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April 30, 2022
Public Health Report
From The Press-Enterprise:
Canton Bistro, at 79405 Highway 111 Suite 5 in La Quinta, was inspected April 26 and received a failing grade of 74/C with three critical violations. Some cooked chicken had been left at room temperature for hours. Surfaces weren’t being sanitized. And there was no hot water at the kitchen handwashing and bar dishwashing sinks. Among the 11 other violations, food had been delivered that day and boxes of raw meat were left sitting on the wet and dirty floor, while boxes of produce were left in an outside alley next to a grease bin that was attracting flies. The restaurant also needed cleaning and decluttering.
ROC’s Firehouse Grille, at 36891 Cook St. Suite 10 in Palm Desert, was inspected April 26 and received a failing grade of 80/B with 11 violations, two of them critical. Food was at unsafe temperatures in two refrigerators that were impounded for not keeping cold. The dishwashers in the kitchen and bar also were impounded for not dispensing sanitizer, and surfaces weren’t being wiped down with sanitizer. This was the restaurant’s third failed inspection since 2019.
Filed under Coachella Valley,Health | permalink | April 30, 2022 at 07:21 AM | Comments (0)
Disney PR Chief Out
“After three months in this new role, it has become clear to me that for a number of reasons it is not the right fit,” Morrell said in a Friday email to staff. “After talking this over with [Chief Executive Bob Chapek], I have decided to leave the company to pursue other opportunities.”As chief corporate affairs officer, Morrell not only oversaw the company’s public relations but also was responsible for its dealings with government and its environmental and social responsibility strategies.
Filed under California,Gay Issues,Politics | permalink | April 30, 2022 at 07:14 AM | Comments (0)
April 29, 2022
Biggest Property Tax Hike In History
And it was approved by Republicans. You can still hear so many Republicans say they are Republican because they want smaller government and lower taxes, but those haven't been the policies of the Republican party since the 1920s. Bigotry is what that party has consistently stood for.
Filed under Politics | permalink | April 29, 2022 at 06:17 PM | Comments (0)
April 26, 2022
BMW Ad Shot Locally
According to Adweek it was shot "in Yucca Valley, where a replica of the iX was placed atop a 12-foot stone tower." "Other scenes of natural beauty were shot in Joshua Tree National Park and Mount San Jacinto in Palm Springs, Calif."
Filed under Automotive,Coachella Valley | permalink | April 26, 2022 at 08:11 AM | Comments (0)
April 19, 2022
International Male Film Coming To Tribeca
ALL MAN: THE INTERNATIONAL MALE STORY will premier at the Tribeca Festival in June. More info about the film. Oddly, they seem to have made the trailer private on YouTube and, therefore, unviewable. There is also NO information about the documentary on IMDB.
Filed under Film/Movies,Gay Issues | permalink | April 19, 2022 at 12:19 PM | Comments (0)
April 18, 2022
Rooftop Cannabis Cultivation Suggested
"New York Mayor Eric Adams has floated the idea of rooftop cannabis greenhouses atop public housing buildings" in New York City. The first problem with that is NYC public housing is subsidized by the federal government which makes marijuana illegal anywhere in the housing. So very nice of the mayor to suggest cultivation in a place where it obviously won't happen. But I'm sure the city owns lots of other properties that have no federal involvement. If the mayor really wants to do something, he'll look into opening up some of those rooftops for cultivation — or maybe even other kinds of gardening.
Filed under Marijuana | permalink | April 18, 2022 at 01:45 PM | Comments (0)
April 17, 2022
Black Rock City Street Plan For 2022
The street names will be Esplanade, Apparition, Breton, Cocteau, Dalí, Enigma, Fugue, Glimmer, Hypnagogia, Inception, Jarry and Kahlo. No "L" street this year because they enlarged the block between "E" and "F."
Filed under Burning Man,Cities/Urbanism | permalink | April 17, 2022 at 11:18 AM | Comments (0)
April 16, 2022
Thai Smile - Palm Springs
From the Press-Enterprise:
Thai Smile, 100 S. Indian Canyon Drive, Palm SpringsClosed: April 12
Grade: 71/C, failing
Reason: Cockroach infestation. The inspector, visiting in response to a complaint about dirty conditions, saw a live cockroach on the wall behind a microwave. Among the 16 other violations, food including raw beef, pork and fish were at unsafe temperatures; food was being stored on the floor in the prep and cooking areas, including a large bucket of soup that was left to cool at room temperature; the beer gun line was in contact with ice; food was being stored uncovered; and equipment, floors and walls needed cleaning. This was the restaurant’s second failed inspection in less than a year, so it now faces an administrative hearing.
Reopened: April 13
Filed under Coachella Valley,Health | permalink | April 16, 2022 at 06:44 AM | Comments (0)
April 15, 2022
Three Cemetery Photos and A Rose
John Foster, deceased 1681, Dorchester North Burying Ground (Boston). Kodachrome, 1992.
Brothers Henry D. Smith (dec'd 1862, Bull Run) and James H. Smith (dec'd 1866). Westerly Burying Ground, West Roxbury (Boston). Kodachrome, 1991.
Ebenezer Warren (dec'd 1756) and Deacon Edward Ruggles (dec'd 1765). Eliot Burying Ground, Roxbury (Boston). Kodachrome, 1991.
Pink rose with some kind of insect that might be a bee. Kodachrome, 1992.
Filed under History,Photography | permalink | April 15, 2022 at 07:07 PM | Comments (0)
Coachella Livestream
Three of 'em:
Filed under Coachella Valley,Music | permalink | April 15, 2022 at 01:01 PM | Comments (0)
April 14, 2022
"Channel 5" In Ukraine
"Channel 5 with Andrew Callaghan" has taken a break from his usual (interviewing Republicans, conspiracy theorists and other idiots) and put himself in Ukraine!
| permalink | April 14, 2022 at 05:35 PM | Comments (0)
Voting By District
Here in Desert Hot Springs the city is going through the same process that Mission Springs Water District and Desert Water Agency have already gone through; that is, switching from at-large elections to election by district after receiving a demand letter from whatever law firm that is taking advantage of this process. There have been those who have suggested the city should ignore the demand or fight it. Santa Clarita thought they could fight it, got sued, and have now agreed to settle by paying the plaintiff $370,000 and they still have to switch to voting by district. If they had simply gone along with the demand while also flushing $370,000 down a toilet, the result would be the same for the city.
Filed under California,Desert Hot Springs,Politics | permalink | April 14, 2022 at 05:20 PM | Comments (0)
April 13, 2022
Metropolitan Los Angeles Racial Map
This is supposed to be based on the 2020 census, but I have no idea who prepared it, so I can't vouch for its accuracy.
Notice that "Majority African" is black while "Majority Middle Eastern" is a very dark navy blue. The only way you can identify the very dark navy blue on the map is that it is adjacent to the purple "Plurality Middle Eastern." What, with only 11 colors they ran out of distinctive ones? How about bright or Kelly green?
Filed under Cities/Urbanism | permalink | April 13, 2022 at 06:35 PM | Comments (0)
Russian Brain Drain
The NY Times reports that tech workers began leaving Russia shortly after the invasion of Ukraine.
By March 22, a Russian tech industry trade group estimated that between 50,000 and 70,000 tech workers had left the country and that an additional 70,000 to 100,000 would soon follow.
The tech workers are going to Armenia, "Georgia, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates and other countries that accept Russian citizens without visas."
Filed under Politics,Technology | permalink | April 13, 2022 at 06:28 PM | Comments (0)
April 12, 2022
Four From Nineteen-Ninety-Four
A man seen wearing a condom vest in NYC when I was there for the Gay Games in 1994; Kodachrome.
Manhattan Mall (formerly Gimbels) in 1994; Kodachrome.
Le Château Frontenac in Quebec; Kodachrome, 1994.
The Charles River under ice; Kodachrome, 1994.
Filed under Architecture,Photography | permalink | April 12, 2022 at 06:58 PM | Comments (0)
British Climate Activist
The rigidity and closed-mindedness of Miranda Wheleha in this video is impressive. Her desired ends justify any means, even counter-productive means.
Filed under Politics | permalink | April 12, 2022 at 04:28 PM | Comments (0)
Tracy Turco Buzz
Maybe this Tracy Turco thing will work out well. A point of view from waaaaaay outside the city could be good for generating tourism, but I find it a little grating when she refers the city as The Desert Hot Springs as if we were a freeway or a formerly occupied nation (The Ukraine, The Congo, The Sudan). But I do want to draw your attention to this "logo" (is that what it would be called?) that she has designed with a faux-neon font. It looks like something from Hot Springs Hotel, the "adult" TV show that was shot in the Miracle Springs Resort in the 1990s.
On the plus side, so far the city has given her only $25,000; her scope is limited to one block of Pierson Boulevard; she has real experience; and she's putting her own money into other investments in the city. The city will be getting some benefit from the time and money spent on the Downtown Vortex plan from years ago which tore down some of old buildings that were too small for commercial use, and bought up parcels so they could be combined to a practical size.
Filed under Cities/Urbanism,Coachella Valley,Desert Hot Springs | permalink | April 12, 2022 at 04:12 PM | Comments (0)
April 9, 2022
Health Department Report For This Week
From the Press-Enterprise:
Blue Coyote Grill, 445 N. Palm Canyon Dr., Palm SpringsClosed: April 7
Grade: 72/C, failing
Reason: Excessive flies. The inspector, visiting in response to a foodborne illness complaint, saw flies landing on and crawling in washed lettuce in the food-prep sink, a container of tortilla chips, clean plates, cutting boards and below the bar counter and sinks. There were also four dead cockroaches in a cabinet and two more in the bar area. There were two other critical violations: Food was at unsafe temperatures in a refrigerator that was impounded for not keeping cold, and cooked food wasn’t being cooled down fast enough. Those led to well over 100 pounds of food being discarded. Among the 12 additional violations, there was biofilm in an ice machine, the person washing dishes didn’t know manual dishwashing procedures and the facility needed cleaning.
Reopened: April 8
Meng’s Filipino Cuisine, at 34091 Date Palm Drive Suite B in Cathedral City, was inspected March 30 and received a failing grade of 81/B with one critical violation. Meat skewers that had been left in the handwashing sink and a tilapia that had been put in a bowl of hot water to defrost that morning and left underneath the dishwashing sink were at unsafe temperatures. Among the 11 other violations, dishes weren’t being washed or sanitized properly, a fly swatter with a dead fly stuck on it was hanging next to clean dishes, food was being stored uncovered or in unapproved plastic bags, and the floors needed cleaning. The restaurant passed a mandatory follow-up April 6 with a score of 95/A.
Filed under Coachella Valley,Food and Drink,Health | permalink | April 9, 2022 at 09:56 AM | Comments (0)
April 7, 2022
IGLA Water Polo in Desert Hot Springs
The International Gay and Lesbian Aquatics Association (IGLA) is holding a competition in Palm Springs and Desert Hot Springs. Today and tomorrow it's water polo at the Furbee Aquatic Center. I walked over this morning and got a few photos. Here are four of them.
Filed under Coachella Valley,Desert Hot Springs,Gay Issues,Photography,Sports | permalink | April 7, 2022 at 05:42 PM | Comments (0)
April 2, 2022
Some More Kodachrome
All of these were shot on Kodachrome.
The top deck of the Provincetown II ferry. This looks like the crowd from the Boston-Ptown bike ride returning to Boston. 1991.
Cathédrale Saint-Jacques in Montreal in January 1992. If you go to visit Montreal for pleasure, don't do it in January. It makes January in Chicago seem like Florida in comparison.
David with his bicycle and a sculpture in 1991. My first guess is that this is in the deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum in Lincoln, Massachusetts, but this sculpture does not now show up on their website, and I can't confirm it was there 30 years ago.
A New England town green that has managed to make itself so iconic that I have no idea what town it really is. It can just stand in for any and all small New England towns
Filed under Art,Photography | permalink | April 2, 2022 at 06:08 PM | Comments (0)
