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Desert Hot Springs, CA PERMIT NO 00005
Friday, April 5, 2019 Vol. 15 No. 28
Aerial Tramway To Reopen NBC PS News Staff Following a nearly twomonth closure and almost $4 million in repair costs and lost revenue, the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway is poised to reopen Monday. The tramway has been closed since a Feb. 14 storm saturated the area and washed out some streets, including
Tramway Road, the main route to the aerial attraction. The first car is scheduled to leave at 10 a.m., with the box office opening at 9:30 a.m. Online ticket sales will resume April 8, tramway officials said. “While the tramway was on track for record attendance in the fiscal year 2018-19, it is estimated that nearly
100,000 visitors were displaced due to the 46-day closure,” spokeswoman Cara Youngman said. “The tram also estimates that the incident resulted in almost $4 million in repair costs and lost ticket revenues.” In addition to the washedout roadway, the rain caused damage to the attraction’s main power line, along with
the Valley Station water tank and Mountain Station roof, Youngman said. Last month, the Mount San Jacinto Winter Park Authority approved $351,071 to fund identified repairs, while also setting aside up to $500,000 for other potential repairs, engineering, and inspections, at the discretion of the general
manager. The authority also approved $300,000 to continue paying the tramway’s roughly 70 employees through April 1. “We truly look forward to welcoming back tram visitors beginning April 1st,” Tramway General Manager Nancy Nichols said. “Also, I wish to Continues on Page 3
A brand new, modern painted mural by artist and actor, Joe Dietl By Desert Star Staff Artist Joe Dietl recently moved to Palm Springs from Los Angeles where he was a successful working actor for decades in Hollywood, having done almost 100 commercials, television guest roles and indie features with top stars like Mike Myers, Jennifer Aniston, Will Ferrell and more. But his move to the desert has allowed him to focus on his painting full time and his gift to the city of Palm Springs is a brand new 8 foot by 16-foot desert landscape mural on the patio of the iconic “Bit of Country” cafe in Palm Springs. Dietl’s
mural will be a unique addition to the main street’s charm due to his use of saturated and hyper-real colors not typically seen in landscape paintings. The mural came about when Dietl and his husband had lunch one day at the cafe where he noticed the large wall on the patio, which used to have a mural, was now painted over in white. He was told that the cafe was under new ownership (which is an incredible story on its own) and they wanted a “new look.” Dietl, having just had a successful show at the Continues on Page 3