April 12, 2023
Celebration of Life for Ron Gilbert
On Saturday April 29 at 6:pm, at Cabot's Pueblo Museum in Desert Hot Springs there will be a celebration of life for Ron "Pink" Gilbert the creator of Ron's Log. He had passed away suddenly in November and it was a shock to all. His family and friends invite you to attend. In Ron's honor, join us in wearing something pink. The Museum is located at 67616 Desert View Ave, Desert Hot Springs, CA 92240
Filed under Desert Hot Springs | April 12, 2023 at 08:01 AM | Comments (0)
March 6, 2023
A Councilman's Misuse of an Official Logo
Ted Mayrhofen, newly elected Director of Mission Springs Water District, who was elected in a three-way race to the seat vacated by Steve Grasha who in turn was elected to the Desert Water Agency Board, has apparently told MSWD officials not to take or post his photo in the lobby along with the other Directors, or to put it on the MSWD web page either. His spot on the MSWD web page has an unnamed profile for a photo.
Which is why it was very surprising that his friend, City Councilman Russel Betts (who had formerly appointed Mayrhofen to the City Planning Commission) created a social media post using Mayrhofen’s photo. Mayrhofen’s photo was photoshopped with MSWD’s logo, and then posted on MSWD’s company Facebook page by Mr. Betts. That post was made to look like an official MSWD post because of the use of the MSWD logo. [BTW, the official logo of any City, Water District, or private business is property of that entity and cannot be used without permission.]
The post was up for a time on Monday morning 3/6/23, but mysteriously vanished later in the day. Whether Mr. Betts was asked to remove the post by MSWD staff or by Mr. Mayrhofen we’ll never know, but because nothing ever vanishes off the Internet, you can see it here.
Regardless, Ron’s Log wishes the MSWD director a belated happy birthday and we hope you’ll let MSWD take your picture for use on their website!
Filed under Politics | March 6, 2023 at 05:25 PM | Comments (0)
March 4, 2023
George Santos style shenanigans here in the Coachella Valley - part 1
What are we to make of these candidate statements from our past election? Who copied whom? Who wrote this statement? Were these candidates aware that someone else had the same statement? Was it stolen and copied?
As it turns out one of these people was elected - Amber Duff. We understand that she is a nice person (and is settling into her role as a new Director for Mission Springs Water District) and probably didn't steal it from Pettit nor Pettit from her. Perhaps it was written for one of them and also given to the other. Right now we are thinking this is the most likely scenario. If either of them knew that the other had the same statement they would have made MAJOR changes to the text and personalized it, not simply changed a couple of words. Thus, there was an outside author who probably wanted both to become elected and who acted as their campaign advisor. This person wrote the text, gave it to both with only a few words changed and different paragraph separations.
Voters did not know that these candidates had the same statement because they were running in separate Divisions and were not on the same ballot. There is nothing wrong with them having the same statement but it begs the question were they really engaged in their own campaign.
Perhaps Duff or Pettit will clarify...
Filed under Desert Hot Springs,Politics | March 4, 2023 at 04:31 PM | Comments (0)
December 10, 2022
RIP Ron Gilbert
It is with profound sadness that we share with you that Ron Gilbert the creator of Ron's Log has passed away in November 2022. He was discovered deceased in his home by friends who had not heard from him in awhile and did a wellness check. The cause of death was a sudden heart attack. There was no sign of stress or prolonged pain. It is the desire of the family to keep Ron's Log going so the "Friends of Ron's Log" has been created. Ron's Log is truly a huge resource for those looking to learn more about the things Ron cared about and the city he lived in - Desert Hot Springs. If you've never read Ron's "About Me" you should. We'll post more later but for now please keep Ron's family and friends in you heart as the loss has been great. - Friends of Ron's Log
Filed under Desert Hot Springs | December 10, 2022 at 04:40 PM | Comments (4)
November 13, 2022
Russia Needs Raccoons
Allegedly, this is a Russian soldier looting the Kherson zoo. He is stealing a raccoon! I'm sure charitable Americans would be happy to ship a couple of carloads of raccoons to Russia, if they really need them.
The video of Russians stealing a raccoon from the Kherson Zoo appeared.
— Special Kherson Cat 🐈🇺🇦 (@bayraktar_1love) November 13, 2022
Link to a full video of animal theft filmed by the Russians themselves - https://t.co/VjyccC3jA9
P.S: You can politely ask to return the Kherson raccoon back home pic.twitter.com/P893UdmLze
| November 13, 2022 at 05:57 PM | Comments (1)
Photos From Old Negatives
I've recently been scanning some old negatives (not slides). Here are a few of them.
Sal and me on the Cape Cod National Seashore near Provincetown. Kodak TMax 400 film, late 1980s.
A tree in Arnold Arboretum in Jamaica Plain (Boston) 1980s. TMax 400 film.
Diamond Head Lighthouse on Oahu, November 1986. Kodak Gold 100 film.
Apparently I went to a college wrestling meet in Boston and shot TMax 3200 film, but I don't recall doing this.
This is how I would clean snow, sand and salt off my Diamond Back while I lived in Boston. TMax 3200 film.
The grave of Howard Hughes in Houston, November 1989. Tri-X film.
A panorama of the Boston skyline shot from a hill in Mt. Auburn Cemetery in Cambridge. That's Harvard stadium in the center of the photo (in Allston). Sometime in 1989, Fujifilm.
Modern headstones in Glenwood Cemetery in Houston, 1989. Tri-X film.
Williams Tower in Houston shot from Waterwall Park in 1989. Tri-X film.
Roosevelt Cottage on Campobello Island in New Brunswick, 1989. Fujifilm.
West Quoddy Head Light in Maine, 1989. Fuifilm.
Stegosaurus by Alexander Calder in Hartford, Connecticut, 1990. Kodak Gold 200 film.
Washington County Courthouse in Brenham, Texas, 1989. Tri-X film.
Filed under Architecture,Art,Cycling,History,Photography | November 13, 2022 at 05:45 PM | Comments (1)
November 12, 2022
Old Recipes Presented Entertainingly
In contrast, here are some old recipes that don't turn out so nice.
Filed under Food and Drink | November 12, 2022 at 12:19 PM | Comments (0)
October 31, 2022
Civil Discourse
Filed under Politics | October 31, 2022 at 02:51 PM | Comments (0)
October 26, 2022
West Oakland Botany
A walking tour of the plant life under the freeways in west Oakland by a man with a non-California accent.
Filed under California,Cities/Urbanism,Science | October 26, 2022 at 09:36 PM | Comments (0)
October 24, 2022
Broken Juggler
| October 24, 2022 at 07:04 PM | Comments (0)
October 22, 2022
Boston Rain
Shot in autumn 2019, just before the pandemic. It starts on Beacon Hill. The video, that is, not the pandemic.
Filed under Architecture,Cities/Urbanism,History,Photography | October 22, 2022 at 07:10 PM | Comments (0)
MSWD Settles For $175,000 For Sewage Spill At Horton
From the Desert Sun:
After large Desert Hot Springs sewage spill, MWSD [sic] will settle with regulator for $175,000Janet Wilson
Palm Springs Desert SunMission Springs Water District announced Friday that it will pay $175,000 for allowing a nearly 1 million-gallon spill of treated sewage effluent down residential streets in Desert Hot Springs last October and failing to promptly report it.
The agreement is pending final approval by the Colorado River Basin Regional Water Board, which issued a notice of violation to MSWD for releasing treated secondary effluent from the Alan L. Horton Wastewater Treatment Facility on Oct. 3, 2021. Both sides agreed to the amount in settlement negotiations, MSWD said.
The funds would be used to remove between 21 and 68 properties from aging septic systems and hook them up to safer sewage systems, with priority given to homes closest to MWSD well sites.
The district had faced up to $9.4 million in fines, after officials there waited two weeks to notify state authorities that large amounts of treated wastewater gushed through Desert Hot Springs streets. Such spills are supposed to be reported immediately.
Since then, MSWD said in a news release, the district has worked with regional water board staff to make structural and process improvements at the facility and has broken ground on a new state-of-the-art wastewater treatment plant north of Interstate 10 in Desert Hot Springs.
“Serving a disadvantaged community comes with a unique set of challenges. Some residents simply do not have the means to connect to the sewer system,” said MSWD general manager Arden Wallum. “Using funds for projects such as this not only helps our residents and the District, but the entire Coachella Valley watershed.”
Filed under Coachella Valley,Desert Hot Springs,Health | October 22, 2022 at 12:33 PM | Comments (0)
Riverside County Health Department Reports
From the Press-Enterprise:
Swiss Donut, at 34300 Monterey Ave. Suite 102 in Palm Desert, was inspected Oct. 20 and received a failing grade of 87/B with one critical violation. The inspector found live and dead roaches in the restaurant, and said to contact pest control and clean the facility. Among the six other violations, ham was at an unsafe temperature in a refrigerator that wasn’t keeping cold.
L’Atelier Cafe, at 129 La Plaza in Palm Springs, was inspected Oct. 14 and received a failing grade of 80/B with four critical violations. The inspector found three dead cockroaches in different areas, along with one live fly, and the restaurant was told to get pest control before its mandatory follow-up. Some food was at unsafe temperatures in a refrigerator that was impounded for not keeping cold. The dishwasher wasn’t dispensing sanitizer, but it was adjusted right away so it was not impounded. And an employee didn’t wash hands. Among the three other violations, several areas needed cleaning and the restaurant was told to stop using non-commercial-grade equipment.
Filed under Coachella Valley,Food and Drink,Health | October 22, 2022 at 09:19 AM | Comments (0)
October 20, 2022
Tour de Palm Springs
Yeah, we're talking about the Tour de Palm Springs that took place last February, not next. I went out and photographed the cyclists as they were riding south on Little Morongo. It's been eight months, but I took a lot of photos so they took a long time to edit. The complete set of photos can be seen here, but I'll give you two samples:
Filed under Coachella Valley,Cycling,Desert Hot Springs,Photography | October 20, 2022 at 05:12 PM | Comments (0)
October 19, 2022
Everybody's Got Meter Reading Problems
From the Mohave Daily News:
City to rectify billing errorBy JENI HENDERSON News West
Oct 19, 2022 2:00 AMNEEDLES — The Needles City Council addressed concerns regarding the electric meter misreads and billing errors and came to a resolution at its Oct. 11 meeting.
There will be no late fees, no shut-offs during an audit period and payment plans will be available for up to a year for the power that was used.
In addition, the city will provide a $25 credit to every utility account for the error which City Manager Rick Daniels said will come out of the city’s general fund.
“It doesn’t move the earth,” he said, but it represents an apology and “the commitment to clean it up and for the terrible inconvenience that has happened.”
Overall responsibility for city operations and municipal utility operations rest with the city manager, Daniels said.
"And as the city manager, the buck stops here,” he said.
Daniels said meters likely were read accurately in July.
“In August, for some reason, many bills were half or even less,” he said. “Now when you get 10 of those, you think that maybe you got an equipment problem but once it crossed 20 and 50, there’s a human problem and that the meters either were being estimated or they weren’t being read, both of which are systematic failures.”
Daniels said that he’s spoken to about 50 residents and the billing office has talked with about 250 residents who’ve had issues and concerns.
An audit will be done for every account, he said, and for consumers who did not use the full hydro allocation, the city will drop the rate customers were charged for those particular kilowatts.
The meter reader responsible has resigned.
There was a cascade of events here, said Pastor James Jones, and there was more than just a meter reader that missed this.
“I’m sure there was an out of range report and if it wasn’t read or wasn’t paid attention to, then this is a systematic error that moved from the meter reader on up the food chain to the people that work in the office,” he said.
Jones said that even though the city will be switching to the automated readers, there’s still the possibility for error if people are not paying attention on that end of the bill.
“The only thing I’m hearing tonight is about the electric meters,” he said. “Well, this same meter reader read the water meters, too, so I don’t think you’ve discovered everything there is to be discovered. If the out of range report didn't catch the electric meters, then they didn’t catch the water meters, either.”
The city owns this problem, Daniels said, and is doing everything it can to correct it.
A new meter reader was hired about five weeks ago, he said.
“He’s being trained, he’s just completed his first cycle of all 15 routes,” he said. “He was trained by individuals who knew those individual routes.”
Filed under Desert Hot Springs | October 19, 2022 at 09:03 PM | Comments (0)
Five Years Old
He started playing two years ago, so this is basically how he got through the pandemic. The video below shows him at age four.
Filed under Music | October 19, 2022 at 04:40 PM | Comments (0)
October 17, 2022
Changing Seasons in Boston
Filed under Photography | October 17, 2022 at 01:54 PM | Comments (0)
October 15, 2022
Health Department Inspections This Week
From the Press-Enterprise:
Babaloo Lounge, at 73833 Highway 111 in Palm Desert, was inspected Oct. 11 and received a failing grade of 81/B with one critical violation. Food was at unsafe temperatures in two coolers, one of which the inspector said needed to be repaired. Among the 12 other violations, the inspector said not to cook in the prep area until the exhaust hood could be fixed, the men’s restroom didn’t have soap, raw tuna wasn’t being thawed correctly, a dishwasher wasn’t sanitizing properly, and equipment, floors and the ceiling needed cleaning. This was the restaurant’s second failed inspection in less than a year and it was briefly shut down in 2021 because of a plumbing backup, so it was scheduled for an administrative hearing.
The Arco am/pm at 46150 Washington St. in La Quinta was inspected Oct. 12 and received a failing grade of 85/B with one critical violation. Dishes were being washed without hot water or sanitizer, a repeat violation from previous inspections. Among the nine other violations, a display cooler wasn’t keeping cold and about 40 meal and snack items had to be discarded, frozen hot dogs weren’t being thawed properly, the walk-in freezer and cooler doors needed repair, there was biofilm in the soda machine ice chutes, and the floors needed leaning.
The KFC at 725 S. Palm Canyon Drive in Palm Springs, which failed an Oct. 5 inspection with a score of 86/B and was closed because of a rodent infestation, was permitted to reopen Oct. 7. It also passed a follow-up inspection with a 97/A.
Upper Crust Pizza, at 67555 E. Palm Canyon Drive in Cathedral City, which was shut down Sept. 13 because of a cockroach infestation, was permitted to reopen Oct. 6, after what the inspector noted was the sixth re-inspection to verify the problem had been eliminated.
Filed under Coachella Valley,Health | October 15, 2022 at 08:52 AM | Comments (0)
October 12, 2022
The Reading Of The Alex Jones Verdict
Nothing happens in the first 6 hours and 12 minutes of this video, but this link will take you to the point where the jury returns with their verdict.
Jones's' reaction:
Watching the Sandy Hook verdict live from his studio, Alex Jones makes an urgent plea to his audience for cash, and tells them that none of the money they send him will go the the families because he has filed for bankruptcy. pic.twitter.com/H658p5Sjiw
— Ron Filipkowski 🇺🇦 (@RonFilipkowski) October 12, 2022
Filed under Politics,Public Safety | October 12, 2022 at 02:35 PM | Comments (0)
The Music Kids Listen To
Why does the music fit so good? 😂 pic.twitter.com/K0ZFatt6wy
— Buitengebieden (@buitengebieden) October 11, 2022
Filed under Music | October 12, 2022 at 08:08 AM | Comments (0)
