June 4, 2022
The Fire Was Where?
There was a fire last night around 7 PM in Desert Hot Springs. The Desert Sun phoned it in, relying on the fire department's tweet that said the location was "66700 Blk 6th St." But the fire department included a map in their tweet that pointed to the coordinates 33°58'07.4"N, 116°29'47.1"W, which is on 8th Street just east of Mesquite.
KESQ actually sent out a reporter and camera, but they were even less specific than the newspaper. KESQ said it was at "Mesquite Avenue, just off of Palm Drive." Since Mesquite parallels Palm, that's the equivalent of saying "somewhere on Mesquite."
So I put on my Brenda Starr boots and headed out to investigate. The fire was right where the fire department's map was pointing; they just mistyped 6th for 8th.
permalink | June 4, 2022 at 08:08 PM | Comments (0)
May 15, 2022
That Was A Nice Slam!
Heard it coming. Felt it coming. And then it came. Most distinctive slam of an earthquake that I've ever felt. It didn't sound like I had any damage. It was small, but sharp. I'll get you the numbers as they become available.
It was in Long Canyon, within walking distance (a long walk). 4.27 miles (6.87 km) from me, measured on a direct line according to Google. Some boulders have moved.
USGS info. Currently estimated at 3.8. Noticeable.
permalink | May 15, 2022 at 11:20 PM | Comments (0)
April 14, 2022
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.
permalink | April 14, 2022 at 05:20 PM | Comments (0)
April 12, 2022
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.
permalink | April 12, 2022 at 04:12 PM | 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.
permalink | April 7, 2022 at 05:42 PM | Comments (0)
March 25, 2022
PBR Comes To Desert Hot Springs
"Pabst Labs, a cannabis beverage company, unveiled its brand new manufacturing facility and distribution center in Desert Hot Springs." "Pabst Labs produces Pabst Blue Ribbon’s 10mg High Seltzer, Not Your Father’s Cannabis-Infused Root Beer, as well as ST IDES Cannabis product lines, including its 100mg infused 4oz shots."
Unfortunately, it doesn't seem that High Seltzer will be available for sale anywhere in the Coachella Valley. Their website lists dispensaries and delivery services up and down California, but nothing out here in the desert. How demoralizing!
permalink | March 25, 2022 at 03:03 PM | Comments (0)
March 19, 2022
Carniceria Rancho Grande
From Riverside County Department of Health inspections reported in the Press-Enterprise.
Carniceria Rancho Grande, at 13313 Palm Drive in Desert Hot Springs, was inspected March 16 and received a failing grade of 81/B with one critical violation. Multiple items of food were at unsafe temperatures, including a container of cooked tomatoes sitting on the floor and a container of pickled carrots that had been at room temperature since it was delivered a week before. Among the 11 other violations, there were many flies in the facility, with some landing on the cutting boards, as well as some other small bugs on a wall and a dead cockroach in a hole in the wall; an employee kept wiping his hands on his dirty apron; dishes were being washed but not sanitized; and several areas needed cleaning or repair. This was the market’s second failed inspection in less than two years so it now faces an administrative hearing.
Wilma & Frieda’s, at 155 S. Palm Canyon Drive in Palm Springs, was inspected March 16 and received a failing grade of 80/B with two critical violations. Food was at unsafe temperatures in three coolers that were impounded for not keeping cold. A dishwasher also was impounded for not dispensing sanitizer. Among the nine other violations, there was an empty cockroach trap next to food in one of the nonfunctional coolers, cooked chicken wasn’t being cooled down fast enough and several areas needed cleaning.
Rick’s Restaurant, at 1973 N. Palm Canyon Drive in Palm Springs, was inspected March 15 and received a failing grade of 80/B with two critical violations. Some food was at unsafe temperatures in a refrigerator that wasn’t keeping cold. Also, a fly landed on biscuit dough on a prep table. Among the eight other violations, there were old rodent droppings in a food storage area (but no evidence of live rodents) and the facility needed cleaning.
permalink | March 19, 2022 at 09:59 AM | Comments (0)
March 17, 2022
Four More On Ilford XP2 Super 400
These were shot with Ilford XP2 Super 400 film in January or February 2022.
Putting new gas lines under West Drive.
The Church of St Paul in The Desert in Palm Springs.
Mt San Gorgonio and DHS High School.
permalink | March 17, 2022 at 06:47 PM | Comments (0)
March 10, 2022
Proposed Voting District Maps For Desert Hot Springs
The agenda for thee March 15 City Council meeting is now available. Included in it are the two draft maps for voting districts in DHS. This is a link directly to that item in the agenda packet.
permalink | March 10, 2022 at 08:17 PM | Comments (0)
March 9, 2022
$20 Million(-ish) For New MSWD Headquarters
On March 3, 3033, the Mission Springs Water District Board of Directors held a workshop to discuss the proposed Critical Services Center And Administration Building. The video of the workshop is available here. Director Duncan was absent.
General Manager Arden Wallum said that of the five major water purveyors in the Coachella Valley, MSWD has the worst administrative building. The site where they plan to locate the new headquarters was purchased about 2000. GM Wallum said there was a consensus in favor of one of the designs presented at the previous meeting. There was actually no consensus. He wasn't sure which one was preferred. Vice President Nancy Wright couldn't recall any consensus. President Russ Martin said he had said he preferred Option 2 only because it was the cheapest, but that any of the three designs would be acceptable. Actually, at the previous meeting he had said he preferred Option 2 before he knew that it was also the cheapest. VP Wright thought that Option 1 was cheapest. Her memory was incorrect.
The three options are options in the external appearance only. The interior layout is the same in all three. VP Wright asked which way was north on the site layout. The layout has a compass rose showing north is up, but the architect walked her through the compass directions. Director Ivan Sewell asked about the more compact site layout that was presented as a possible cost saving choice at the prior meeting. The architect said that could reduce the cost about $600,000. At the prior meeting it was said that could have reduced the cost by $1 million to $1.5 million. Now, with a range from $600,000 to $1,500,000 I would call those just wild-ass guesses.
MSWD currently has a staff of about 52 people. The architect said the new headquarters would be designed to accomodate "70-some-odd" staff. Further expansion will be possible on the site.
Ms. Wright mentioned that the district paid only $25,000 for the site originally.
There was a long discussion with Directors sharing their opinions on details of the different designs. If you want that in detail, go to the video.
Option 3 was preferred by the Directors. Directors Sewell, Grasha and VP Wright preferred the shallow curved dais for the boardroom.
$20,000,000
They plan to pay for the new building using only property tax revenue and "other general administrative revenues." They do not intend to use the revenue from water and sewers to pay for it.
It was pointed out that it would be more correct to say that $20 million is the estimated cost of the full project, not just the building(s).
The annual property tax revenue of $1 million would be sufficient to cover either a 20-year loan of $13.5 million at 3.9% or a 30-year loan at 4.1%. Some grants may also be available. Director Grasha recommended financing the entire $20 million in order to preserve the district's cash on hand for emergencies or changes in state regulations. He also said he expects the final cost to be $30 million.
permalink | March 9, 2022 at 05:47 PM | Comments (3)
March 5, 2022
Kam Lun Chinese
Kam Lun Chinese Food, 66610 8th St., Desert Hot Springs
Closed: March 2
Grade: 80/B, failing
Reason: Failing an inspection while on probation. There was one critical violation, for an employee using the same scoop for raw shrimp and raw diced vegetables. Among the 12 lesser violations, the inspector saw one live nymph cockroach at a handwashing sink and a dead roach on the food-prep sink, there was a dead fly on the dishwashing sink drainboard, there were rodent droppings in an outdoor storage area, a spiderweb was hanging from the ceiling near the walk-in cooler, cooked wontons were at an unsafe temperature, multiple containers of food were not being protected from contamination, and equipment and other surfaces throughout the restaurant needed cleaning. The restaurant has been on probation since August after failing three inspections and being shut down twice for rodent infestations in a two-year span.
permalink | March 5, 2022 at 06:52 AM | Comments (1)
February 23, 2022
Four More On KONO! Monolit
These were all shot on KONO! Monolit 64 film.
A hairy cactus in Desert Hot Springs.
You can see some petroglyphs near the center of this photo.
Mt San Gorgonio viewed from Cathedral City through a telephoto lens.
The Fifth Street trailer park in Desert Hot Springs is very gradually getting into better shape.
permalink | February 23, 2022 at 07:55 PM | Comments (0)
February 20, 2022
Tour de Palm Springs
I went out to watch the riders on Little Morongo Road during the Tour de Palm Springs.
permalink | February 20, 2022 at 05:22 PM | Comments (0)
February 19, 2022
Four Digitals In DHS
You can see some riders in the Tour de Palm Springs coming along Little Morongo Road after their rest stop at Mission Lakes Market Place.
In front of the inactive (AFAIK) MedMen cultivation facility.
Mt San Gorgonio catching the morning light above Desert Hot Springs High School.
permalink | February 19, 2022 at 05:22 PM | Comments (0)
Designs For New MSWD HQ Considered
At the February 17, 2022, study session the MSWD Board of Directors was presented with some design concepts for the proposed new headquarters for the district. The developer showed a lengthy Powerpoint to the board. Images from the Powerpoint were not included in the agenda packet. I'll include a few screen shots here, but if you really want to see what was presented, you should watch the YouTube video of the meeting starting at 14:57.
Roger Clarke from Ruhnau Clarke Architects led the presentation.
Over the past several months the board has discussed the new headquarters, but as far as I could determine, they never specified the exact location to the public, referring only to a site on Two Bunch Palms Trail. Now that has been cleared up. It's a parcel of land where the district already has a well, just east of one of the cultivation facilities.
Moving in a little closer, the first slide in the Powerpoint shows the general layout of the site.
As you can see this location will combine administrative and operations functions, unlike the current setup where administration is on Second Street and operations are mostly down around the Horton wastewater treatment plant.
Perhaps you are asking yourself the same questions about the location that I am. This land is zoned industrial and is immediately adjacent to several cannabis cultivation facilities. At one time the price of land there went sky high. Is it still sky high, or has that market softened? What's the market like for land in commercial zones elsewhere in the city? I don't recall hearing any discussion of it during any board meeting, but I hope someone did an analysis on the property value. Would the district be ahead by selling this site (minus the land necessary for the well, of course) for some sky high price and then using that money to buy land in a commercial zone in the city that would be closer to bus lines? Besides benefiting the customers who need to visit MSWD, the district might end up with a bigger site or a less expensive site. I know nothing of commercial land prices in DHS, nor whether there is a chunk of commercial land available of the size that would suit MSWD for its purposes.
Here's the conceptual diagram of how things will be laid out in the administrative building.
More detail is provided in this slide:
Three options were presented for the shape of the dais: slightly curved, deeply curved or just flat. There were also three options as to exterior appearance.
Option 1:
Option 2:
Option 3:
The cost of the three options are all within $250,000 of each other. Option 2 would be the least expensive. The overall site is 450,443 square feet in all three options. They could go with a smaller site (417,420 s.f.) that would reduce the available parking and save $1-million to $1.5-million.
Director Grasha suggested staff parking should be behind a secure wall or fence. I agree, and would have thought any architect would make secure staff parking a standard feature at any government building, but Rhunau Clarke had not. They said they could, of course, make that change.
President Martin said he preferred Option 2. Director Sewell preferred either Option 2 or 3. Director Duncan preferred Option 1 or 3. Mr. Clarke said Option 1 had the most glass, but the amount of glass in all three options could be adjusted.
permalink | February 19, 2022 at 03:07 PM | Comments (0)
January 11, 2022
IGLA Coming to Desert Hot Springs
IGLA is International Gay & Lesbian Aquatics. They have just announced that in April 2022 IGLA will be coming to Desert Hot Springs and Palm Springs. The water polo competition will be at the Furbee Aquatic Center. Specific dates will be April 6 through 10.
permalink | January 11, 2022 at 03:21 PM | Comments (0)
January 6, 2022
Four Photos In The Coachella Valley
Shot on Ilford Delta 3200 film.
Bee in a bloom on my Cereus peruvianus. Kentmere Pan 400 film.
A parking garage in Palm Springs, also shot on Kentmere Pan 400.
Fountain in Downtown Park in Palm Springs. Kentmere Pan 400 film.
permalink | January 6, 2022 at 04:45 PM | Comments (0)
January 5, 2022
Four On Kentmere Pan 400
All these photos taken in Desert Hot Springs were shot on Kentmere Pan 400 film. Kentmere is Ilford's cheaper brand. I used a red filter with these.
Dollar General construction a few months ago.
El Reposo Spa, a former spa on Fifth Street. It's obvious they've been under a little pressure from code enforcement over the last couple of years to finally clean up the place. Not long ago they removed the plywood that had been covering these windows into the hot mineral water pool room, which I'm sure is no longer in use. I would think the room could get really overheated on sunny days.
This is the mobile home park between Fifth and Sixth Streets which is also finally getting seriously cleaned up.
permalink | January 5, 2022 at 08:46 PM | Comments (0)
January 4, 2022
The New Long Canyon Trailhead
I went to explore the new Long Canyon trail not long ago. The actual trailhead isn't right there where the MWD dirt road intersects paved Long Canyon Road. Nor is it at the other end of the MWD road, where the aqueduct lies. Instead, it's about halfway between the two. The parking areas are obvious, but if you miss them there is this sign.
BTW, that was shot on Rollei Infrared film with an infrared filter, as are all of these photos.
The trail proceeds not on the MWD road, but to the right, in the wash between the great stacks of tailings from the aqueduct.
A lot of bees around the eastern "hatch" for the aqueduct. I concluded they must have a hive down below the hatch. If they were simply gathering water, then I should have found just as many bees around the western hatch, but I saw none.
permalink | January 4, 2022 at 06:17 PM | Comments (0)
December 28, 2021
Four More On Let It Snow! Film
All of these were shot with Film Photography Project's Let It Snow! film which is sensitive into the infrared zone. I used a dark red filter.
A Palm Springs bike rack.
The fountain in the new Downtown Park in Palm Springs.
Another shot of "History of Suspended Time" by Gonzalo Lebrija, this time with Palm Springs Pride happening in the background.
The mural at Delicia's on Pierson Boulevard in Desert Hot Springs.
