Gabriel Hart

Playing in notable punk rock bands like Government Issue in the 80s, Jawbox in the 90s, then Burning Airlines in the early 2000s, J. Robbins career has gone from off the map all-ages punk venues to unlikely major label darlings on MTV, when Jawbox's single ‘Savory” could be found on regular rotation on Alternative Nation. Yet with all his travels' peaks and valleys, Robbins says Tuesday's in-store appearance at Up on the Sun Records will be his first time ever coming to the Joshua Tree area. He'll be taking advantage of some days off opening for Sugar (led by fellow post-punk legend Bob Mould of Husker Du), right before their L.A. show at the Hollywood Palladium.

The festivities begin Friday at 5:00 p.m. with the Morongo Valley Music Festival featuring Bombshelter Alley, Daytime Moon, Waxy, Spankshaft, and more.

With funding from MDLT through Caltrans mitigation funds, The Wildlands Network is currently in the first phase of research to build the two wildlife crossings on Highway 62. With target species of mountain lion, bighorn sheep, and bobcat, they'll use DNA extracted from scat and hair samples found by highly trained conservation dogs to estimate crossing rates for each species to compare future crossing rates after construction. Wildlife biologist Christina Aiello explained why these sites were chosen for the crossings:

To avoid any last-minute upsets like the 2024 election when in-person voters banded together last minute to elect Ziggy the Chicken, this year voting was done anonymously online through Facebook. Former mayor Roxy was present to pass off her seat to the pet mayor with the most votes, and Fire Chief Daniel Casner was the Master of Ceremonies for this election. Casner announced all the candidates, from dogs, cats, snakes, and Mojave Weird's pet rock Pedro.

A Site Plan Review and Environmental Assessment will be considered for the new C&S Rotisserie Chicken Restaurant, a 3164 square-foot interior space and 860 square-foot open air covered patio that will include a fresh baked bread bar, a coffee bar, fresh fruit juice and ice cream bar, located next to the C&S Café.

The Commission reviewed the new C&S Rotisserie Chicken Restaurant, which will have a bakery, coffee, juice, and ice cream bar, to be located next door to the current C&S Café. The proposed 3164 square-foot building will have an additional 860 square-foot patio and will require construction of a new parking lot to be located west of the existing structure to be shared with C&S Café, with off-site parking proposed to the south of the alley at the northeast corner of Elk Trail and Santa Fe Trail. The new single story structure's décor will align with the current C&S Café: western façade with stucco exterior and metal roof. Ten different desert native plants will also be incorporated into the landscaping.

For the meeting's agenda, the Board will discuss a proposed partnership with Desert Region Fire Safe to provide a supplemental emergency-response apparatus and volunteer support at Station 2 under the Morongo Valley Fire Department's incident command. It's recommended that the Board approve the proposed partnership in concept and direct staff to return a final MOU for Board approval following Fire Chief, legal, and insurance review.

The nearly yearlong litigation between Morongo Cookie Company owner Christopher Cross and Morongo Valley Community Services District (MVCSD) Finance Director Johnny Tolbert finally came to an official close last night, where Cross is being awarded $7500 despite no charges filed against Tolbert for the alleged assault at 2025's Operation Gobble Gobble holiday turkey giveaway on November 23. The settlement comes from the Special District Risk Management Authority (SDRMA) with whom the MVCSD is contracted.

This Saturday. October 24 at 8:00 a.m. Big Morongo Canyon Preserve presents Birdability Day in partnership with Audubon California, offering a more accessible bird watching experience.

This Halloween, Art Queen transforms into HallowQUEEN for an afternoon of trick-or-treating, costumes, creativity, and community on Saturday, October 31, from 3:00 to 7:00 p.m.