Coachella Valley Weekly - February 9 to February 15, 2023 Vol. 11 No. 48

CRYSTAL HARRELL

Robert Chance Sales Team

Kirby, Kathy Bates, Raymond Bill Club Crawler Nightlife Editor Phil Lacombe

Head Music Writer Esther Sanchez Head Feature Writer Crystal Harrell

Feature Writers

Lisa Morgan, Rich Henrich, Heidi Simmons, Noe Gutierrez, Tricia Witkower

Writers/Contributors:

Robin Simmons, Rick Riozza, Eleni P. Austin, Craig Michaels, Janet McAfee, Haddon Libby, Sam DiGiovanna, Dale Gribow, Rob Brezny, Denise Ortuno Neil, Dee Jae Cox, Lynne Tucker, Aimee Mosco, Ruth Hill, Madeline Zuckerman, Ed Heethuis, Daniel Paris, Michelle Borthwick, Nadia Popova, Dennis Shelly

Photographers

Robert Chance, Laura Hunt Little, Chris Miller, Esther Sanchez

Videographer

Kurt Schawacker

Website Editor

Bobby Taffolla

Distribution

Phil Lacombe, William Westley

Cannabis 21+ Palm Desert is a familyowned facility and the operator’s largest dispensary yet—reaching 14,000 square feet to form a super “Deal Store” to serve the entire Coachella Valley. Known as the premier family, women, veteran, and privately-owned licensed cannabis dispensary operator in California, Cannabis 21+ opened its largest store in Palm Desert last year and is approaching the first anniversary of the store opening.

“We have had a fantastic year in the desert. We’ve met so many amazing people and we’ve been excited to grow and integrate into the community. We can’t wait for more exciting events and programs we’ll be bringing to Palm Desert,” stated Director of Marketing, Michele Havner.

Cannabis 21+ Palm Desert has 15 stations where visitors are offered 1 on 1 private consultation covering the 1,500 or more products it carries. Cannabis 21+ prides itself on being a “Deal Store,” which only carries items it can offer at the lowest price for one unit and the value gets greater when customers tap into their daily deals and bundled offers which its well-trained budtenders go over in a fun and fast fashion.

“We have one of the largest inventories you’ll find—not only from a category standpoint but from a brand standpoint, bringing the desert the highest quality products at every price point. We’re very fastidious about what we bring into the marketplace because we want to make sure that we’re only bringing in the best products—at the best prices—to our customers. We have everything from flower to vapes to edibles to topicals and more. We also have clones in our Palm Desert store,” revealed Havner.

For an innovatively designed shopping experience that customers get incredible prices and high-quality products in a very quick, convenient manner without ever feeling rushed or pressured, look no further than Cannabis 21+—the premier licensed cannabis dispensary operator in California.

“Because of the high volume of crossover from our stores, we truly are able to bring the best prices, which is definitely an advantage. Something that is best about us is how integrated we are in the community as well as how knowledgeable our budtenders are. If you’re brand new to your cannabis journey or if you’ve been a user for a long time, they will listen to what your needs are and deliver the best product options for you,” said Havner.

Set to begin on February 28, Cannabis 21+ is partnering with the Sunrise Market to bring a farmers market every Tuesday in the dispensary parking lot. This will give visitors a chance to get locally sourced products from a farmers market standpoint. There will also be food trucks, and art and clothing vendors in addition to food.

Education and customer choice are what makes Cannabis 21+ stand apart from other California dispensaries. The company provides everything you need in order to make the proper choice of cannabis, specifically for your needs. The staff at Cannabis 21+ are passionate about being part of the inclusive California cannabis community. The dispensary continues to make its mark in the community—even hosting a “Bleed for Weed” blood drive last year.

“We try to bring a lot of partnerships to our dispensary. We’re very lucky because of the size of Cannabis 21+ that allows us to have these events and bring the community in,” stated Havner.

The company is family, woman, veteran, and privately-owned whose founders have been involved in state-licensed and legal cannabis for almost a decade and are actively expanding the chain’s footprint, with local permissions and state licenses in hand for 13 new locations under development across southern and northern California.

Valentine’s Day is approaching and this season of love provides the perfect opportunity to connect to your Heart and Root Chakras to create a stable and healthy relationship with yourself and others. Take this Valentine’s Day Energy and intentionally align with the vibrations of healthy, fruitful love with the Sweet Heart Sound Bath on Sunday, February 12, from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m.

Advanced registration is required for the event, with a registration deadline of February

11. A suggested 10-dollar cash donation will be collected at the door. This is a suggested donation, and no one will be turned away. Five dollars of every donation will be donated to the Coachella Valley History Museum, where this event will be hosted. Guests are welcome to explore the museum grounds as part of the Sweet Heart Sound Bath afternoon.

The Valentine’s Day Sweet Heart Sound Bath is sponsored by the Coachella Valley History Museum and hosted by Rizzo Strategic Solutions, featuring a Guided Meditation,

infused Reiki, and a Sound Bath using various instruments, from Sound Bowls to Thunder Tube and more.

“My daughter and I worked on a sound bath healing that we thought would be a very different way to raise money for my long time love, the Coachella Valley History Museum. We are both certified in sound therapy on different levels as a healing additional service we offer through our small business, Rizzo Strategic Solutions. We would like to gift good vibes to the community through this fundraising opportunity,” shared Rebecca Rizzo, Creative Engineering Officer at Rizzo Strategic Solutions.

It is recommended that attendees bring a yoga mat, cushions, pillows, a blanket, and water to the Sweet Heart Sound Bath. Different types of healing modalities require an equal energetics exchange. That is why this event is not offered to be free but at a low affordable price. It goes back to the philosophy that you need to get to give.

Rizzo encourages local engagement because the Sweet Heart Sound Bath event gives a different opportunity for experience with a healing modality that has not really been shared in all parts of the Coachella Valley.

“It’s important to us at Rizzo Strategic Solutions that we make available sound healing and other healing modalities available

BY CRYSTAL HARRELL

to everyone that’s interested. Some of these modalities have changed my life and allowed me to be in a healthy space. I’d love to share what I have learned with anyone that is interested. I am looking forward to connecting to the community in a different way and through different modalities. For those that know me, I am a big believer in energy. Everything is energy, sound vibrations are energy. Being able to share a positive exchange with sound through vibration is what is truly going to be exciting. If you’ve ever experience a sound bath, you know it is very therapeutic,” said Rizzo.

Attendees can expect to reach a level of relaxation that will release many different emotions and experiences at the Sweet Heart Sound Bath. As they move forward with different programming opportunities, Rizzo Strategic Solutions would like the community to reach out with their interests. Being able to engage the community is the number one priority, both at Rizzo Strategic Solutions, and the Coachella Valley History Museum.

To learn more about the event or how to register, email rizzostrategicsolutions@gmail. com.

THEATRE

even Robyn to resist? As with everything at this event…that is for Dan to know and you to find out!

Bus Stop Productions LLC is a new entertainment company in the Coachella Valley focusing on lively and unique experiences appealing to all that enjoy local nightlife.

Ron and Lance Phillips identified a need for a more diverse selection of entertainment, especially in the West Valley. BSP will present a wildly popular comedy direct from Las Vegas as its inaugural production at The Margaritaville Resort in Palm Springs.

About the Show: Voted Best Comedy for Couples, this inventive romantic comedy is now available for licensing and promises to take your audience on a hilarious and wild ride

where no topic is taboo and the insider “tips” come straight from the source: a gay man.

The play is set at a local university auditorium where the English department holds its monthly meet the authors event.

Robyn is the shy and studious moderator of the event and this month’s featured author is Dan Anderson of Sex Tips for Straight Women from a Gay Man. With the help of a hunky stage assistant named Stefan, Dan aims to turn this meet the authors event upside down with a highly theatrical, audience interactive sex tip seminar. Will Stefan’s muscles be used for more than moving heavy scenery? Will the power of Dan’s tips prove too titillating for

History of the Show: Sex Tips is based on the internationally best-selling book of the same title, which has been published in over 50 different countries and translated into 17 different languages. The original OffBroadway production of Sex Tip opened at The 777 Theatre on February 9th, 2014 and ran 4½ years, with its final performance on June 23rd, 2018. During its run as Off-Broadway’s Longest Running Comedy, a US Tour was launched Spring 2015 and a Las Vegas production starring Kendra Wilkinson and Jai Rodriguez opened Spring 2017 and ran through March of 2020.

Quotes: “I am very excited to bring this new energetic venture to the Greater Palm Springs Area. We will offer more edgy and progressive productions that have been wildly successful in larger metropolitan areas, like Las Vegas, Chicago, New York and the like.” - Ron Phillips, President

“It is truly an honor to present the

Coachella Valley premier of Sex Tips for Straight Women by a Gay Man in conjunction with creator Matt Murphy. We are working with some of the original team from the Las Vegas production to present this truly one-ofa-kind show to local audiences. I feel that this production and future presentations from Bus Stop Productions will only add to the vibrant and ever expanding local scene.”

- Lance Phillips, Managing Director

Performances: The Margaritaville Resort, Palm Springs - The Tropics Lounge

1600 North Indian Canyon Drive Palm Springs, CA 92262

SHOWTIMES:

February 24-March 18, 2023

Friday & Saturdays: 7pm & 9:30pm

Tickets are $59-$70

RUNTIME: 1 hour and 15 minutes.

BOX OFFICE: (760) 334-8382

Monday-Friday 9am-5:30pm

Buy tickets online: busstopps.com

Performances held at: The Tropics Lounge in the Margaritaville Resort, 1600 North Indian Canyon Drive, Palm Springs, CA 92262.

BREAKINGTHE4TH WALL

Theatre has always been a reflection of cultural attitudes and a mirror to reflect the diversity of American society. It is therefore critical to recognize and appreciate the varied histories of American theatre, rather than believing it to be one history, written primarily by white men for white America. Since 1976, every U.S. president has officially designated the month of February as Black History Month.

In celebrating the accomplishments and incredible history of American Theatre, there is no denying the invaluable contributions of African American artists. Though rich in history, tradition, mythology, music, song and dance, following the Civil War, the work of black performance artists was originally reduced to the traveling minstrel shows of the 19th century, (then called “Ethiopian minstrelsy.”) These shows were written by white male minstrels (Traveling musicians,) and based strongly on racial stereotypes.

But by the turn of the 20th century most of the producing writing, and acting was being done entirely by black Americans. The first noted success of a black dramatist was Angelina Weld Grimke’s, ‘Rachel.’ Grimke, was the daughter of prominent bi-racial family of abolitionists and civil-rights activists. ‘Rachel,’ was produced in 1916 and published in 1920 and is about a young woman who is so horrified by racism, that she vows never to bring children into the world. (A radical notion at the time.)

Black theatre seriously began to take root during the Harlem Renaissance, (1920’s and 30’s) when African American culture, particularly in the creative arts, flourished and is remembered as one of the most influential movements in African American literary history. Literature, music, theatre and visual arts, began to reshape and present black Americans from

their own experiences and perspectives outside of the white stereotypes that had influenced black peoples’ relationship to their heritage and to each other.

As the twentieth century progressed, experimental groups and black theatre companies emerged in Chicago, New York City and Washington, D.C. It was during this time that the Ethiopian Art Theatre, established Paul Robeson, as America’s foremost black actor. Robeson, was the son of a former slave. He obtained a law degree at Columbia University, but due to blatant racism and lack of opportunity in the field of law, he moved into an acting career with great success.

Garland Anderson’s play ‘Appearances’ (1925) was the first play of black authorship to be produced on Broadway, but black theatre did not create a Broadway hit until Langston Hughes’s, Mulatto won great success in 1935. Hughes, was one of the most important writers during the first half of the twentieth century. His work gave voice to the black experience, something sorely lacking in American literature and culture.

The Federal Theatre Project, was also founded in 1935, providing a training ground for black actors. In the late 1930s, black community theatres began to appear, revealing talents such as those of Ossie Davis and Ruby Dee. By 1940 black theatre was becoming more established and organized in America.

After WWII black theatre artists grew more progressive in their efforts to establish an identity outside of the predominant white theatre culture. Councils were organized to abolish the use of racial stereotypes in theatre and to integrate black playwrights into the mainstream of American theatre.

In 1950, actress Juanita Hall, became the

first African American to win a Tony Award, (Best Supporting Actress,) for her role as Bloody Mary, in the stage version of Rodger’s and Hammerstein’s, South Pacific.

Lorraine Hansberry’s drama, ‘A Raisin in the Sun,’ staged in 1959, was the first show written by a black woman to ever be produced on Broadway. Hansberry’s title was taken from Langston Hughes poem; ‘Harlem,’

"What happens to a dream deferred? Does it dry up like a raisin in the sun?"

At the age of 29, Hansberry, won the New York Drama Critics’ Circle Award, making her the first African American dramatist, the fifth woman, and the youngest playwright to do so. The Sign in Sidney Brustein’s Window was the second and last staged play by Hansberry

The play opened on Broadway on October 15, 1964 and played its final performance Sunday, January 10, 1965, two days before Hansberry passed away at the young age of 34 from cancer.

Hansberry’s, ‘A Raisin in the Sun,’ and other successful black plays of the 1950s and 60’s, portrayed the difficulty of African Americans maintaining an identity in a society that degraded them.

The 1960s saw the emergence of a new black theatre, more defiant than its predecessors, with a goal of breaking racial barriers and stereotypes. Playwright Amiri Baraka (birth name LeRoi Jones) was one of the strongest proponents of depicted whites’ exploitation of blacks. He established the Black Arts Repertory Theatre in Harlem in 1965 and inspired other playwrights to create a strong “black aesthetic” in American theatre.

In the contemporary era of modern theatre, playwrights such as August Wilson, Suzan-Lori Parks, Lynn Nottage, all Pulitzer Prize winning playwrights, (Parks, was the first African

BY DEE JAE COX

American woman to win the prize, Nottage, was the first African American woman to win it twice,) have become strong symbols of achievement in American theatre.

Black theatre has grown immeasurably. African Americans have created dramas, comedies, musicals and every conceivable form of creative expression. Their contributions in the performing arts is vital to the growth, history and evolution of American theatre. Though statistics still reveal that a radical racial (and gender) disparity exists on American stages.

In a study of demographics for the 2016/17 season for on and Off-Broadway theatres, the report found that 86.8 percent of all shows produced were by white playwrights and 87.1 percent of all directors hired were white. Though the gender disparity was extreme. 75.4 percent of all plays written were by men, and 68.2 percent of all directors were men. (This lines-up with similar numbers released by the League of Professional Women.) Demographically, among actors, African American performers received only 18.6 percent of roles.

“All which I feel I must write has become obsessive. So many truths seem to be rushing at me as the result of things felt and seen and lived through. Oh, what I think I must tell this world.”—Lorraine Hansberry

Dee Jae Cox is a playwright, director and producer. She is the Cofounder and Artistic Director for The Los Angeles Women’s Theatre Project. losangeleswomenstheatreproject.org palmspringstheatre.com

Desert TheatreWorks has springtime excitement for you. This fun-filled week-long theatre camp will focus on acting, music, singing, improv and dance using theatre activities and games. Everyone’s inner performer is sure to shine as we create, share, and have the best week ever.

No experience is necessary as our spring break camp is a great way for performers to develop confidence, coordination, and creative physical expression.

Tuition: Desert Sands Unified School District students grades 1-8 can attend for FREE through the Expanded Learning Opportunities Program (ELOP). All you need is your name, school, grade and student ID number. You must be in 8th grade in the Fall of 2023 to qualify. Students from surrounding district can attend for $250.00 for the week.

Quotes: “Desert TheatreWorks KidsWorks education program has been inspiring East Valley youth for nearly 10 years. It is our

self-confidence and instills social-emotional skills than theatre. Students from grades 1-8 can expect a magical week of learning, singing, dancing, acting and theatre crafts” - Lance

Phillips, Education Director, KidsWorks; Artistic Director, Desert TheatreWorks

“Desert Sands’ Expanded Learning Program is excited to continue our partnership with Desert TheatreWorks to provide high quality performing arts programs for our students after school and during intersession dates.” - Kirsten Knapp, Director, Expanded Learning Programs

Dates: April 10-14, 2023

Rising Stars (Grades 1-2), 8am-10am

Showstoppers (Grades 3-4), 11am-2pm

All Stars (Grades 5-8), 3pm-6pm

Registration: Space is limited! Go to dtworks.org to register.

Workshops held at: The Indio Performing Arts Center, 45175 Fargo Street, CA 92201. Desert TheatreWorks is a 501(c)(3) community-based theatre company serving the Coachella Valley. If you would like photos or more information, please contact Kierstyn Wondoloski at (760)647-3731 or email kierstyn@dtworks.org.

pleasure to partner with Desert Sands Unified School District to offer this week-long Spring Break camp free to qualifying students. To me, there is no better activity that inspires, builds

Carter G. Woodson

Angelina W. Grimke

Paul Robeson

Langston Hughes

Juanita Hall Lorraine Hansberry THEATRE

MUSIC

Hunter Hayes has the distinction of being one of the warmest, friendliest musicians I’ve ever interviewed. Right away, he called me by name, joked with me, and thanked me for my time. There’s no disinterested celebrity persona, Hunter Hayes feels like talking to a friend, a normal person. A normal person who is enormously talented at singing, songwriting, and at playing instruments. 30 of them (I asked). “I heard you can play 30 instruments. 30?! I can’t even name 30 without including a kazoo.” The kazoo, he tells me, is one of the few instruments he doesn’t play and invites me to teach him. He started writing music while playing shows at festivals and outdoor events as a kid. With an equipment trailer full of instruments to keep him entertained on his down time, he started making up songs and music to go with them and ended up falling in love with songwriting. This time in his career coincided perfectly with portable studios being available. Since he wasn’t going to get a band together –he was only 8 or 9 years old – the only way he’d get a song written the way he wanted was to do it himself. This led to his endless discovery of new instruments at a young age. What started out of necessity is still part of his songwriting process. “If I hear a song in my head, I chase it until I can actually physically hear it,” he says. He commits to the sounds until they become a song. On his most recent album, he got into yet another new instrument - the synthesizer. He also doesn’t need to do all his own instruments anymore. He says, “I love working with bands and collaborating.”

Performing since he was a child hasn’t dulled the newness or excitement for him.

“Oh yeah. I get nervous, I get excited,” he shares. He feels most himself, he says, when he’s on stage performing. “I’m very introverted most of the time, ironically. His show at Fantasy Springs on Saturday, February 11 “will be our first show of the year. Totally new show design. I love building and creating shows.” Not getting to play or attend shows during covid has made him so grateful for live music now – whether he’s there performing or as part of the audience. If he can go see a show, he tells me, he’s going to. That audience experience reinforces how special it is when someone chooses to leave their house and make his own show a part of their night.

Hunter Hayes has been very open about issues around mental health. “It’s just so much a part of life. I think so many people probably see it that you only talk about it if there’s a problem. The more we can learn about ourselves, the better version of ourselves we

can be. I’ve seen it firsthand.” When he and his two collaborators (Bonnie Baker and Katrina Elam) on the song “Invisible” were writing it, they drew inspiration from different versions of their lives. That song connected with so many people - a quick glance at the music video on his official YouTube easily proves that. With 23 million views, the comment section is full of people saying this song helped them, this song touched them, this song will always mean something to them. His 2019 song, “Dear God” was “a lot of things I wasn’t “supposed” to talk about or be that honest about. I don’t want it [talking about mental health] to be all I do, but it became a foundation. My fan group feels safe and there’s no need to hide. I don’t have to be the artist who has his shit together. Everyone gets to be all of themselves and love all the parts of themselves and their stories. I’ve unlocked deeper layers of connection with people and avenues of songs I can write.”

BY TRISHA WITKOWER

Indeed, his fans appreciate this and count on the type of honesty and community his music gives them.

Hunter’s new album, Red Sky, has been in the works for 4 years and is his first totally independent album in 12 years. He asked himself, ‘What would I do if I can do anything?’ and that question guided him on this album. “I took more ownership with this album. I want to do the stuff I haven’t been able to do, do the things that make me laugh, talk about what I’ve never talked about or written about.” This album, he tells me, has a very adventurous theme, and comes from a place of vulnerability and confidence. “It’s about the fire inside and letting it burn. Letting people see all of you, the real you, embracing and loving that.” Hayes took “Sober” the first single off the album into session with the idea that he and his collaborators would do whatever they want to do that brings joy. That mindset reshaped how he worked on the whole album. “I want people to hear this. It really just turned everything upside down in a beautiful way and allowed the album to be made.”

Fans who see him play at Fantasy Springs on Friday, February 11 can look forward to hearing Hayes do what he loves by playing the music they love, along with some new stuff they’re about to love. Says Hayes, “I want to bring people joy by doing what brings me joy.”

Purchase your tickets at https://www. fantasyspringsresort.com/hunter-hayes

THE INNOCENCE MISSION

“GERANIUM LAKE: LIVE PERFORMANCES, DEMOS AND UNRELEASED SONGS FROM GLOW” (LIBRARY LION RECORDS)

We can agree that the phrase “ride or die” is kind of played out. But honestly, I can’t think of a more accurate way to indicate the undying loyalty I feel for musicians like Syd Straw, The Williams Brothers, Jonatha Brooke The Balancing Act, Freedy Johnston, The Rave-Up’s and David Baerwald. They aren’t household names, they haven’t sold a million records, but their music has sustained me spiritually and emotionally for decades. The innocence mission has commanded that same measure of fealty from me since they released their eponymous debut, waaay back in 1989.

Don Perris (guitar), Mike Bitts (bass), Steve Brown (drums) and vocalist Karen Perris (ne’ McCullough) originally met performing in a Catholic school production of Godspell. They formed a band playing small clubs in their hometown Lancaster, PA. By 1988, they secured a deal with A&M Records.

Their landmark debut and equally adroit 1991 follow-up, Umbrella, were produced by Larry Klein. Initially best known as Joni Mitchell’s husband, the talented bassist also earned his keep behind the boards, producing everyone from Cher and Peter Gabriel, to Don Henley and Tracy Chapman. It’s to his credit that neither record is cloaked in the cloying synth sound that dominated albums released during that era. He added deft production touches only enhanced their painterly sound. While some myopic critics lumped them with other female-centric artists like The Sundays and 10,000 Maniacs (and later, Mazzy Star), they managed to garner positive reviews and nurture a passionate fan base.

Their third long-player, glow, was produced by Dennis Herring (Camper Van Beethoven, Throwing Muses, Concrete Blonde). Glow was a watershed. Lean and unfussy, it exudeda new-found confidence even as it maintained their signature dream-pop aesthetic. It was an artistic and commercial breakthrough. The first single, “Bright As Yellow” was featured in films like Empire Records and hit TV series like Party Of Five. The band toured extensively behind the album, headlining small venues and opening for Emmylou Harris on her Wrecking Ball tour.

Fast-forward three years later and the band winnowed down to a drummer-less three-piece, following the departure of Steve Brown (who became a chef). They also amicably parted ways with A&M Records, releasing the self-produced Birds Of My Neighborhood. For the next several years, music took a backseat as the co-commitments of family and parenthood took precedence. Still, they released a surprisingly cohesive odds and sods collection: Small Planes: Lost And Found Songs 1996-2001. Plus, the trio would occasionally reconvene in Don and Karen’s home studio, creating aural banquets like Befriended (2003), We Walked In Song (2007), and My Room In The Trees (2010). A couple of tracks slipped through the cracks, an EP of hymns, Christ In My Hope in 2000, and a collection of standards and lullabies, Now That Day Is Done arrived four years later.

The second decade of the 21st century saw the band upping the ante a bit with albums like hello, I feel the same, Sun On The Square and see you tomorrow in 2015, 2018 and 2020, respectively. As easily as they toggle between upper and lowercase album titles,

Don and Karen have managed to release a few solo efforts, in the midst of band commitments. Now, they have plundered the innocence mission audio vault and come up with an archival release: geranium lake, which includes live performances, demos and unreleased songs from the glow era. The album opens with the buoyant bliss of “The Forrests And The Trees.” Strummy guitars lattice flinty bass, a spooky organ refrain and a kinetic, percussive pulse. Lyrics limn the insecurity and certitude of childhood from the backseat of a family road trip; “Things will be different, you know things will be better, you feel stronger already, you feel stronger.” On the break, Don unleashes a swirly guitar solo that’s equal parts spiky and modal. The record is doted with demos from the “glow” sessions, beginning with “Keeping Awake.” Corkscrew electric guitar notes are supplanted by spidery bass, graceful piano underpinnings and a hihat kick. Karen’s trilling vocals comfort and cocoon as she describes a cozy family tableau; “In the house, in the heart of paper vines, Junie runs into her room next to mine. Dancing. And we are all in for the night, talking is coming, coming up over the stairs.” The arrangement gathers speed on the chorus with a sugar rush of guitars that swoop and crescendo on the break before the song shudders to a close.

Then there’s “Spinning.” A crashy, cacophony of cymbals give way to thready bass, a tick-tock beat and meandering piano. Longtime fans might wonder, how many times does a guy named “Harry” pop up in different innocence mission songs? Lyrics attempt to console him, before comically conceding defeat; “I know nothing about so many, too many things, I see I have come to the wall, come to the ending of me again..” Spectral guitars shimmer across the break before the conversation continues; “I don’t know, I…no. What are you saying, why don’t you just- isn’t this, isn’t this funny, Harry? All of this: I know nothing about so many, too many things, I see I have come to the wall- around now, I’m turning around now, I’m spinning around.”

“Bright As Yellow,” was, of course, their commercial breakthrough, peaking at #33 on Billboard’s Modern Rock chart. In its embryotic state, a drumstick count-off kicks it into gear. Drowsy guitars sleepwalk across vroom-y keys, angular bass and a slipstitch beat. Longing lyrics drift toward the light, emotionally and spiritually; “And I do not want to be a rose, I do not want to be pale pink, but flower scarlet, flower gold, and have no thorns to distance me, but bright, bright, bright as yellow, warm as yellow.” Missing is Don’s stratospheric solo on the break, but an extra refrain is tacked on to the end.

Meanwhile, “Speak Our Minds” is anchored by Mike’s thrumming bass and Steve’s propulsive beat. Pinging keys and sidewinder guitars slither through the mix. Karen’s quiescent vocals illuminate cryptic lyrics that speak to childhood injustices and inequities; “We’re not trying to say it isn’t fair, we are crossed over to the tree side, oh, I am not feeling all that tired, we walk to Mary’s and speak our minds.” Don’s frenetic fretwork speed-shifts through the break, before commanding bass lines power down on the bridge.

The live tracks offer an accurate portrait of the band onstage. They remain true to

studio versions, but still find subtle ways to color outside the lines. Take “Our Harry” (See! Who is this enigmatic Harry who inhabits so many of their songs?), recorded at the Tin Angel in Philadelphia. Spare and strippeddown, the song is powered by prickly electric riffs, airy acoustic notes and a shadowy backbeat. It feels sturdier than the gossamer grace found on glow. Succinct lyrics sketch a out a summery scenario; “We squint madly into the sun, waving madly at the camera, Harry standing in front and I will be sitting on his shoulders….He said it is time now he does something, and sent his hope to join the peace corps, I can’t think what I’ll do when my time comes, I cannot see myself standing alone.” Piquant guitars on the break accent the lyrical equivocation.

Conversely, “That Was Another Country,” recorded in Cleveland, Ohio, receives a bold, full-bodied treatment in a live setting. A skittery beat is matched by roiling bass and keening guitar. Karen’s mien is suitably pensive, and the song is suffused in sadness. Lyrics like “Driving home from the bay, and we sang and he was fine, and what’s more he was around, that was another country that was another country/But are you alright, are you alright? You are still my friend, you didn’t go out of my life,” will always resonate on a personal level for me. This song played on repeat as I drove to my friend Kent’s memorial service. (He passed very suddenly from complications related to A.I.D.S.). Seraphic guitar licks ascend between verses, underscoring both the beauty and sadness.

Of course, for me, the best live songs are “Everything’s Different Now” and “I hear You Say So” because they were recorded at shows I saw back-to-back in my Hollywood hometown back in 1996. On the former, recorded at the Beverly Center Borders Bookstore, bendy guitar notes wrap around lowing bass and a skeletal kick-drum beat. The plangent arrangement nearly manages to camouflage the ambivalence that accompanies change; “You say you can’t see yourself out in the world, with your school suitcase, tomorrowwell, you don’t know, you don’t know, we’re coming away, we are coming away, everything’s changed, everything’s different now, everything, even the sun.” A lachrymose guitar solo rises and falls on the break, sidling around the final verses before building to a moodily elegant denouement.

The latter, which was recorded at the venerable Troubadour, blends jingle-jangle guitar, throbbing bass, a thunking beat and a tambourine shake. Here, the lyrics juxtapose

BY ELENI P. AUSTIN

the mixture of diffidence and confidence that shadow adolescence; “Say about iron bridges, they rattle, they rattle, but never give way, and the boy who is leaving his home, who is reaching out says ‘yes, I am sure about some things’.”

Along with “The Forrests And The Seas,” which opened this set, two more unreleased gems arrive back-to-back, halfway through the record. First up is the title track, which weds sunshiny guitar, plaintive piano, ethereal keys and sinewy bass to a barely-there beat. Even as lyrics navigate the rocky shoals of a tenuous relationship; “Though the world is tall and wide, when there’s no need to return, should we go another way, some new place you’d rather stay, you will meet me, and we’ll go,” there’s an ache and fragility to Karen’s voice that simply breaks your heart. Meanwhile, the sepia-toned grace of “Film For My Sister,” matches yearning vocals to braided guitar riffs, pointillist keys and a subdued rhythm section. The camera’s going and everyone is waving at Adelaide, in the Highlands. Still, lyrics pine for something outside the frame when she quietly repeats “wishing for you,” like a mantra. Then that same Harry, or a different Harry (Connick? Potter? Styles? Windsor?) pops in and saves the day; “Wait, I stand on my toes and I am lifted, I am safe on Harry’s shoulders.” As the instrumentation washes over a beatific arrangement, Karen’s wistful voice seems faraway, yet so close.

Other interesting tracks include a hardcharging live rendition of “Brave” and a faithful take on the Godspell charmer (that was the original catalyst for the band), “Day By Day.” The album closes with another unreleased track, the piano-driven “Goodnight, Margaret Wissler.” Phased and reverb-drenched guitars are bookended by boinging bass and a hopscotch beat. Supremely catchy and simply irresistible, it’s a heady finish to a heartfelt album.

The music that the innocence mission make is difficult to categorize. It’s almost always spiritual, but never didactic or preachy. It’s contemplative but rarely anguished. As the band’s primary songwriter, Karen’s lyrics conjure quiet moments, almost forgotten, childhood bike rides, picnics by the bay, reading a book in a window-seat on a rainy afternoon, or counting stars at night. Don is their secret weapon, a one-man guitar army, he unspools hushed acoustic solos one minute and reverb-drenched riffs the next. Mike and Steve add ballast to these feather-light songs. glow was a true touchstone for me, at one point or another, each song on the record became a reigning favorite. The outtakes, demos and live cuts on geranium lake serve to enhance the legacy of that album. Hopefully, the band will unearth similar treasure troves from their self-titled debut and Umbrella.

Meanwhile, geranium lake delivers a set of songs that capture moments of camaraderie, intimacy and affection. A soupcon of sorrow and an abundance of joy, that happyhomesick feeling that makes you ache in all the right ways.

Thursday, February 9

Babaloo Lounge – Bob Corwin Piano Bar –

3:30-6:30pm, Live Music – 6:30pm

Casuelas Café – Avenida – 5:30pm

Chef George’s – Marc Antonelli – 6:30pm

Coachella Valley Brewery – Open Mic –

6pm

Cunard’s Sandbar – Bill Baker – 6pm

Indian Wells Resort Hotel – Christine

Love – 6pm

Jazzville @ Agua Caliente – Nutty – 7pm

Jolene’s – Desert Crows – 6pm

Lavender Bistro – Mark Guerrero, Scott Carter on the Patio – 6pm

The Nest – Live Music – 6:30pm

O’Caine’s – Kilty as Charged – 6pm

Old Town La Quinta – Live Music in the Plaza w/ DJ Pumba – 5-8pm

Pappy and Harriet’s – The Stone Foxes – 9pm

Plan B Live Entertainment & Cocktails –Daytime Moon – 9pm

Pretty Faces Nightclub – Latina Night w/

DJ LF – 9pm

Purple Room – Sharon Sills – 6:30pm

Runway – Derek Jordan Gregg – 6pm

Vicky’s of Santa Fe – John Stanley King

Trio – 6pm

The Village – DJ Cranberry – 9pm

Friday, February 10

Awe Bar – Karaoke Night Party w/ KJ Luci – 8pm

Babaloo Lounge – Bob Corwin Piano Bar – 3:30-6:30pm, Tony Grandberry – 7pm

Bart Lounge – Cruel Kiss, Void Palace, Hex Cassette w/ DJs Danza De Luna, Luna Divina, Dead Romeo and Ahsatan – 8pm

Casuelas Café – The Myx – 6:45pm

Chef George’s – Lizann Warner – 6:30pm

Cunard’s Sandbar – Bill Baker – 6pm

Indian Wells Resort Hotel – Marc

Antonelli – 6pm

Jolene’s – Fun with Dick and Jane – 7pm

Larkspur Grill – Live Music – 7pm

Lavender Bistro – Jeff Bonds, Scott Carter on the Patio – 6pm

Lit @ Fantasy Springs – Forward Motion

– 9pm

Mitch’s on El Paseo – Alex Santana – 122:30pm

The Nest – Live Music – 6:30pm

O’Caine’s – Quel Bordel – 6pm

Old Town La Quinta – Live Music in the

Plaza w/ Midnight Sun – 6-9pm

Pappy and Harriet’s – Lizzie No – 8:30pm

Plan B Live Entertainment & Cocktails –

Red’s Rockstar Karaoke – 9pm

Pretty Faces Nightclub – Gimme Gimme

Disco – 9pm

Purple Room – Billy Stritch: Cy Coleman

Revisited – 6pm

Sullivan’s – Hotwyre – 5:30pm

Tommy Bahamas – Alex Santana – 5pm

Vicky’s of Santa Fe – John Stanley King – 7:30pm

The Village – Rob & JB – 5:30pm, DJ Gio

the Ace – 9pm, DJ Cranberry – 9pm

Wildest – Derek Jordan Gregg – 6pm

Saturday, February 11

Babaloo Lounge – Bob Corwin Piano Bar

– 3:30-6:30pm, Off Da Cuff – 7pm

Bart Lounge – Picopalooza w/ DJ Pico and Friends – 8pm

Casuelas Café – Michael Keeth – noon, West Coast Flyer – 6:30pm

Chef George’s – TBA – 6:30pm

Coachella Valley Brewing Co. – Instigator

Presents: Nephilim – 8pm

Cunard’s Sandbar – Bill Baker – 6pm

Indian Wells Resort Hotel – Marc

Antonelli – 6pm

Jolene’s – Fun with Dick and Jane – 7pm

Larkspur Grill – Live Music – 7pm

Lavender Bistro – Jeff Bonds, Scott Carter on the Patio – 6pm

Lit @ Fantasy Springs – Forward Motion – 9pm

Mitch’s on El Paseo – Alex Santana – 12-

2:30pm

The Nest – Live Music – 6:30pm

O’Caine’s – California Celts – 6pm

Old Town La Quinta – Live Music in the Plaza w/ Just 2 Guys – 6-9pm

Pappy and Harriet’s – Jerry’s Middle

Finger – 8:30pm

Plan B Live Entertainment & Cocktails –

Red’s Rockstar Karaoke – 9pm

Pretty Faces Nightclub – DJ Cielohigh and Friends – 9pm

Purple Room – Billy Stritch: Cy Coleman

Revisited – 6pm

Sullivan’s – Paul Villalobos – 5:30pm

Tommy Bahamas – Alex Santana – 5pm

Vicky’s of Santa Fe – Rose Mallett –

5-7pm, John Stanley King – 7:30pm

The Village – Rob & JB – 1pm, Dio DJ the Ace – 9pm, DJ Cranberry – 9pm, DJ Erika

Starr – 9pm

Wildest – Derek Jordan Gregg – 6pm

Sunday,

February 12

Awe Bar – Awe Bar Valentine’s Bazaar –11am, Hickoids w/ Emos ft. Sean Wheeler – 6pm

Babaloo Lounge – Tristen/Flamingo

Guitar – 1pm, Bob Corwin Piano Bar –

3:30pm, Tim Burleson – 6pm

Bart Lounge – Latina Night w/ DJ LF –

8pm

Blu Ember – Gina Sedman – 5pm

Casuelas Café – El Mariachi Coachella –

1pm, Voices Carrie – 5:30pm

Fisherman’s Market, PS – Live Music –

6pm

Jolene’s – Desert Crows – 6pm

Lavender Bistro – Scott Carter, Mark

Guerrero on the Patio – 6pm

Melvyn’s – Mikael Healey – 3:30-7:30pm

The Nest – Live Music – 6:30pm

Tommy Bahamas – Alex Santana – 12pm

The Village – Gio the Ace - 9pm

Monday, February 13

Babaloo Lounge – Bob Corwin Piano Bar

– 3:30, Tim Burleson – 6pm

Casuelas Café – Brad Byrd – 5:30pm

Indian Wells Resort Hotel – Larry

Copeleto – 6pm

Lavender Bistro – Abbie Perkins, Mark Guerrero on the Patio – 6pm

The Nest – Live Music – 6:30pm

Pappy and Harriet’s – Bitchin Bajas – 8pm

Vicky’s of Santa Fe – Richard “88 Fingers”

Turner – 6pm

The Village – DJ Gio the Ace – 9pm

Wildest – Derek Jordan Gregg – 6pm

Tuesday, February 14

Babaloo Lounge – Bob Corwin Piano Bar

– 3:30-6:30pm, Keisha D and the Heart and Soul Band – 6:30pm

Casuelas Café – The Desert Suite Band –

5:30pm

Chef George’s – Lizann Warner – 6:30pm

Cunard’s Sandbar – Bill Baker – 6pm

Indian Wells Resort Hotel – Patrice Morris, Marc Antonelli and Christine Love – 6pm

Lavender Bistro – Abbie Perkins, Mark Guerrero on the Patio – 6pm

The Nest – Live Music – 6:30pm

Pappy and Harriet’s – Bobby Oroza – 7pm

Purple Room – Rose Mallett – 6:30pm

Vicky’s of Santa Fe – Slim Man Band –6pm

The Village – DJ Erika Starr – 9pm

Wednesday, February 15

Babaloo Lounge – Bob Corwin Piano Bar – 3:30-6:30pm, The Myx – 7pm

Casuelas Café – Lisa Lynn and the Broken Hallelujahs – 5:30pm

Chef George’s – Tim Burleson – 6:30pm

Coachella Valley Brewing Co. – Trivia Night – 7pm

Cunard’s Sandbar – Bill Baker – 6pm

The Fix – Alex Santana – 5:30pm

Indian Wells Resort Hotel – Rebecca Clark – 6pm

Jolene’s – Open Mic – 6:30pm

Lavender Bistro – Mark Guerrero, Scott Carter on the Patio – 6pm

Lit @ Fantasy Springs – Thompson Square and Nitro Express – 7pm

Mitch’s on El Paseo – Alex Santana – 122:30pm

The Nest – Live Music – 6:30pm

Plan B Live Entertainment & Cocktails –Red’s Rockstar Karaoke – 9pm

Purple Room – Charles Herrera, Darci Daniels and Michael Holmes – 6:30pm

Tack Room Tavern – T-Bone Karaoke – 7pm

Vicky’s of Santa Fe – John Stanley King – 6pm

The Village – DJ Cranberry – 9pm, Banda Revolucion – 10pm

Wildest – Derek Jordan Gregg – 6pm

PAMPEREDPALATE

Joyce’s Sushi in the Gelson’s Plaza serves some of the best Japanese cuisine in the Coachella Valley. The key to their enduring success is a commitment to source the freshest fish daily from Japanese fish markets throughout the world. Also, the same highly trained staff with little to no turnover. Owner and sushi chef, Michael Bliss, devotes himself to the proven techniques of master sushi chef while maintaining a welcoming atmosphere for guests. Patrons are greeted by servers and sushi chefs on arrival. The large sushi bar gives the customer a close look at the precise, humble crafts of knife skills and artistic presentation. Japanese cuisine requires the appropriate vessels for each individual dish and are like props in a culinary theater. It is a synthesis of colorful cuisine and floral arrangement.

The extensive menu includes a variety of tempura, ramen, Japanese salads, soups, fish and chicken teriyaki, udon, teppanyaki, and

tonkatsu. Their lunch and dinner specials include two or three entrees served with Miso soup, salad, and rice.

I have ordered these combo specials several times over the years and the consistent high quality is remarkable. The food is always the proper temperature and thoughtfully garnished.

The servers are well-informed about what they offer and provide recommendations based on their customers’ preferences.

I have enjoyed Chef Bliss’s weekly presentation of breaking down a whole Ahi fish into the melt-in-your-mouth tuna cuts that end up on your plate. I appreciate the skill and devotion of the true craftsmen on

BY DANIEL PARIS

display.

36-101 Bob Hope Drive, Suite E1 Rancho Mirage, CA 92270 (760) 202-8186

Monday: 4 pm – 10 pm

Tuesday-Friday: 11 am – 10 pm

Saturday: 2 pm – 10 pm

Sunday: closed

ROSÉS AND LOLLIPOPS & LOLLIPOPS AND ROSÉS THE VINO VOICE

Tell her you care each time you speak/ Make her your Valentine each day of the week/ Bring her nice things, sugar and wine things/ Rosés and Lollipops and Lollipops and Rosés.

Literary license is always part of the wine game. How many tunes, sayings, and jingles do we always hum a re-work in wine rhymes? As in “wine flies when you’re having fun” or “love the wine you’re with”. Maybe, “There’s a Riesling for everything”. Hey—we all do it!

Last week we searched out an exciting and sexy wine for the eternal day of love. This time we’re playing within the lines and discussing pink bubbly to pop on St. Valentine’s Day.

Spoiler Alert! There is a slew of rosés out in the market right now that are becoming boring to the taste. Many are simply one note of this red fruit or that, and some of the big time massive producers are just bottling as much as they can because it sells by the boat load. Here’s another one: “Life’s too short to drink insipid wine.” This week we’ll be recommending wine that will bring a smile and some love.

We’ll focus on presenting a wonderful Rosé Champagne or Sparkling wine to share with the one(s) you love. And we’ll keep it brief so we can include many of the best bubbly rosé for the money—and price ranges across the board. And thanks for the Vinepair staff for their notes:

By the way—Pink Prosecco is a fairly new phenomenon. Sure, the region has been making bubbly rosé for some time now, but it wasn’t until 2020 that they made it official with a DOC designation. Since then, an ocean of rosé from the Prosecco region has been flooding the markets. In Italian, these pink prosecs are called rosato—so if you see one when traveling in Italy, there you go. In the U.S., it’s Prosecco Rosé.

Josh Cellars Prosecco Rosé ($15) This Prosecco is exactly what it should be: very balanced and lean with minimal fruit and lively bubbles. If you’re in need of a thirst-quenching, bubbly, pink wine, then this is the bottle for you. It’s the definition of a crowd pleaser and is affordable enough to warrant buying a case or two.

Jeio (By Bisol) Prosecco Rosé DOC ($20)

The sliced pear aroma of this Prosecco is complemented by a unique and welcome note of Parmigiano rind. The palate, balanced with harmonious fruit and bubbles, is bright and refreshing. This is a pleasant and fruity wine.

Le Contesse Pinot Noir Brut Rosé ($15) Sometimes, simplicity is best. This Venetian pink bubbly defines that. It is a mineral-driven wine with a good amount of natural acidity, and the palate is more about the slaking mouthfeel than it is about fruit depth. It’s structured and lively with an undeniable balance.

Acquesi Brachetto ($18) If you like Moscato, then you’ll love this bottle. The nose is all strawberries. On the palate, that note transforms into a soft, creamy, and sweet strawberry jam with lithe bubbles running around the glass to keep the wine extremely refreshing.

Mumm Napa Brut Rosé ($22) Extremely affordable and widely available, this wine is a gem. The nose is soft, while the palate has great balance with grippy, lively bubbles. It’s a great everyday American Sparkler for life’s most spontaneous moments.

Schramsberg Vineyards Mirabelle Brut Rosé ($32) This rosé from Schramsberg has a nose of strawberry coulis, a dusting of confectioners’ sugar, and a whisper grass. The palate has round fruit and tight bubbles, making for a very

BY RICK RIOZZA

smooth mouthfeel.

J Vineyards Brut Rosé ($45) This rosé has a wonderful depth on the nose, where you’ll get classic notes of strawberries with a hint of orange peel. On the palate, soft bubbles, a balanced finish, and natural acidity keep things refreshing.

Perrier-Jouët Blason Rosé ($75) The Jouët family are not only winemakers, but botanists bringing their affinity with nature full circle — making wines with food in mind. On the nose, yeasty brioche dances with bright minerals, keeping the senses heightened. The palate is soft, with a concentration of natural acidity and playful bubbles giving structure to the palate.

Roederer Estate L’Ermitage Brut Rosé ($100) The nose on this California wine has a classic brioche note, but it does not overpower the aroma of heady fruit. The palate has soft bubbles winding through, as a slight hint of savory umami cleaves through the flavors of dark berries.

Krug Brut Rosé 25th Edition ($349) It’s been said that if most Champagnes are the appetizer, this Krug Brut Rose is the main course. This is the gift for the man who is not only head-over-heals over the gal but can’t think of anything except her! Of course she doesn’t even know the guy exists, but, this is the Champagne that will put him on her map.

It’s a deep and soulful wine that invites one to ponder life or simply sit back to enjoy. One critic said that this Krug bubbly is not for Valentine sweets, but for a bold gastronomic adventure. But hey! Love conquers all—enjoy!

The wine—an elegant, saturated salmon color—offers up fragrant aromas of strawberry, dried cranberry and grapefruit with lovely river stone currents running underneath. Practically jubilant bubbles carry a rush of bright, spicy red fruit—raspberry, red apple skin—layered with honeyed citrus, dried apricot and a hint of almond. There’s intensity here that lingers long on a dry finish, edged with a lovely hint of salinity like a gentle ocean wave.

And as to the Lollipops, check out Sweet Caroline Confections, Rosé Wine Lollipops Set of 10 $35.00 “Made with real delicious Rosé wine with hints of watermelon, strawberry and raspberry. The rose gold color sparkles throughout with gold edible glitter and rose gold foil.”

Keep them handy, wine and candy Rosés and lollipops and lollipops and Rosés.

Love & Cheers!

ARTSCENE

BY DEANN LUBELL

Snake Jagger’s surrealistic artwork is recognized internationally. His uncanny ability to juxtapose unrelated images into a vibrant desert landscape draws one inside an otherworld of fantasy. He will even go as far as to incorporate everyday objects into a vivid moon setting.

Some have said that Snake’s landscapes are too pristine, too perfect. However, others insist that this vividness is their appeal. His paintings allow us to share his comical sense of humor. There is no argument, though, that his curious art is most definitely entertaining.

Snake lives in the California high desert on a rugged piece of property he lovingly designed pebble by pebble, rock by rock, cacti by cacti to create a magical place of boulder lined paths, bridges, and viewing platforms where one can relax and enjoy a stunning sunset. It is this beautiful, raw desert location that inspires his creativity.

When Snake was about six or sevenyears-old, he observed his artistic parents individually painting and that flipped a switch in his head. From that point on he never stopped drawing and working on various mediums of art. Therefore, he is basically self-taught. He was not only inspired by his parents, but by Saturday morning cartoons and anything Disney.

“My biggest inspiration happened early

on in my teen years, when I was introduced to an artist named Noble Richardson,” said Snake. “His incredible desert landscapes with very bright colors and odd shaped canvases were the biggest for me developing my own unique ‘style’ of painting the desert. Other well-known artists who inspired me and kept me determined to develop my visions were Peter Max, Thomas Hart Benton, and surrealist Rene Magritte, who’s surrealistic images were the main inspiration for my ‘whimsical surrealism’ that I employ in my desert scenes.”

www.snakejagger.com

(Photo Credit: All photos of art and profile shot by Snake Jagger)

PET PL ACE BIG DOG FOSTERS URGENTLY NEEDED!

was very calm and sweet. We love helping a homeless animal prepare for a wonderful forever home!”

Travis adds, “We once owned two white German Shepherds and love the big dogs. Fostering gives us our ‘dog fix’ as we don’t have a dog of our own and like to travel a lot.”

Fostering expands the walls of the shelters. Big dogs do not do well when confined in shelter kennels, and when they become ‘kennel stressed’ this reduces their chance of getting adopted.

Loving All Animals, the group I work with, has a shelter for small dogs. We have some foster homes for small dogs and bottle-fed kittens. However, our few big dog fosters have left the Coachella Valley for the summer season.

Loving All Animals provides all the veterinary care, food, supplies, and training assistance you need. You can meet the adoptive family and be part of the happy adoption process. Think you might be sad when your foster dog gets adopted? Please think about how sad that dog feels sitting in a kennel when their family never came for them. You may end up a “foster failure” and adopt your foster pup, but that is welcomed.

BY JANET McAFEE

personality. Our volunteer dog trainers can help address any issue you may have with your dog.

Can you open your heart and your home to a large dog who deserves a second chance? Most large dogs are relatively calm inside the house and are content to lay happily at your feet. These brilliant magnificent creatures usually have an even temperament and are quick to learn commands.

Take a look at beautiful Bella, the German Shepherd girl pictured below waiting at our local county shelter. Her family never came for her after a microchip identified them. Bella hasn’t given up hope for a home. Big dogs of all breeds can be found in these public open admission facilities.

Can you help? Fostering is the key to the Coachella Valley becoming a “No Kill” community. Fostering may not only save a dog’s life, but it will bring you joy and purpose.

Beautiful big dogs are now languishing in our public shelters, and Loving All Animals needs foster homes to help them get second chance forever homes. Big dogs are much more likely to end up in shelters and remain there for a longer time than small dogs and puppies. During the pandemic we saw happy photos of empty shelter kennels on the news. Why has the situation changed? Here are some of the reasons:

THE ECONOMY IS FORCING MORE PEOPLE TO RELINQUISH ANIMALS – Rising prices and inflation means some families cannot afford veterinary bills and other expenses needed for their pets.

RISING RENTS AND HOME PRICES MEAN FEWER HOMES FOR ANIMALS – Some landlords are selling their rental properties to benefit from the current high home values. Loving All Animals gets lots of phone calls from distraught owners who have to move, and few landlords will accept pets when they can get renters who don’t have them.

Large dogs are the least preferred pets for apartment rentals.

SPAYING AND NEUTERING WAS NOT CONSIDERED AN ESSENTIAL SERVICE DURING THE PANDEMIC – Due to the lack of this service, more animals were born and there are not enough homes for all of them.

THERE IS A SHORTAGE OF VETERINARIANS

– This is an acute problem in the Coachella Valley. State law requires shelters and rescue organizations to spay and neuter their pets prior to adoption, and there are waiting lists for this procedure. Therefore, rescue groups cannot take it as many animals.

Foster parents Diane and Travis Medley are pictured here with one of their previous foster dogs, lovely German Shepherd Zena, rescued from the county shelter by Loving All Animals. Diane tells us, “Fostering Zena was not much different than fostering a small dog, except that they usually require a back yard. Big dogs are so smart and house train very quickly, Zena never had an accident inside the house. At 6 years of age, she

Large dogs in foster homes benefit from the extra social media presence and networking by the private rescue. Being in a foster home helps dogs become happier and more social. Many adopters prefer to adopt dogs that are in foster homes, because the foster parent is an expert as to that dog’s

MEET HARRY MEET DAKOTA

I’m now URGENT, still waiting for a home so I can give you a kiss! Meet me at the Coachella Valley Animal Campus, 72050 Pet Land Place, Thousand Palms, www.rcdas.org. I’m 90 lbs of doggie love, 2-yrs-old, a Husky/Shepherd. Ask to visit dog ID#A1703092 in a private visiting area. (951) 358-7387.

I’m a lovely 3-yr-old Husky girl, 43 lbs and the right size for happy car rides. Meet me at the Coachella Valley Animal Campus, 73-050 Pet Land Place, Thousand Palms from 10am to 4pm Mon thru Sat, www.rcdas.org. Ask to meet dog ID#A1712102 in a private visiting area. My hobby is hanging out with humans! (951) 358-7302

Big dogs have big personalities and big hearts to love you. They give gigantic hugs and colossal kisses!

Coachella Valley residents can call Loving All Animals at (760) 834-7000 for more information about fostering. You can email me at janetmcafee8@gmail.com for more information about being part of a life- saving foster team.

Here are some places where you can adopt a wonderful rescue dog or cat!

COACHELLA VALLEY ANIMAL CAMPUS –Open 10:00-4:00 Monday through Saturday. View animals online at all 4 county shelters www.rcdas.org, 72-050 Pet Land Place, Thousand Palms, (760) 343-3644. (Public)

PALM SPRINGS ANIMAL SHELTER – Open to the public, closed Tuesday. View animals online at psanimalsshelter.org and complete application for the one you want to meet, 4575 E. Mesquite Ave, Palm Springs, Call (760) 416-5718. (Public)

DESERT HOT SPRINGS ANIMAL CARE & CONTROL – Open daily 9:30-4:30. www. cityofdhs.org/animal-care-control.com, View animals at www.petango.com/dhsacc. 65810 Hacienda Ave, Desert Hot Springs, Call for appointment (760) 329-6411 ext. 450.

ANIMAL SAMARITANS – Open to the public. View their animals at www. animalsamaritans.org. Email volunteer@ animalsamaritans.org to foster or volunteer. Located at 72307 Ramon Rd, Thousand Palms, (760) 601-3918. (Private)

CALIFORNIA PAWS RESCUE - Call for an appointment to adopt. Located at 73650 Dinah Shore, Palm Desert. View their animals at californiapawsrescue.com, (760) 6563833. (Private)

HUMANE SOCIETY OF THE COACHELLA VALLEY – Fill out an application online www. orphanpet.com and call for an appointment. This shelter has dogs of all sizes and cats, Located at 17825 N. Indian Canyon, Palm Springs, (760) 329-0203. (Private)

KITTYLAND – Open to the public to adopt cats and kittens. Located at 67600 18th Avenue, Desert Hot Springs, www. kittylandrescue.org, (760) 251-2700. (Private)

PRETTY GOOD CAT – Foster based rescue for cats located in La Quinta. Contact them at prettygoodcat.com, (760) 660-3414 (Private)

LOVING ALL ANIMALS – Call for appointment to adopt dogs. Located at 83496 Avenue 51, Coachella, lovingallanimals.org, (760) 834-7000. (Private)

ANIMAL RESCUE CENTER OF CALIFORNIA

– Foster based rescue for dogs and cats in Indio. thearc-ca.org, (760) 877-7077 (Private)

FLUFFS & SCRUFFS – Foster based rescue for small dogs in Cathedral City. FLUFFSANDSCRUFFS@AOL.COM, (310) 9803383 (Private)

SOCIETY’S OUTKAST ANIMAL RESCUE

– Foster based rescue for dogs in Rancho Mirage, www.societysoutkasts.com, (760) 832-0617. (Private)

LIVING FREE ANIMAL SANCTUARY –Large outdoor shelter for dogs and cats up Hwy 74, Mountain Center, living-free.org, (951) 659-4687. (Private)

CITY OF BANNING ANIMAL SHELTER –Open daily 10am-6pm. Located at 2050 E. Charles St, Banning. Many beautiful animals of all sizes. View animals at arerescue.org/ banning. (951) 708-1280 Short staffed so don’t always answer phones. (Public)

CITY OF SAN BERNARDINO ANIMAL

SHELTER – Open 12:00 – 3pm Tues through Sat. Google “City of San Bernardino Animal Shelter” for website to view animals and get ID number of the animal you want. Located at 333 Chandler Place, San Bernardino, (909) 384-1304 or (909) 384-7272. (Public)

SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY ANIMAL

SHELTER AT DEVORE – Open 7 days a week. Call (909) 386-9280, www.sbcounty.gov/acc and get the ID number of animal you are interested in adopting, 19777 Shelter Way, San Bernardino (Public).

When I first moved to Palm Springs, I never really had the need for a specific Hospital complex of services. However, after some time, I visited a doctor who happened to be a member of the Eisenhower Health system.

After a few visits my doctor recognized that I had a heart murmur, which led me to a cardiologist. After two years of tests I was eventually diagnosed with a “leaky” mitral valve, which led me to open heart surgery to repair or replace the valve.

When I first heard that I had a heart problem, I could not believe it. My family was not prone to heart problems so I became a bit frightened when the surgeon said that I am heart healthy and least risk to repair the valve was open heart surgery. “I am so vivacious; this cannot be happening to me.”

Two days in ICU and three more days in the regular hospital was quite a daunting occurrence seeing that I never experienced such a long stay in a hospital.

BUT I must say that at all times I felt I was the only patient on the ward and never experienced such loving care and laughter. The staff was compassionate at all times with tender eyes always peering down at me. I was applauded for getting out of bed and walking 2 feet to sit in a chair! I was held by one of my nurses when I felt sad. She just kept on saying, “It is going to get better, I assure you my good friend. It is going to get better!”

When I first walked down the hall, the staff made me feel like I was a hero in a parade.

They again applauded even though most heart patients on the ward; probably at some time during their stay, was a member of their own parade.

So many staff members knew me by name and would come into my room to chat or even more wonderful, they would ask with great concern in their eyes, “How are you doing right now, Joe?” At no time did I feel alone especially when my lovely husband of 46 years, Charlie, sat next to me with concerned, sad, and loving eyes.

Finally the recovery process, which is its own challenge, included many visits to the campus. However, again the staff and crew were always friendly and efficient with the My Chart software system guiding me at all times. And during this recovery process I received calls from the various doctor office staff just to see how I was doing.

I never believed the cardiologist when he said that it would take 6-10 weeks to fully recovery. “No not me, I am too vibrant and I’ll be back to my ole self in 3 weeks!” Boy was I wrong. I finally learned to accept my situation

and learned the value of the word “Patience”.

So what happens when the journey sees a light at the end of the tunnel? Eisenhower sets up Physical Therapy for Cardio patients. When I heard that it was going to be 36 sessions, every Monday, Wednesday and Friday I said, “Oh my God; too long---taking too up too much of my time.” But then I realize that if my cardiologist, Dr. Choe, and my cardio surgeon, Dr. Logsden, did not do what they did; how much time would I have had on this glorious planet.

So here I am going to PT 3 times a week and again, the staff is remarkable. (See photos) Kind and concerned and competent as all the staff that I encountered on my Heartfelt Journey.

So why do I compose this letter? To let those who read this message know what it is like to experience love and kindness at a most vulnerable time in ones life. I believe that this love and empathy must come from the Eisenhower administration and a loving staff. I thank those who direct the staff with such concern for their patients with my most heartfelt appreciation.

- Joe Giarrusso, Palm Springs

HADDON LIBBY

TheSuper Bowl this year is happening just down the 10 freeway in Glendale, Arizona. This is the NFLs fourth trip to Arizona since its first visit in 1996 when the Dallas Cowboys beat the Pittsburgh Steelers in Super Bowl XXX. This year’s game is between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Kansas City Chiefs. The first Super Bowl was held at the Los Angeles Memorial Stadium aka the Coliseum in 1967 with the game played between the Kansas City Chiefs and the victorious Green Bay Packers.

The Super Bowl is a financial juggernaut. The cost of a 30-second Super Bowl ad for this year’s game will be between $2.5 million and $5 million. A ticket for the game is around $5,000 – quite an increase from the $12 price of the game 57 years ago. Even if adjusted for inflation, that first ticket would only be $100 today.

The National Retail Federation estimates that the Super Bowl will create nearly $15 billion in retail sales. It is estimated that 90 million people will go to viewing parties with an average cost of $79 per person.

As reported in Forbes, the NFL had revenues of approximately $18 billion last year. If we assume that NFL revenues for the current season go up by a bit more than 10%, the average revenue per team will be $625 million.

In addition to enriching NFL coffers and

THE NFL BY THE NUMBERS

Cowboys is estimated to be worth $8 billion. For comparison, the Rooney family bought the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1933 for $2,500 while the McCaskey family bought the Chicago Bears in 1920 for $100.

The highest paid NFL players are quarterbacks. Aaron Rodgers of the Green Bay Packers leads the list with a 2022 salary of $50.3 million. Russell Wilson of the Denver Broncos was second at $49 million followed by injury-prone Kyler Murray of the Arizona Cardinals at $46.1 million, special massage enthusiast Deshaun Watson of the Cleveland Browns at $46 million and Patrick Mahomes of the Kansas City Chiefs at $45 million.

The highest paid coach is Bill Belichick of the New England Patriots at $20 million followed by Pete Carroll of the Seattle Seahawks at $15 million and Sean McVay of the Los Angeles Rams at $14 million.

BY HADDON LIBBY

for 89,214 yards. Over the 21 seasons where he was a starter, his team won the division 19 times, appeared in the Super Bowl ten times, won seven Super Bowls and was the Most Valuable Player of the game five times. If that is not remarkable enough, he led his team on a game-winning 4th quarter drive in six of the seven victories.

Tom Brady won more Super Bowls than any of the 32 NFL teams and beat every team at least once.

those of retailers, many believe the NFL is a key reason why more households have not cord-cut and moved to streaming. During the last ratings season, the NFL represented 90% of the top 100 programs on live television.

The Washington Commanders are for sale by Dan Snyder. It is estimated that the successful buyer may pay $5.5 billion for the team. Last year, the Denver Broncos were bought by Rob Walton for $4.65 billion. Only three years earlier, the Carolina Panthers were sold for $2.3 billion. A team like the

As we gather in front of our televisions this Super Bowl Sunday, it is with the knowledge that football’s G.O.A.T. has finally retired. Tom Brady hangs up the cleats after 23 seasons to spend the next decade working for Fox Sports as their lead NFL color analyst for the cool sum of $375 million. Over Brady’s NFL career, he earned $333 million according to Sportrac.

Some of the records that Tom Brady holds include winning 251 games, passing for 649 touchdowns, and completing 7,753 passes

Haddon Libby is a proud New England Patriots fan, founder, and Chief Investment Officer of Winslow Drake Investment Management. For more information, please visit www.WinslowDrake.com

LEGAL REPRESENTATION OF THE INJURED & CRIMINALLY ACCUSED

DUI cases are among the most challenging Criminal cases, as you must deal with the Court and DMV…each independent of the other. My Pre Med/Pre Law science background at USC helps me understand the chemical tests.

Upon a DUI, the CDL will be taken and the driver will receive a Pink Piece of Paper, which is a Temporary License with the administrative per se info. It explains the driver has 10 calendar days to request a DMV hearing and weekends count as days. This protects the client’s right to a hearing and driving privileges from a suspension. If a hearing is not requested the license will be suspended on the 30th day after the arrest.

The ticket received contains the charges and Arraignment date. It will be 2-3 months after the arrest. COVID backed the Indio Court with 2800 cases around 1/1/23 but they are cleaning up the backlog. Many defense lawyers had been continuing their DUI’s cases for 1-3 years and then announcing Ready for Trial. Since October 2022, the courts can’t get all the cases out. When that happens we bring a 1382 Motion to Dismiss for lack of a timely prosecution. We have fortunately got several DUI’s dismissed recently with that argument.

Requesting and reviewing the DMV evidence gives the DUI lawyer a heads up of what they will receive at the arraignment. A DS367 form has the officer’s sworn statement of the facts, the driving record and the unsworn results of the breath or chemical test …and hopefully the police arrest report.

Experienced lawyers requests a “stay” or freeze on the DMV Suspension within 10 days. Then the CDL is good until the hearing

is resolved in a few months. Lawyers who have court proceedings on the same day as the hearing can request a continuance and thus allow the Defendant to drive with an extended Temp Lic.

The SB Driver’s Safety has jurisdiction over the CV. However now we just deal with telephonic hearings.

The DMV paperwork will provide info on the officer. You can subpoena the ofcr and ask the arresting agency for any additional paperwork they may have. Technically DMV can prove their case with just the DS367, and not provide an arrest report, as long as the DMV paperwork contains all info relevant to the enforcement action.

Your lawyer can subpoena any audio/ video and body cam tapes; the calibration logs for the regularly tested machine used for the breath test to see if it was working correctly both before and after the test. A blood packet and breath calibration logs, accuracy logs and usage logs from the arresting agency as well as any 911 call can be requested.

Most dui lawyers have a copy of the training manual for the agency so they can cross exam the officer on procedures followed. It will cost a little less than $300 to subpoena the officer for the DMV hearing. Using that at the DMV hearing could provide the info to win at that stage. Though not determinative, the DA will look into the chances of their winning at trial and either dismiss or make an “offer” that is attractive to consider.

Hiring a DUI expert is costly but often essential to show that the D was not DUI at the time of the driving, though breath test results may show that when the test was taken at the station 1-3 hours later they were impaired. They would suggest a “rising BA defense”.

At the DMV hearing, an experienced lawyer will object (unsuccessfully) to the hearing officer acting as both the prosecutor and judge. You won’t win, but make an argument to preserve your right to appeal. The hearing will be a discovery tool as to what to expect at trial and to learn if the officer is the brightest bulb in the pack. In addition a good DUI lawyer should Object to the probable cause statement being “Hearsay” per section 1280 of the evidence code for Hearsay and Lack of Foundation and VC 13380 if the arrest occurred before symptoms were observed. An experienced DUI lawyer gets resolution mileage when: no time of driving, no time of objective symptoms, no time of arrest, no time of chemical test, no signature and thus NOT SWORN etc.

Of course before trial, order a copy of the recorded DMV hearing to see if there are any inconsistencies between the DMV testimony and that in court. I always try to talk to the ofcr BEFORE any proceeding to informally get an idea of what he will say on the stand.

Sometimes when you get to court the matter is not on the calendar. That doesn’t mean the case was not filed. Sooo, protect your client by getting something stamped by the clerk that you were there. The DA has up to a year to file the case and they often file and issue a warrant without notifying the driver. Years later when stopped for a traffic violation, the BW shows up and the driver is arrested and taken into custody on the warrant.

If after a protracted period of time the matter is still not filed a “SERNA” motion to dismiss can be presented. The court will look to see if the DA sent a letter and if the D is still living at the same address as reflected on the citation.

I advise clients when they first come into

the office on a new DUI, to consider enrolling on their own in AA and possibly signing up for DUI classes to show they are proactive and want to address any possible issue without the court ordering it. I often suggest they log any charitable involvement so that a “Mitigation” packet can be presented to the DA and the Judge. Though this will not prove the client was not guilty, it could go a long way in getting a better deal.

Review the case with your client by going over the police report and any videos etc. The D needs to understand the pros and cons of going to trial, as well as the additional legal costs and the costs of retaining an expert. After all that, the D will have to sign a “Tahl Waiver” in order to enter a plea. In the Indio court a No Contest is NOT accepted. Only guilty.

Only the DA can reduce or dismiss, whereas a DUI judge just deals with sentencing. Sometimes when the DA is unreasonable, as is often the case with DA Hestrin’s guidelines, an end run to the judge is warranted. In other words request an “indicated sentence” from the judge. Sometimes no jail or less community service will be the result.

For questions or suggestions for future columns contact dale@dalegribowlaw.com or 760 837 7500

Remember you can always counter offer the DA and the mitigation packet can go a long toward a better “deal”. If the “line deputy” is not reasonable contact their supervisor. I would always do that with the court deputy to not make them look bad.

EL PASEO: FREE HEALTH SEMINAR

BY TIAR’A LITERARY & ILLUSTRATION

concerning a health condition that everyone should be concerned about - Alzheimer’s.

We all know that health should be one of the most important things we focus upon in our lives, right?

The truth is many of us don’t, and sadly the results are sometimes catastrophic.

Ailments in life will come, but many can be prevented by prescribing basic health principles to your daily routine that support optimizing health rather than destroying it.

None of us require a PHD to know that if we drink alcohol, smoke cigarettes, take illicit drugs, stay awake all night, and never exercise, we will eventually incur some unfortunate health conditions. Sadly, weakwills, lack of faith and knowledge, breeds this not-so-pleasant consequence more times than not.

In today’s world, we have a plethora of health information readily available via the internet and social media. Each of us can - at the command of our fingertips, type away and grasp it. There are many teachings concerning how we can all learn to better manage our health - some take this information for granted. But how do we know what is sound health management, or what might be recommendations of a witch doctor, or a quack?

SAFETYTIPS

As you prepare for Super bowl festivities make sure to be a good sport and keep your ‘Safety’ front and center at all times,” says Fire Chief Sam DiGiovanna.

Super Bowl Sunday falls second to Thanksgiving for the most food consumption in one day. Additionally, it is estimated that approximately 325 million gallons of beer is consumed this day.

DUI crashes involving injury were 41% more likely to occur on Super Bowl Sunday than on any other Sunday in January or February. Additionally, New Year’s Eve was the only night of the year with a higher rate, with a 44% increase. No wonder safety is our priority!

Are you hosting the game in your Home Field? Be a good Quarterback and avoid a false start with unhealthy foods. Keep the ‘tight end’ looking just that - by adding healthy snacks to your menu instead of high fat foods or go for that super bowl trophy by serving all healthy snacks. Let’s avoid that ‘Wide Receiver’ if possible.

Sometimes all we need is a little help or rather “swift kick” on the backside to get us to move in the correct direction.

Many of us Coachella Vallians are familiar with our desert’s chichi district, or what the kids call “hot spots” - El Paseo. This miniature Beverly Hills is all dressed up with designer clothing stores, expensive restaurants, hair salons, and even a good ol’ Apple store. What you might not know is that on its East end is a health clinic that has been assisting locals and celebrities achieve optimal health (at reasonable cost) for nearly three decades.

DESERT LONGEVITY INSTITUTE [or DLI] and its lead physician, Dr. Daniel L. Johnson M.D., has been in medical practice for over 40 years. Dr. Johnson’s level of expertise when it comes to health, hormones, nutrition, and longevity are unmatched. Dr. Johnson’s clinic located on El Paseo, provides services including but not limited to; hormone balancing, detoxification, I.V. treatments, nutrition, and sells pharmaceutical grade supplements.

This coming February 14th at 10:00am, Dr. Johnson is providing a FREE, that’s right - FREE seminar at his El Paseo clinic. Festivities that morning will include an in-depth discussion

For those who may not be aware, Alzheimer’s is a scarily increasingly common condition that progressively destroys memory and other highly important mental functions. Brain cell connections become “clogged” by amyloid plaque which leads them to degenerate and eventually die. In laymen terms, signals can no longer pass information through cells, thus leading to the absolute destruction of memory and other cognitive function. The main symptoms for Alzheimer’s are memory loss and confusion. To date there is no known cure for Alzheimer’s. However, Dr. Daniel Johnson and his life-long medical journey will provide those who attend his seminar on the 14th with comprehensive preventative measures, and methods that can lend a hand in assisting with the repair of damaged brain cells for those who might be suffering from the onset of Alzheimer’s, and for those who wish to try and prevent it.

Dr. Johnson’s seminar takes audiences on a health odyssey that outlines new and exciting scientific findings. Seminar topics will range from: genetics, hormonal optimization, detoxification, sleep, stress reduction, nutrition, exercise, and brain exercises - all these and more work together to optimize

health and help reverse or prevent conditions associated with Alzheimer’s. The seminar will additionally shed light upon the 6 types of Alzheimer’s and how each requires a specialized treatment plan.

The seminar is for locals, snowbirds, current and or future DLI patients, families, and caregivers. Everyone is welcome, and all will be thoroughly educated, inspired, and entertained. Refreshments and snacks will be available, so make certain to have a lighter than usual breakfast that morning.

The seminar is FREE, and as a thank you for your attendance, DLI will be giving away a FREE copy of The End Alzheimer’s Program, The First Protocol to Enhance and Reverse Decline At Any Age by Dale E. Bredsen, M.D. Desert Longevity Institute [DLI] is located at 74-075 El Paseo, Suite B2, Palm Desert, CA (between Portola and Lantana). Dr. Johnson and your health hope to see you there next Thursday, February 14th at 10:00AM.

TIAR’A LITERARY & ILLUSTRATION is a premier content creation and marketing company that produces engaging and informative content for individuals and businesses worldwide.

Email: tiarapublications@gmail.com

“Creating content for individuals and businesses worldwide”

SUPER BOWL SUNDAY – YOU MAKE THE CALL!

Again, ‘safety’ is your priority as you prepare game day meals and snacks, follow food safety guidelines to prevent illness. If you’re barbequing, make sure you have a fire extinguisher near and keep the grill away from combustibles.

Limit alcohol. None of us want a penalty for drinking and driving. Be a good Line

Backer and take steps to make sure you and other guests avoid driving under the influence of alcohol. Be a good cheerleader and designate a non-drinking driver before any party or celebration begins.

Never leave children unattended. Make sure your pets can handle the excitement before placing them in new or strange

BY FIRE CHIEF SAM DIGIOVANNA

situations.

Don’t be the “Offensive Lineman” by being a poor sport or offending others. People and their behavior have a tendency to change on Super Bowl Sunday. Don’t get tackled un-expectantly, keep the attitude in check and use common sense!

Have fun, be Safe and avoid any unnecessary roughage by being smart!

*Note: The information in this article was compiled from various sources. These suggestions are not a complete list of every preventative or loss control measure. This information is not intended to replace additional safety manuals or the advice of another qualified professional(s). We make no guarantee of results from the use of this information. We assume no liability in connection with the information nor the suggestions made.

LET’S TALK CORRECT POSTURE SENDMEATRAINER

FREEWILLASTROLOGY

BY COACH NADIA POPOVA

WEEK OF FEBRUARY 9 © Copyright 2022-23 Rob Brezsny

ARIES (March 21-April 19): During my quest for advice that might be helpful to your love life, I plucked these words of wisdom from author Sam Kean: “Books about relationship talk about how to ‘get’ the love you need, how to ‘keep’ love, and so on. But the right question to ask is, ‘How do I become a more loving human being?’” In other words, Aries, here’s a prime way to enhance your love life: Be less focused on what others can give you and more focused on what you can give to others. Amazingly, that’s likely to bring you all the love you want.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): You have the potential to become even more skilled at the arts of kissing and cuddling and boinking than you already are. How? Here are some possibilities. 1. Explore fun experiments that will transcend your reliable old approaches to kissing and cuddling and boinking. 2. Read books to open your mind. I like Margot Anand’s The New Art of Sexual Ecstasy. 3. Ask your partner(s) to teach you everything about what turns them on. 4. Invite your subconscious mind to give you dreams at night that involve kissing and cuddling and boinking. 5. Ask your lover(s) to laugh and play and joke as you kiss and cuddle and boink.

ache. Take me to the places on the earth that teach you how to dance, the places where you can risk letting the world break your heart.”

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Libran author Walter Lippman wrote, “The emotion of love is not selfsustaining; it endures only when lovers love many things together, and not merely each other.” That’s great advice for you during the coming months. I suggest that you and your allies—not just your romantic partners, but also your close companions—come up with collaborative projects that inspire you to love many things together. Have fun exploring and researching subjects that excite and awaken and enrich both of you.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Scorpio writer Paul Valéry wrote, “It would be impossible to love anyone or anything one knew completely. Love is directed towards what lies hidden in its object.” My challenge to you, Scorpio, is to test this hypothesis. Do what you can to gain more in-depth knowledge of the people and animals and things you love. Uncover at least some of what’s hidden. All the while, monitor yourself to determine how your research affects your affection and care. Contrary to what Valéry said, I’m guessing this will enhance and exalt your love.

There are two main definitions of a human posture: Correct Posture & Faulty Posture.

The key to good posture is the position of the spine. The spine has three natural curves - at your neck, mid/upper back, and lower back. Correct posture should maintain these curves, but not increase them. Your head should be above your shoulders, and the top of your shoulder should be over the hips.

What is Correct posture? It is the position of the body in which minimum stress is applied to each joint.

What is Faulty posture? It stands for any static position that increases the stress to the joints.

Generally, there are two types of posture

Contributing Factors To Postural Dysfunction:

• Lack of education or awareness of correct posture

• Sedentary lifestyle

• Occupational demands

• Joint stiffness

• Decreased fitness

• Muscle weakness

• Muscle tightness

• Poor core stability

Types of Posture Dysfunction:

1. Forward Head

Forward head posture places the head in front of the body’s midline. The result of too many hours hunched in front of a computer,

looking down at a phone, or driving, this type of posture problem can create significant neck and shoulder pain.

2. Kyphosis Kyphosis is similar to forward head posture, but is more severe and is sometimes referred to as hunchback. Defined by a significant curvature of the upper back, this type of poor posture is often the result of osteoporosis, aging, and disc degeneration.

3. Swayback

Swayback occurs when the hips sit in front of the body’s midline. This type of poor posture often occurs because of extensive sitting, which weakens the back and gluteal muscles. It can create an inward curve of the lower back that is distinct even when standing.

4. Flatback

Flatback is a type of poor posture defined by a loss of the curvature in the spine. Flatback, which is often caused by conditions such as inflammatory arthritis, can lead to pain when standing for too long.

A personal trainer can introduce exercises that will help you to strengthen the right muscles and restore appropriate alignment of your back, head, shoulders, and hips. These exercises may include stretching, strengthening, or yoga exercises.

For more details please visit our website cvsendmeatrainer.com or call (760)880-9904 to request free consultation.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): You are an Italian wolf searching for food in the Apennine Mountains. You’re a red-crowned crane nesting in a wetland in the Eastern Hokkaido region of Japan. You’re an olive tree thriving in a salt marsh in southern France, and you’re a painted turtle basking in a pool of sunlight on a beach adjoining Lake Michigan. And much, much more. What I’m trying to tell you, Gemini, is that your capacity to empathize is extra strong right now. Your smart heart should be so curious and open that you will naturally feel an instinctual bond with many life forms, including a wide array of interesting humans. If you’re brave, you will allow your mind to expand to experience telepathic powers. You will have an unprecedented knack for connecting with simpatico souls.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): My Cancerian friend Juma says, “We have two choices at all times: creation or destruction. Love creates and everything else destroys.” Do you agree? She’s not just talking about romantic love, but rather love in all forms, from the urge to help a friend, to the longing to seek justice for the dispossessed, to the compassion we feel for our descendants. During the next three weeks, your assignment is to explore every nuance of love as you experiment with the following hypothesis: To create the most interesting and creative life for yourself, put love at the heart of everything you do.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): I hope you get ample chances to enjoy deep soul kisses in the coming weeks. Not just perfunctory lip-to-lip smooches and pecks on the cheeks, but full-on intimate sensual exchanges. Why do I recommend this? How could the planetary positions be interpreted to encourage a specific expression of romantic feeling? I’ll tell you, Leo: The heavenly omens suggest you will benefit from exploring the frontiers of wild affection. You need the extra sweet, intensely personal communion that comes best from the uninhibited mouth-to-mouth form of tender sharing. Here’s what Leo poet Diane di Prima said: “There are as many kinds of kisses as there are people on earth, as there are permutations and combinations of those people. No two people kiss alike—no two people fuck alike—but somehow the kiss is more personal, more individualized than the fuck.”

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Borrowing the words of poet Oriah from her book The Dance: Moving to the Deep Rhythms of Your Life, I’ve prepared a love note for you to use as your own this Valentine season. Feel free to give these words to the person whose destiny needs to be woven more closely together with yours. Oriah writes, “Don’t tell me how wonderful things will be someday. Show me you can risk being at peace with the way things are right now. Show me how you follow your deepest desires, spiraling down into the ache within the

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): In his book

Unapologetically You, motivational speaker Steve Maraboli writes, “I find the best way to love someone is not to change them, but instead, help them reveal the greatest version of themselves.” That’s always good advice, but I believe it should be your inspirational axiom in the coming weeks. More than ever, you now have the potential to forever transform your approach to relationships. You can shift away from wanting your allies to be different from what they are and make a strong push to love them just as they are.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): I analyzed the astrological omens. Then I scoured the internet, browsed through 22 books of love poetry, and summoned memories of my best experiences of intimacy. These exhaustive efforts inspired me to find the words of wisdom that are most important for you to hear right now. They are from poet Rainer Maria Rilke (translated by Stephen Mitchell): “For one human being to love another human being: that is perhaps the most difficult task that has been entrusted to us, the ultimate task, the final test and proof, the work for which all other work is merely preparation.”

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): To get the most out of upcoming opportunities for intimacy, intensify your attunement to and reverence for your emotions. Why? As quick and clever as your mind can be, sometimes it neglects to thoroughly check in with your heart. And I want your heart to be wildly available when you get ripe chances to open up and deepen your alliances. Study these words from psychologist Carl Jung: “We should not pretend to understand the world only by the intellect; we apprehend it just as much by feeling. Therefore, the judgment of the intellect is, at best, only the half of truth, and must, if it be honest, also come to an understanding of its inadequacy.”

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): “In love there are no vacations. Love has to be lived fully with its boredom and all that.” Author and filmmaker Marguerite Duras made that observation, and now I convey it to you—just in time for a phase of your astrological cycle when boredom and apathy could and should evolve into renewed interest and revitalized passion. But there is a caveat: If you want the interest and passion to rise and surge, you will have to face the boredom and apathy; you must accept them as genuine aspects of your relationship; you will have to cultivate an amused tolerance of them. Only then will they burst in full glory into renewed interest and revitalized passion.

Homework: Name one thing you could do to express your love more practically. Newsletter. FreeWillAstrology.com

Rob Brezsny - Free Will Astrology freewillastrology@freewillastrology.com

IS CBD JUST A MOLECULE OR A MIRACLE?

Ask any home health nurse if she sees patients with medical cannabis in their home. Her answer will be: “Most definitely Yes”. My hospice patients taught me how to treat pressure ulcers with Manuka honey and cannabis tinctures over ten years ago. Now I see research proving my antidotal experience. Medical and recreational programs have become a free-for-all in the national Cannabidiol (CBD) market since the passage of the Farm Bill in 2018. Through our patients, we became familiar with cannabinoidinfused topicals marketed to treat minor aches and pains. Because they’re easy to use and non-intoxicating, these products may serve as familiar, low-risk entry points for elderly, wary, or cannabis-naive individuals into the wider world of cannabis products.

Cannabis-infused salves, and lotions, work because cannabinoid receptors CB1 and CB2, are abundantly expressed in skin cells.

Cannabis topicals also bind directly with secondary targets including TRP (“trip”) channels, PPARs (nucleus receptors), and serotonin receptors. These receptors thus reduce local inflammation and pain.

Cannabinoids for Inflammatory Skin Diseases. A recent article in the journal Pharmaceuticals examines previous research into cannabis-based medicines for inflammatory skin diseases such as acne, eczema, dermatitis, and psoriasis. Topically delivered active ingredients in the other human studies cover quite a bit of ground: Cannabidiol (CBD), Cannabigerol (CBG), delta9 Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC),

hemp seed oil, the endocannabinoid anandamide, the cannabinoid-like endogenous compound palmitoylethanolamide (PEA), and the synthetic research cannabinoid HU210. (See the article coachellavalleyweekly.com/ can-cannabis-treat-long-covid.)

The Skin Endocannabinoid System

A recent review, published in the journal Cells in December 2022 demonstrates a deeper appreciation not only of the endocannabinoid system, (ECS) the body’s master regulator but also of the skin itself, the body’s largest organ. This is a concise collection of ECS-mediated skin functions includes a graft worth viewing delineating the issues below:

• Melanogenesis (the production and distribution of melanin, critical to protecting the skin from UV radiation and oxidative stress)

• Wound healing

• Cutaneous barrier function (including both “inside-out” protection against water loss and “outside-in” protection from external

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threats like infectious agents, chemicals, and allergens)

• Sebocyte biology (or the function of sebaceous glands, which produce an oily substance called sebum, the overproduction of which can cause acne)

• Hair follicle biology and the control of hair growth

• Effects of photo exposed epithelium (CBD may reduce the harmful effects of UV radiation)

•Cutaneous pain, or pain transmission and perception in the skin

•Keratinization (the process in which cells from beneath the skin are converted to keratin, a protein that helps form hair, nails, and the skin’s outer layer or epidermis)

•Skin aging processes

Formulations Abound for Each Disease

As I have mentioned in my lectures cannabis topicals are as prevalent as Kleenex brands. They come in many dilutions, high

BY RUTH HILL R.N.

CBD, high THC, or a balance of 1:1 ratio of CBD to THC. Also, you can find sativa THC or indica THC. Varies doses of THC and CBD work on various skin issues. Researchers at Germany’s Rostock University found evidence of the potential of cannabinoids to treat diseases of the skin. These include allergic contact dermatitis, scars and keloids, epidermolysis bullosa, pyoderma gangrenosum, acute inflammation, androgenetic alopecia, eczema, atopic dermatitis, Dermatomyositis hidradenitis, suppurativa, histamine-induced itch postherpetic neuralgia, pruritus, psoriasis, systemic sclerosis, urticaria, and last but not least, venous leg ulcers.

If you are willing to experiment, you can also treat these skin issues above independently with several products that produce the greatest result. Talking to the creator of the particular product you want to use will garner the best results. One product available in Coachella Valley is Wild Bills Balm created by Wild Bill’s Family and found in The MicroBuddery in Desert Hot Springs or at the Vault Dispensary of Palm Springs

Learn more about Cannabis Education Dosing Without the High on the 2nd and 4th Saturday of the Month from 11 AM to 2 PM at the Vault Dispensary Lounge. Call 760-8669660 or send comments to hilruth@gmail.com