The Desert Trumpet

The Desert Trumpet seeks to increase political engagement and encourage a participatory political process by reporting on city government.

Our focus is Twentynine Palms and the Morongo Basin. The Desert Trumpet, named for the idiosyncratic plant native to the Mojave Desert, aims to publish weekly with a focus on getting 29 Palms residents the information they need to be active engaged citizens of our City. Editor: Cindy Bernard
Assistant Editor: Heidi Heard
Lead Copy Editor: Kat Talley-Jones
Contributing writers: Cindy Bernard, Heidi Heard, Jonathan Hume, Kat Talley-Jones, Natalie Zuk

12/15/2025

TOMORROW at 5 pm, the Twentynine Palms Planning Commission is holding their final meeting of 2025 where they will hold 3 study sessions—

Discussion topics include updating the General Plan, making the City permit process easier on small businesses, and updating the list of roads maintained by the city.

Do you have a road in mind that needs the City’s attention? What do you think about some of the proposed zoning changes that City Staff is suggesting?

Sound off in the comments below and catch our agenda preview before the meeting here.

Study sessions, General Plan discussions, land use and zoning designations open to changes

12/14/2025

Daniel Mintz and Octavious Scott take over as Mayor and Mayor Pro Tem, Captain Steven Scovel becomes the new Sheriff commander in the Morongo Basin, a five year strategic plan is adopted and the distribution of numerous thank yous highlight the final Twentynine City Council meeting of 2025.

Read it at deserttrumpet.org

https://www.deserttrumpet.org/p/recap-twentynine-palms-city-council-0e8

Daniel Mintz and Octavious Scott selected as Mayor and Mayor Pro Tem, Five Year Strategic Plan adopted.

12/13/2025

Meet Twentynine Palms Planning Commission Chair Jessica Cure, the final installment in our Next Gen 29 series! From Jessica’s interview:

“It’s completely human to feel anxious about change. I think the best thing we can do is listen, communicate, and educate without dismissing people’s feelings.

Development in the desert should be slow, thoughtful, and intentional. When people are included in the process and understand the ‘why’ behind decisions, it becomes a lot easier to navigate together.”

Read the full profile at deserttrumpet.org

https://www.deserttrumpet.org/p/next-gen-29-jessica-cure

The Planning Commission Chair on listening to longtime locals while bringing structure, collaboration, and a designer’s eye to desert development

12/07/2025

Will the final City Council meeting of 2025 be a sprint or a marathon? There are 6 awards and presentations, 7 Consent Calendar items and just 1 discussion item...the selection of Mayor. ***But more important of all is the formal adoption of a 5-Year Strategic Plan which to date has had zero public discussion or scrutiny.*** We think you should read it - which is why we made a pdf for you to download. Get it at deserttrumpet.org.

The packed agenda includes the formal adoption of a 5-year strategic plan and the selection of a Mayor and Mayor Pro Tem

12/06/2025

Meet Twentynine Palms Tourism Business Improvement District (TBID) Vice Chair Ashton Ramsey, the fourth of our five Next Gen 29 profiles! From Ashton’s interview:

“We’re either growing and going to become a city that’s just not worth anything — that’s filled with strip malls and fast food — or we’re going to have artists and business people come in who are creative, who are living here, doing something. The more creative types and unique businesses that can take up our boarded up shops and make them special, the more we have a town that we can hold on to that is worth anything.”

Read the full profile at deserttrumpet.org

From Hollywood to the High Desert: How a Los Angeles producer became one of Twentynine Palms' most visible champions

12/03/2025

What’s the weirdest place you’ve seen a mourning dove build a nest? Do you have any around your home?

These gentle birds often turn porches and patios into nesting spots, showing how easily wildlife can live right beside us. And have you ever watched them fly? They have skills that would make a Top Gun jealous!

With their tender family bonds and insistence on building inconvenient nests, they remind us to stay calm, be persistent, and find beauty in everyday moments.

On the fierce, funny, devoted lives of mourning doves

12/01/2025

December skies = celestial gifts.�

The stars of winter have arrived.
Jupiter is blazing in the December sky.�
This month’s Cold Moon is a supermoon.�

Long nights, crisp air, and some of the year’s best stargazing. �From meteor showers to rising winter constellations, this is a great month to look up.

December’s Night Sky: Meteors, Giant Planets, and the First Stars of Winter

11/30/2025

Introducing Terms of Engagement, our new s*x positive column by alternative lifestyle writer, relationship coach and psychology professional JoJo Blake. Topics covered include communication, relations, pleasure, healthy boundaries, consent and everything in between.

From JoJo:

“As we step into this exploration together, my hope is that you feel not only informed but also supported and empowered. This column is an invitation to grow, to question, to unlearn, and to rediscover with curiosity rather than fear.”

Do you have a question for JoJo? Leave us a voice mail with your first name at the Desert Trumpet phone line 760-362-6099, and we’ll pass it along for a future column. Voice mails will be converted to text, and the identity of callers will be kept confidential.

Do you live outside of the Morongo Basin but want to subscribe? You can! Just subscribe to The Desert Trumpet, go to your Substack settings, scroll down to “subscriptions,” and click on or hit “Edit” for the Desert Trumpet. Then select and deselect the newsletters you want to receive, including Terms of Engagement.

Our new monthly column explores s*x-positive thinking and behaviors

11/29/2025

As part of our series highlighting the next generation of civic leaders in Twentynine Palms, we spoke to Sara Lyons, the Vice Chair of the PAAC who is inspired by Twentynine Palms' legacy as an oasis of murals and is a passionate advocate for creative expression. Read more:

The Vice Chair of the PAAC is inspired by Twentynine Palms' legacy as an oasis of murals and is a passionate advocate for creative expression.

11/24/2025

Twentynine Palms just landed a major win with the Levitt Music Series Grant—$120,000 bringing three years of free outdoor concerts to Freedom Plaza, thanks to powerhouse organizing by Audrey Philpot, Anna Stump, and hundreds of local voters.

And it’s not just Levitt: from CAC awards to youth arts programs, veteran storytelling, public art, and a growing literary scene, arts funding is pouring into the city like never before.

With momentum building, is Twentynine Palms finally ready to recognize the arts as a true pillar of its future?

The Levitt Lands in Twentynine Palms—but it's not the only game in town

11/23/2025

Meet Twentynine Palms Public Art Advisory Committee Chair Paul Razo, the second of our five Next Gen 29 profiles! From Paul’s interview:

“Support each other and this city. If you see a gap in what’s happening, fill it–don’t just complain about it. From the first natives, to the homesteaders, to today one thing has always remained true: you can’t survive the desert alone.

It takes a community and it takes people stepping up.”

Read the full profile at deserttrumpet.org

The PAAC Chair advocates for a city as beautiful as the desert that surrounds it

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Twentynine Palms, CA
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http://www.deserttrumpet.org/

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