The Desert Trumpet

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

Packrats make their nests, also known as middens, out of sticks, bones, stones, tortoise poops, and whatever wonderful t...
06/24/2026

Packrats make their nests, also known as middens, out of sticks, bones, stones, tortoise poops, and whatever wonderful things they can find. They also have amazing superpowers—read more to find out what they are!

What is your midden made of? 🤔

The unexpected superpowers of the packrat

The June 18 board meeting of the Twentynine Palms Tourism Business Improvement District focused on a discussion about re...
06/23/2026

The June 18 board meeting of the Twentynine Palms Tourism Business Improvement District focused on a discussion about revising grant and sponsorship guidelines to drive overnight stays and enhance visitor experience in the city. Read more:

The board meeting focuses on revisiting grant and sponsorship guidelines to drive overnight stays and enhance visitor experience in Twentynine Palms.

As part of the City’s General Plan revamp, the Twentynine Palms Planning Commission tackled big questions about growth a...
06/22/2026

As part of the City’s General Plan revamp, the Twentynine Palms Planning Commission tackled big questions about growth and zoning at their latest meeting.

Commissioners dug into neighborhood maps and development issues with the City’s long-term vision in mind. Here’s what you missed in our meeting recap. 👇

To offset residential housing capacity loss, City staff suggests density changes.

The Twentynine Palms City Council meets Tuesday, June 23 at 6 pm with a packed agenda, including a key vote on a propose...
06/21/2026

The Twentynine Palms City Council meets Tuesday, June 23 at 6 pm with a packed agenda, including a key vote on a proposed 1% local sales tax that could raise $2 million a year for city services like roads, parks, and law enforcement. 💰

The Council will also tackle the city's pension shortfall by opening a new savings account to help cover a $2.4 million retirement funding gap. 🤔

The meeting is open to the public, so if any of these issues affect you, show up or email your council members before 2 pm that day. 📩

A pension savings plan, a road project wrapped up, and the sales tax clock ticking down

For the first time, we're publishing our San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors agenda preview in full — and the lea...
06/21/2026

For the first time, we're publishing our San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors agenda preview in full — and the lead story is solar.

The county approved the Lear Solar Project just outside Twentynine Palms, and its own staff report appears to contradict the rules it was supposed to follow. With a second solar fight and the Energy Ad Hoc Committee both on Tuesday's agenda, we get into how the county's solar process actually works — and where it bent.

Also inside: a Landers area motel expansion that just cleared the Planning Commission, water rates locked in through 2030, a new fire station, and the Copper Mountain, Flamingo Heights, and Yucca Mesa road districts — three of which may be dissolved after voters rejected higher charges — plus our full rundown of Basin-specific and Basin-impact items in the 206-item agenda.

Free to read!

Take a look at www.deserttrumpet.org

Two solar items, a water rate ordinance taking effect, and $13.7 million in sheriff contracts — a guide to Morongo Basin items buried in the county's 206-item June 23 Board of Supervisors' agenda.

On June 16, 2026, the Morongo Unified School District Board met to approve a new contract with the Morongo Teachers Asso...
06/20/2026

On June 16, 2026, the Morongo Unified School District Board met to approve a new contract with the Morongo Teachers Association, salary increases for teachers and administrators, and the preliminary 2026-27 budget. In public comments, Parents raised concerns around fiscal solvency, spending, superintendent power, school closures, and trust, transparency, and communication with the school board. Read more:

On June 16, 2026, the Morongo Unified School District Board approved a new contract with the Morongo Teachers Association and salary increases

The agenda was shorter. The council comments were not. Our June 16 Yucca Valley Town Council recap is up — BMX is coming...
06/19/2026

The agenda was shorter. The council comments were not. Our June 16 Yucca Valley Town Council recap is up — BMX is coming back and the Grubstakes rodeo might be next. The animal shelter has a new no-kill partner, Edison is on the hot seat, and a council member mourned chickens lost to a bobcat.

Read it at www.deserttrumpet.org

Council OKs BMX lease and a shelter partnership; residents turn out for a Grubstake rodeo revival and looser backyard-chicken rules; Edison outages draw fire

The Twentynine Palms Planning Commission meets tomorrow at 5pm, 6136 Adobe Road. The residential housing math is getting...
06/15/2026

The Twentynine Palms Planning Commission meets tomorrow at 5pm, 6136 Adobe Road.

The residential housing math is getting complicated as staff sifts through further zoning and Land Use changes as part of the City’s General Plan revamp.

For this meeting, the Planning Commission will tackle land use in the Smoke Tree neighborhood— Hatch Road, Knotts Sky Park, Sullivan Road, and beyond. Catch the details in our agenda preview before the meeting.

The Land Use & Zoning saga continues...

At last Tuesday’s 29 Palms City meeting, a $30,000+ debt was forgiven in closed session and public discussion items incl...
06/15/2026

At last Tuesday’s 29 Palms City meeting, a $30,000+ debt was forgiven in closed session and public discussion items included a plea for public records compliance, a resolution backing a state public records bill, direction on 1% sales tax measure with further consideration at the June 23 meeting, and a solid waste rate adjustment. Flock dominated public comment and another resident asks about a General Plan Citizen Advisory Committee.

Read our meeting recap at www.deserttrumpet.org

A debt forgiven behind closed doors, a public records fight in the open, and the sales tax clock starts ticking

The Yucca Valley Town Council June 16 agenda is somewhat lighter than the 2700 page behemoth that sprawled across the Ju...
06/14/2026

The Yucca Valley Town Council June 16 agenda is somewhat lighter than the 2700 page behemoth that sprawled across the June 2 meeting.

This week’s meeting is a mix of follow-through (a second reading of the Walmart fuel station ordinance, a vehicle purchase confirmation) and several items worth a closer look: a formalized partnership for the animal shelter, ongoing consultant cost increases at the aquatics center, and a land donation to the county fire district.

The choice for invocation remains controversial. While last meeting’s invocation was markedly inclusive, this week’s church’s beliefs would brand many residents as sinners: s*x without marriage, divorce and gay marriage are all frowned upon.

Should those who are invited to give invocations at city and town meetings represent inclusive beliefs?

Two weeks after its marathon budget session, the Council returns with a lighter load: a closed session on the town attorney, a 2nd read on gas at Walmart, and a new animal shelter partnership

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Twentynine Palms, CA
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