poolside.

You can expect to hear Whitney, Madonna, Crystal Waters, Prince, Daft Punk, Disclosure and so many others. A common theme is playing remixes of famous songs by classic artists—reinventing music in a way that is inclusive and doesn’t exclude anyone.

Then there’s the venue: ARRIVE is a beautiful resort that offers the perfect backdrop. Between the midcentury-style architecture, the palm-tree-lined mountain views and the amazing pool, the music won’t be the only thing you enjoy.

The event is co-produced by ARRIVE and my independent record label, House Your Disco.

Our May party was a hit (and we had a blast putting it on during Coachella, too), and our guest DJs are having a blast. Most of these artists create their own work—and we include our own music in our sets. Based out of Palm Springs, House Your Disco is always looking for artists both locally and worldwide.

The next Disco Relief will take place from noon to 5 p.m., Sunday, June 16, at ARRIVE Palm Springs, 1551 N. Palm Canyon Drive.

Admission to the 21-and-older event is $10; floaties and friendly dogs are welcome. Disco Relief will take place monthly on third or fourth Sundays during the summer; get a full calendar at alexharrington.co. See you there!

continued from Page 23

their boom boxes and on their home stereos.

Tickets are $30 to $45. Spotlight 29 Casino, 46200 Harrison Place, Coachella; 760-775-5566; www.spotlight29.com.

Morongo Casino Resort and Spa is hosting a couple of great shows. At 9 p.m., Friday, June 14, comedians Jeff Ross and Dave Attell will be performing. Jeff Ross is known as the “Roastmaster General” for his celebrity roasts that have been shown on Comedy Central.

He’s roasted some of the best … and some of the worst, including our current president.

Dave Attell was the host of Insomniac With Dave Attell, which ran for four seasons on Comedy Central in the early 2000s. Tickets are $49 to $89. At 9 p.m., Friday, June 28, and Saturday, June 29, the all-male revue show Australia’s Thunder From Down Under returns. Considering how often this show comes back and sells out, it’s one of the hottest tickets around. I picture a mob of ladies screaming their heads off for two hours.

Tickets are $25. Morongo Casino Resort Spa, 49500 Seminole Drive, Cabazon; 800-252-4499; www.morongocasinoresort.com.

Pappy and Harriet’s Pioneertown Palace has a wild June schedule. A few highlights: At 9 p.m., Saturday, June 1, one of my favorite psychedelic-rock bands coming out of Los Angeles, Mystic Braves, will be performing.

Organist Ignacio Gonzalez is also one of the owners of Lolipop Records, a popular independent label that has released records around the world. Tickets are $15 to $20. At 8 p.m., Sunday, June 9, country/folk artist Patty Griffin will be performing. She recently released her 10th album and will be at Pappy’s right after a European tour. Tickets are $30. At 8 p.m., Friday, June 28, local musician Gene Evaro Jr. will be performing in celebration of his 30th birthday. After Evaro’s tours with national acts, performances at various music festivals, and music appearances on television shows, one needs to ask: When someone is going to finally sign this guy and make him a bigger name than he already is? Tickets are $20. Pappy and Harriet’s Pioneertown Palace, 53688 Pioneertown Road, Pioneertown; 760365-5956; www.pappyandharriets.com.

The Hood Bar and Pizza has a big event in June. At 9 p.m., Saturday, June 22, fresh off a tour with Tool, All Souls will be performing,

Taylor Williamson

All Souls

along with local bands Herbert and Fever Dog. All Souls includes Tony Tornay (Fatso Jetson), Erik Trammell (Black Elk, Brothers Collateral) and Totimoshi members Tony Aguilar and Meg Castellanos. Admission is $5. The Hood Bar and Pizza, 74360 Highway 111, Palm Desert; 760-636-5220; www.facebook.com/ hoodbarandpizza.

The Ace Hotel and Swim Club in Palm Springs has an event booked that fans of the Desert Daze festival should attend: At 9 p.m., Thursday, June 6, the fest presents a performance by the band Traps PS. Admission is free! Ace Hotel and Swim Club, 701 E. Palm Canyon Drive, Palm Springs; 760-325-9900; www.acehotel.com/palmsprings.

The Purple Room will soon enter its twomonth summer slumber, but not before a fantastic June. At 6 p.m., Saturday, June 1, singer Jonathan Karrant will be performing.

A popular recurring performer at the Purple Room, he’s best known for his excellent performances of Great American Songbook and vocal jazz music. Tickets are $30 to $35.

At 6 p.m., Saturday, June 8, Scot Bruce will take the stage. He’s one of the best performers of Elvis Presley’s music that you will find. He’s so good at it that he’s been in music videos with Faith Hill and Sheryl Crow.

Tickets are $30 to $35. At 6 p.m., Saturday, June 15, Las Vegas will be coming to Palm Springs with Lady Luck. The trio features powerful voices from Broadway, Hollywood, London’s West End and the Vegas strip—and the group will be doing a Las Vegas legendsthemed show. Tickets are $30 to $35. Michael Holmes’ Purple Room, 1900 E. Palm Canyon Drive, Palm Springs; 760-322-4422; www. purpleroompalmsprings.com.

Toucan’s Tiki Lounge rolls into June with a couple of fun events. At 7:30 p.m., Saturday, June 1, drag star Sutton Lee Seymour will be performing. Seymour is known as the “Robin Williams of drag” and has entertained in soldout venues around the world. Tickets are $25.

At 7:30 p.m., Saturday, June 8, America’s Got Talent’s Season 8 runner-up Taylor Williamson will be performing. He’s quite funny. Tickets are $25. Toucans Tiki Lounge and Cabaret, 2100 N. Palm Canyon Drive, Palm Springs; 760-416-7584; reactionshows.com.

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MUSIC

JUNE 2019

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LUCKY 13

Meet a busy drummer/bass-player, and the frontman of a re-emerging band story and photos By Brian Blueskye What musical act, current or defunct would you most like to see perform live?

James Brown. I’m kicking myself for not seeing the Godfather of Soul before he passed.

What’s your favorite musical guilty pleasure?

Oh fuck, I knew this was coming … I LOVE PSY! There, I said it. I just think that dude is hilarious. He’s got Korean hooks for days, and I can’t get those damn songs out of my head!

NAME Armando Flores GROUP 5th Town, Blasting Echo MORE INFO Armando Flores is a busy man these days. He’s the bass-player for 5th Town, which has been recording its first album, and he’s the drummer for Blasting Echo, which has also been recording. Get more info at www. facebook.com/5thtown and www.facebook. com/blastingecho.

What was the first concert you attended?

If I recall correctly, the first concert I went to on my own was Young MC at the Palm Springs High School gymnasium in 1989. My friend Nathan Schields and I stood in awe of his wholesome, bubble-gummy rap goodness!

What was the first album you owned?

I recall having vinyl singles as a kid, things like Queen and Creedence Clearwater Revival, but those were more parent-influenced. I think the first album I personally bought was RunDMC’s Raising Hell.

What bands are you listening to right now?

For major artists, I always fall to my old standards: Steely Dan, Primus, NOFX, Tool, Helmet, old Red Hot Chili Peppers, Dave Brubeck, and PJ Harvey. But my 14-yearold stepdaughter is a bit of an influence and trying to keep me hip, so Rex Orange County, Childish Gambino, anything where Dr. Dre is involved, and Charlie Puth all get sprinkled in there as well.

What artist, genre or musical trend does everyone love, but you don’t get?

Country and the blues. I can appreciate some of it, but for the most part, I could probably live without it in my life.

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What’s your favorite music venue?

To visit? The Wiltern or House of Blues Hollywood. To perform? The one that actually has a decent sound system and a competent audio engineer.

so far out of left field in early 1990, I couldn’t help but be intrigued.

What song should everyone listen to right now?

The new 5th Town album! But it’s not out yet, so try “Too Many Dicks on the Dance Floor” by Flight of the Conchords.

NAME Joey Zendejas GROUP Robotic Humans MORE INFO Robotic Humans laid low for a period of time, but the band re-emerged in March, opening for The Sweat Act at The Hood Bar and Pizza. The members have been sharing videos of themselves doing some recording— which means there’s hopefully new material on the way. For more information, visit www. facebook.com/robotichumansofficial.

What was the first concert you attended?

The first concert I attended was in 2000 at the Staples Center. I was 10 years old and saw U2.

Damian Marley opened up for them.

What was the first album you owned?

Linkin Park, Hybrid Theory.

What bands are you listening to right now?

Rammstein, Gojira, Berner, Animals as Leaders, Intervals, and Viza.

What’s the one song lyric you can’t get out of your head?

“I see ya girls checkin’ out my trunks, I see ya girls checkin’ out the front of my trunks, I see ya girls looking at my junk, then checking out my rump, then back to my sugalumps. When I shake it, I shake it all up. You’d probably think that my pants have the mumps, it’s just my sugalump bump-ba-bumps. They look so good, that’s why I keep ’em in the front,” “Sugalumps,” Flight of the Conchords.

What artist, genre or musical trend does everyone love, but you don’t get?

Today’s rap scene. Lil Yachty, 6ix9ine and any rapper doing that same stuff just makes me want to vomit. I grew up listening to gangsta rap and actually grew up in the streets with gangsters in Coachella.

What band or artist changed your life?

Primus and Les Claypool. They showed me that you don’t have to be confined to what someone says you can or cannot do with your instrument, and by doing so, they set me on my musical path.

What’s your favorite musical guilty pleasure?

I’ve been a huge Berner fan for some time now.

This dude keeps it real and humble—no bullshit.

You have one question to ask one musician. What’s the question, and who are you asking?

If Snoop Dogg were nearby, I’d ask, “Hey Snoop, what’s up?” and he’d have some weed, and we’d chat.

What song would you like played at your funeral?

Probably something inappropriately funny, like “Baby Got Back” by Sir Mix-a-Lot. I want my wife to remember how much I love her butt.

Figurative gun to your head, what is your favorite album of all time?

I have to go with Primus’ Frizzle Fry. It was

What musical act, current or defunct, would you most like to see perform live?

I really want to see Animals as Leaders live.

What’s your favorite music venue?

I don’t have one yet.

What’s the one song lyric you can’t get out of your head?

Rammstein’s new song “Radio”: “Radio, mein radio, ich lass’ mich in den äther saugen meine ohren werden augen.”

What band or artist changed your life?

I once had this neighbor named Manuel who played in a band called Kimica X. He introduced me to bands like Dream Theater, Megadeth, Sepultura and local legends, the Ramos brothers, George and Brian. I was like 11 or 12. These local players were on a level I never thought was possible at the time. Manuel’s band would always be practicing across the street in his garage. I’d sit outside my house and watch and listen to them play Ozzy covers and other stuff. “Bark at the Moon” is one they always played! Having to opportunity to be around these musicians had a major impact on my life and playing style.

You have one question to ask one musician. What’s the question, and who are you asking?

Asking Berner: “Can you hook me up with some of your clones?”

What song would you like played at your funeral?

“Happy” by Pharrell Williams and “Shooting Stars” by Bag Raiders. After that, people can play the songs that remind them of me, I guess.

Figurative gun to your head, what is your favorite album of all time?

I can happily listen to Gojira’s Magma album all day. It’s so fucking good.

What song should everyone listen to right now?

“Faded” by Berner and B-Real, featuring Snoop Dogg and Vital.

COACHELLA VALLEY INDEPENDENT // 29

JUNE 2019

CANNABIS IN THE CV

A BUDDING INDUSTRY Just because you find CBD oil in a large chain store, that doesn’t mean it’s any good

BY ROBIN GOINS

L

ast month in this space, I illustrated how things are not always as they seem regarding the different types of CBDs on the market.

This month, I want to expand on that same topic—because understanding CBD on a deeper level is important. It can save you time and money, and you can make sure you’re getting the product you need.

As I noted last month: CBD isolate may be pure CBD, but that does not mean it will work for you. When you isolate CBDs, plant elements such as terpenes, fatty acids, oils and lipids are removed—and those things help CBDs work in the body.

The same thing goes for distillate CBDs: These products are often distilled three different times, and each time, critical synergistic ingredients are taken out.

The same thing does not go for CBDs made using whole plant technology. The CBD is extracted using alcohol or ethanol, and the process is done only once, leaving in those needed terpenes, fatty acids, etc. The resulting oil may not be as pretty—it’s usually darker— but your body is not looking for prettiness; it’s more concerned about the synergistic effectiveness.

A new trend in CBD involves using technology to isolate CBD, and then putting whole-plant oil back in. This backward process is unnecessary and a waste of time, because whole plant technology works just fine—and the multiple steps mean there’s more of a possibility of introducing toxins into the mix.

Many CBD manufacturers use less-thanideal cultivars (strains). Using the right cultivar is key to producing a product that tastes good, smells good and has all the effective properties the body needs. Another problem involves the use of THC-dominant cultivars over hemp. Yes, THC-dominant cannabis has CBD in it, but the THC is dominant and can counteract the CBD. Yeah, you can remove the THC, usually by using heat or burning—during which the CBD molecules can be compromised. On the other

hand, CBDs derived from the proper hemp plants (usually female) don’t need this type of processing.

To sum this all up … CBDs produced from female hemp plants using whole-plant technology are the best way to go, in all likelihood.

When researching a CBD product, remember to look on the manufacturer’s website and/ or ask for certifications for organic growth, production and extraction. If the manufacturer can provide you with those three things, it should also have no problem providing a Certificate of Analysis (COA). The COA will tell you the percentage of the CBDs, heavy metals, pesticides, products used in the growing process, THC levels, molds, mildews, chemicals and preservatives. Any reputable company will be proud to provide the certifications, because they are proud of their products. If you find a certificate that mentions isolates or another process, beware; the manufacturer may not be properly informed. Those who are using research produced out of Israel and Colorado are best informed. Ask the questions, and make sure you are getting the right answers.

One great way to find out about CBDs, treatments and current research is to visit www.projectcbd.org. Consumers can find a beginner’s guide and research specific conditions; the site will explain in detail the current research on those conditions and the current treatments using CBD. This is a budding industry (pun intended), and there are many snake-oil salesmen out there peddling their wares, with some of these products winding up in large chains and retail establishments. Taking a moment to ask the right questions will ensure you do not get duped and that you get the best results from the CBD product you purchase.

Robin Goins is a business consultant for DR.G Consulting and works extensively in the cannabis industry in the Coachella Valley. For more information, visit www.drrobingoins.com.

CVINDEPENDENT.COM/NEWS

Cannabis NEWS BRIEFS HOUSE OF LUCIDITY OPENS IN CATHEDRAL CITY The House of Lucidity, Cathedral City’s newest dispensary, officially opened with a ribbon-cutting— complements of the Greater Coachella Valley Chamber of Commerce—on May 1.

The 10,000 square foot facility is located at 36399 Cathedral Canyon Drive. In addition to the gorgeous dispensary—which features black-and-white photos of celebrities including Frank Sinatra—House of Lucidity also has a cultivation facility and an extraction lab.

House of Lucidity is open from 4 to 9 p.m. daily. For more information, call www.houseoflucidity.com.

CITY OF COACHELLA TO HOST CANNABIS SUMMIT The city of Coachella is bringing in a lot of big names for its SoCal Cannabis Summit, taking place at the Fantasy Springs Resort Casino on Monday and Tuesday, June 24 and 25.

The summit will begin with a cultivation and dispensary bus tour, followed by a reception on Monday.

On Tuesday, the summit will feature speakers including Riverside County District Attorney Michael Hestrin, California Bureau of Cannabis Control Chief Lori Ajax, California Treasurer Fiona Ma, and many other political leaders and marijuana experts. An exhibit hall will also be open to the public with free admission on Tuesday.

Tickets for the bus tour are $50; summit tickets are $75. For more info, visit coachellacannabissummit.com.

MARIJUANA REVENUES DISAPPOINT GOV. NEWSOM Revenues from marijuana growth and sales are bringing millions of dollars into state coffers—but not nearly as much as the state anticipated.

According to a May 23 news release, the cannabis industry—via the state’s cannabis excise tax, cultivation tax and sales tax—paid $116.6 million to the state in the first three months of 2019, according to first-quarter tax returns, due April 30. That’s up slightly from the $111.9 million paid during last quarter of 2018.

Earlier in May, Gov. Gavin Newsom had to scale back cannabis-tax revenue projections significantly—cutting $223 million from the amount expected to be collected by June 2020.

According to the Associated Press, the reasons for the disappointing sales included the thriving illegal market, as well as the state’s struggles with licensing and regulation.

Newsom also blamed some states and counties for not welcoming legal cannabis into their communities.

“We knew (some counties and cities) would be stubborn in providing access and providing retail locations and that would take even longer than some other states, and that’s exactly what’s happening,” he said.

—Compiled by Jimmy Boegle

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OPINION SAVAGE LOVE

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CODEPENDENT CRAZINESS

BY DAN SAVAGE

I

keep running into the same issue with my best friend of five years. (She’s also my maid of honor at my upcoming wedding.) We’re both empaths—most of my friends are—and we’re both in therapy working on how to cope with that. I have severe anxiety that impacts my physical health, so one of the empathrelated issues I’m working on is not following through with plans when I need to take time alone. My friend claims she understands this, but my actions severely impact her mood. Example: We’ll make tentative plans to get together; I’ll feel too sick to follow through, and then she’s in a negative emotional spiral for days. The final straw came when she called me late this past Friday night—just once, with no subsequent voice mail, text message or follow-up call. On Monday morning, I sent her a text message asking how her weekend was and got an icy reply. Evidently, something happened to her on Friday; she called me for support; and my failure to return her call left her feeling very upset.

I apologized for the accidental trigger and tried to lay down some protocols for reaching out in an emergency situation (leave me a voice mail, and send a follow-up text) so I know it’s urgent. She hasn’t replied.

I’m really frustrated. She has a lot of baggage around being shamed for being emotional, so I try to be careful not to invalidate her feelings, but I don’t know if that’s even making a difference. We’ve had several conflicts over the last year, always triggered by something I did or said, almost always accidentally, that caused her to “take a step back.”

She insists she understands I’m doing my best to be a good friend while also working through my own emotional shit. But that’s not the sense I’m getting. I’m feeling increasingly like it’s impossible to be a human being AND her friend. Until recently,

I had zero emotional boundaries and made myself available to her at a moment’s notice to help shoulder her emotional burden. But now that I’m trying to be more conservative with my abundance and take better care of myself, it seems like all I do is hurt her.

What the fuck do I do? I’ve tried to be openminded and patient with her dramatic mood swings, but she seems unable to give me the benefit of the doubt, which I always try to give her. This rocky ground between us is adding more stress to the whole wedding situation. (You’re supposed to be able to rely on your maid of honor, right?) This thing we have is not sustainable as it is, although I love her deeply. Help me figure this out?

Emotions Making Personal Affection Too Hard Being so attuned to other people’s emotional states that you feel their pain—being an

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My best friend’s emotional swings are stressing me out; what should I do?

empath—sounds exhausting. But Lori Gottlieb, a psychotherapist in private practice, isn’t convinced your empath superpowers are the problem here.

“EMPATH’s moods seem overly dependent on what the other person does,” said Gottlieb.

“That’s not being ‘an empath.’ Most people are empathetic, which isn’t the same as what these two are doing. They’re drowning in each other’s feelings. This is what pop culture might call codependency, and what in therapy we’d call an attachment issue.”

From your letter, EMPATH, it sounds like you might be ready to detach from your friend— you mentioned a final straw and described the relationship as not sustainable—and detaching would resolve this attachment issue.

“This feels less like a friendship and more like a psychodrama where they’re each playing out their respective issues,” said Gottlieb. “A friendship isn’t about solving another person’s emotional issues or being the container for them. It isn’t about being devastated by another person’s feelings or boundaries. It should be a mutually fulfilling relationship, not being co-therapists to each other. In a strong friendship, each person can handle her own emotions rather than relying on the friend to regulate them for her.”

Gottlieb started writing an advice column because, unlike psychotherapists, advice columnists are supposed to tell people what to do. I’m guessing your therapist mostly asks questions and gently nudges, EMPATH, but since Gottlieb has her advice-columnist hat on today and not her psychotherapist hat, I asked her to tell you what to do.

“She should act more like a friend than a therapist/caretaker,” said Gottlieb. “She shouldn’t treat her friend or herself as if they’re too fragile to handle basic communication or boundaries. And they should both be working out their issues with their respective therapists, not with each other.”

If you decide to keep this woman in your life (and your wedding party), EMPATH, you’ll both have to work on your communication skills.

“Right now, they don’t seem to know how to communicate directly with each other,” said Gottlieb. “It’s either an icy text or complaining to outside parties about each other. But when it comes to how they interact with each other, they’re so careful, as if one or both might break if they simply said, ‘Hey, I really care about you, and I know sometimes you want to talk about stuff, but sometimes it feels like too much and maybe something you can talk to your therapist about.’”

Lori Gottlieb’s new book, Maybe You Should Talk to Someone, is a New York Times best seller.

Follow her on Twitter @LoriGottlieb1.

I will be driving to New Orleans from Toronto.

It’s almost impossible to drive from Ontario to Louisiana without stopping for fuel/food/hotel in Ohio, Georgia or Alabama. But I want to boycott Handmaid states during my trip. Do you have any practical advice for me? Or should I just stay home until your democratic systems are fixed?

Canadian Avoids Nearing Terrible Georgia, Ohio …

Why head south, CANTGO? Even if you’ve lived in Canada all your life, you couldn’t possibly have explored every corner of your beautiful country. But if you absolutely, positively must board the Titanic—excuse me, if you must visit the United States—take a hard right after you cross the border and head west instead. Enjoy Michigan’s Upper Peninsula; check out some of those lakes they’re always talking about in Minnesota; speed through the Dakotas, Montana and the skinniest part of Idaho; and pretty soon, you’ll be in Washington state, where a woman’s right to choose is enshrined in the state Constitution.

CONFIDENTIAL TO EVERYONE Anti-choice, anti-woman, anti-sex bills have been rammed through Republican-controlled state legislatures in Ohio, Georgia, Kentucky, Missouri, Arkansas, Utah, Mississippi and Alabama. “The new wave of anti-abortion laws suggests that a post-Roe America won’t look like the country did before 1973, when the court case was decided,” Michelle Goldberg wrote in The New York Times. “It will probably be worse.”

If these bills are declared constitutional—a real possibility now—doctors will be jailed; women who have miscarriages will be prosecuted; and many forms of birth control will be banned. Please make sure you and all your friends are registered to vote so you can vote out anti-choice politicians in 2020.

Send a “fuck you” to red-state Republicans pushing these laws. Make a donation to an organization that helps women obtain abortions in red states—like The Yellowhammer Fund in Alabama (yellowhammerfund.org), Gateway Women’s Access Fund in Missouri (gwaf.org), and Women Have Options in Ohio (womenhaveoptions.org).

Read Savage Love every Wednesday at CVIndependent.com; mail@savagelove.net; @ fakedansavage on Twitter; ITMFA.org.

COACHELLA VALLEY INDEPENDENT // 31

JUNE 2019

OPINION COMICS & JONESIN’ CROSSWORD

“A Few Good Turns”— cycling through

39 Troublemakers 40 Fielder’s feat 41 Neologism for an Across extreme enthusiast 1 Baked, so to speak (just added to 5 Cocoa substitute Merriam-Webster’s 10 Talk show host who’s Dictionary) somehow board42 “___ the ramparts ...” certified 43 Revamp 14 Cookie with a Game of 44 Old movie holders Thrones variety in 2019 45 “Mr.” in “Elmo’s 15 Battlestar Galactica World” segments commander 47 Practice 16 Become entangled 49 Circulatory system 17 Luxury SUV components manufactured in the 51 Hunk of gum U.K. 52 Iowa State University 19 Singer Burl town 20 Playground 54 John who appears in equipment a 2019 episode of The 21 Avgolemono Twilight Zone ingredient 56 Balkan capital 22 Peregrine falcon place 61 Boggs of the Red Sox 23 Gooey stuff seen on 62 Relinquished Nickelodeon 64 Dumpster emanation 25 Jousting outfit 65 Go on stage 27 Hurdle for a doctoral 66 SNL segment? student 67 Got out 32 Freshen, in a way 68 Loads cargo 35 Three’s Company 69 Poetic tributes landlord 36 Grates harshly Down 38 2 + 1, in Italy 1 ___ d’oeuvres

2 “Dies ___” (Latin hymn) 3 Wilder who played Willy Wonka 4 Sty occupants 5 Paint job protectant 6 “And now, without further ___ ...”

7 Type of party chronicled in Mixmag 8 Psi follower 9 Pie chart alternative 10 Key of Beethoven’s Ninth 11 Semi-aquatic mammal with webbed feet 12 Quarry deposits 13 Lemon peel part 18 Pumped up 24 Jeweler’s measurement 26 Prefix trickily paired with “spelled” 27 Betelgeuse constellation 28 Shakespearean character in the NATO Phonetic Alphabet 29 Gave a thumbs-up to 30 Guitar maker Paul 31 He gets knighted in Cars 2 33 Asia-Europe border

range 34 Nerve-wracking 37 Phillips-head hardware 40 Strong holds 41 Galilee, e.g.

43 Aladdin song “Prince ___” 44 Decorated again 46 Negev, e.g.

48 They’re gonna ... do what they do 50 Obsolescent contraction 52 Off-base, unofficially 53 Crafted 55 Unfooled by 57 Caramel-filled Hershey’s brand 58 Like many fans 59 Scream 4 and Party of Five actress Campbell 60 Olympian war god 63 Mtn ___ ©2019 Jonesin’ Crosswords (jonesincrosswords@ gmail.com) Find the answers in the “About” section of CVIndependent.com!

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