By H. Simmons -
There is a new generation of valley visitors that are more familiar with the name “Coachella” than any other valley city. Though the City of Coachella does not host the globally renowned music festival, it is a city that proudly boasts our valley’s actual moniker.
With a growing population of 45,000, the majority of the residents of...
By Lisa Morgan -
I truly relish the chance to tell my readers (especially the women) how difficult my job is. One such opportunity was when I received a PRIVATE CONCERT from the boys of Penny Unniversity. It was just me, the band, a pizza and the amazing listening adventure that is the Penny U experience. Hearing them live for...
Are you ready to dance? Are you ready to taste Crater Lake martinis and specialty drinks? Are you ready to experience Stars of national contemporary Jazz/Pop artists for a great price with drinks and food included? Are you ready for the best new music series in the desert? Are you ready for JAZZ TASTINGS 2?
The first JAZZ TASTINGS was...
Story and pictures by Mike Bennett The Desert View tower and boulder park In-ko-pa trail - Jacumba California, 91934 -
Me and my babe love to go to Mexico at least once every three months. We usually just go to Mexicali, but this time I talked her into going to Tecate instead so we could stop and see the Desert...
It seems that a few years ago whenever some wine nut—or worse, a wine snob, would talk about or describe a wine with so many esoteric terms, we’d all roll our eyes and find any reason to get out of that conversation. These days, with so many wine lovers confident in their own description of what they like, some...
Valley Rhythms by Lola Rossi-Meza
After finishing my performance at a private party with my husband, pianist and vocalist Johnny Meza, on Valentine’s Day last Thursday, I was headed home but decided to stop by the Agua Caliente Casino to play poker. He went to his late night gig at The Desert Sage in La Quinta, where he performs from...
ShareKitchen is pleased to invite you to an exclusive evening of delectable delights, drinks and dessert on Saturday, March 2nd with Patrick Evans, Senior Meteorologist of KPSP Channel 2, Host of ‘Eye on the Desert’ and Culinary Maestro.
The evening celebrating Patrick’s Italian heritage begins at 6:30pm with passed hors d’oeuvres and bubbles followed by a seated four course dinner...
A GOOD DAY TO DIE HARD
It had to happen. And don’t blame old man Bruce Willis for the monumentally disappointing fifth entry in the franchise that began 25 years ago. It all starts with great promise. The first 20 or so minutes are filled with eye-ball popping, jaw-dropping non-stop action. And then it starts to spiral downhill into a...
Who would think that the danger exists in doing such a daily household chore such as laundry? Recent incidents across the country point to the dangers of dryer fires. In fact, on average, over 13,000 fires start in our laundry rooms in the United States each year, resulting in deaths and close to $10 million in property damage says...
Unwanted animals are sometimes dropped off in rural areas by callous owners. The car door swings open and the dog is gently pushed out, left behind; confused, alone, and sometimes he may run after the car that contained the only family he ever knew. Without food and water, abandonment can be an agonizing death sentence for a domestic animal....
While I enjoy dining in the many fine restaurants here in the Coachella Valley, there are some casual restaurants that provide a high quality experience for a fraction of the price. One of my favorite restaurants that my children also enjoy is Stuft Pizza in Old Town La Quinta. This restaurant boasts a very large menu that is certain...
Two weeks ago, I focused on the changing face of retail. Long-time well-known retailers are fading from the business landscape while others are emerging. These changes are even more pronounced in the restaurant business where large restaurant chains often struggle to stay current and relevant with changing consumer preferences such as the current movement toward healthful, organic and locally...
This week we will discuss joint pain. Many of us have it, and I have been changing my diet in an effort to resolve my pesky joint aches that flare up once in a while.
The most noticeable change I had was when I cut way back on sugar, including foods that turn into sugar once you digest them. My...
Week of February 21
© Copyright 2013 Rob Brezsny
ARIES (March 21-April 19): In the course of her world travels, writer Jane Brunette has seen many wonderful things -- as well as a lot of trash. The most beautiful litter, she says, is in Bali. She loves the "woven palm leaf offerings, colorful cloth left from a ceremony, and flowers that...
The Valley is gaining a new high school on the western side of our valley. According to the Palm Springs Unified School District (PSUSD) website, “Rancho Mirage High School (RMHS), PSUSD’s fourth comprehensive high school, is currently under construction on 60 plus acres near the Da Vall Drive and Ramon Road in the City of Rancho Mirage. With a...
Growing up living a very modest lifestyle as the daughter of farm workers, Rosie Welmas was familiar with the struggles of a low-income family. For Rosie, playing sports was her way of fitting in and feeling accepted, regardless of her family’s economic status. From the very start, Rosie knew she wanted to help kids who struggled like her to...
Last week I shared with our readers my favorite saying: People don’t plan to fail, they fail to plan! This goes for everything from a will and health care directive to having the phone number of a plumber, electrician, doctor and attorney by your phone so that when you need to get help you do not have to look...
Greg Brown is the best singer-songwriter you’ve never
heard of. A hardcore troubadour in the tradition of Woody Guthrie.
Brown was born in Hacklebarney, Iowa. His father was a
Pentacostal Preacher (who later embraced the Baha’i faith) from
the Ozarks. His guitar-playing mother grew up in a musical family
on a farm in southern Iowa.
Brown grew up loving music but had an epiphany at
age...
Book Review by Heidi Simmons
----------------
I Feel Bad About My Neck: And Other Thoughts On Being a Woman
Nora Ephron
Memoir
---------------
There are some women who are able to blaze a trail, set the world on fire and then leave it smoldering. Nora Ephron did just that. It may not have been a Russian meteor size trail, but her life and work had...
By Judith Salkin -
Albert Frey, Donald Wexler, William F. Cody, William Krisel and Stewart Williams all found a relatively blank architectural canvas when they arrived in the desert in the 1940s, ‘50s and ‘60s.
What they created in the arid climate is a landscape filled with beautiful examples of both commercial and residential buildings that espouse the concepts of midcentury...
Over the past eight years, what started as an event with the aim of educating Coachella Valley residents on the importance of the buildings designed by men like Albert Frey, Donald Wexler, William F. Cody and A. Quincy Jones, and how to live in a midcentury home, has captured an audience of enthusiasts from as far away as Germany...
What started out as three-day weekend salute to the midcentury modern homes and buildings in Palm Springs just eight years ago, Palm Springs Modernism Week is now spans 11 days and dozens of events.
From bus and walking tours of Palm Springs’ buildings to lectures and films, retro cocktail parties, pre-fad design house and expo, slide shows and the annual...
Dearest Molly,
When we met six years ago in San Diego I never thought that someday we would be living and working in Palm Springs together. I am so thankful that we decided to move to Palm Springs and start a new chapter in our life three years ago. Working together has been awesome, especially since Bar has been open....
By Lisa Morgan -
I think there are perhaps more people like me than there are people like Darren and Kandie. I, like so many others, have experienced on more than one sad occasion the painful demise of a marriage and broken family and have struggled to pick up the pieces in the aftermath. The most painful part of these...
By Lisa Morgan -
This is the love story for those experienced in both the hopefulness of marriage and the deep disappointment of divorce. It is a story for those struggling to be the best single parent they can be, while wondering if they will ever feel that sense of wholeness as an individual or a family again. This is...
By Lisa Morgan -
I love exceptions to the rule. I idealize people who win against the odds. I love this story and idealize the people in it: This is the love story of Lauri Bono and Kal David.
It was 1977 in Woodstock, New York. Music was all the buzz in the artsy little community. Kal David was a rock...
by Lisa Morgan -
This couple knew during the two hour phone call that preceded their “blind date” that theirs was going to be a special relationship. Patti Pivaar, a young singer/actress, captain of the Dean Martin Show’s Golddiggers and very eligible bachelorette, was set up with Dale Gribow, a prominent trial attorney, president of the Beverly Hills Men’s Charities...
By H. Simmons -
On the north side of Interstate 10, the nearly 24 square miles of Desert Hot Springs sits on the valley’s west end. The city’s back is set against the vast Joshua Tree National Park. It has its own water supply, both hot and cold. The city’s hillside views include the sparkling towns and spectacular mountains of...
"Your words are my food, your breath my wine. You are everything to me." ~ Sandra Bernhardt.
As the title proposes, there’s a trinity of endearment that appears eternal: we love wine, we love food and we love love.
So many of our well known restaurants in town are enjoying that special Valentine’s Day prix fixe romantic dinner such as Pinzimini,...
by Lola Rossi-Meza
Smooth jazz saxophonist, composer and producer Jeanette Harris continues as the second top notch musician featured in the new music concert series JAZZ TASTINGS™ produced by Patte Purcell of Muze Music on Saturday, February 23, from 6 until 9 p.m. at the Emerald Desert RV Resort Ballroom, 76-000 Frank Sinatra Drive in Palm Desert. Her band members...
By Rachel Montoya
The Palm Springs Classic will be held Saturday, February 16, 2013, at the Renaissance Esmeralda, in Indian Wells. This will be a unique, one of a kind event to the desert and one that you will be talking about long after.
This Bodybuilding, Physique, Figure, Bikini, and Fitness, show will not be your typical bodybuilding show! They will...
How many times have you attended a birthday party where a cake is brought out? It is typically decorated with a few candles for a young child to a near inferno for others. People then break into a verse of ‘Happy Birthday to You” or some other celebratory song. At the songs’ end, the celebrant acknowledges the well wishes...
FIVE COOL FLICKS CHALLENGE THE EXPECTED
SIDE EFFECTS
It’s hard to describe fully this twisty flick and not hurt the viewing experience for those who have yet to see it. Suffice it to say the surprises are so sneaky that it suddenly becomes a provocative thriller just when you least expected it. Certainly this is the best Stephen Soderbergh film in...
February is American Heart Month, and unfortunately, most of us know someone who has had heart disease or stroke at one time or another says Fire Chief Sam DiGiovanna.
Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in the United States; one in every three deaths is from heart disease and stroke. These conditions are also leading causes of disability...
Glorious black cats and dogs are waiting for you to adopt them! Their shining ebony coats glisten in the winter sun, and their striking amber gold eyes peer at you longingly. Unfortunately, black cats and dogs are shrouded in negative superstitions, and have a harder time getting adopted than their light colored counterparts. Folks who visit a shelter to...
After dining in several restaurants this past week, there is one that stands out, deserving of some attention. I have heard the commercials and the buzz about Escena Lounge & Grill but finally had the chance to experience this place for myself. It is not the easiest place to find for the first time but once you do, you...
By: Bronwyn Ison
Red and pink, boxed chocolates, teddy bears, and ready made flower bouquets are omnipresent. Love is in the air. If you are a hopeless romantic you are likely to love Valentine’s Day. Regardless of attitude, Valentines’ Day symbolizes love. As humans we need love. Sounds dramatic but a true statement. Valentine’s Day is a catalyst to recognize...
By Lisa Morgan
When I first saw R Buckle Road perform at the Palm Canyon Road House, my impression was that of a group of guys having as much fun at their job as I do at mine. They seemed like a fun and easy going bunch armed with an arsenal of original songs that had a surprisingly, immediate likability...
Did you know that Valentine’s Day began as St. Valentine’s Day, a liturgical celebration of the Christian saint, Valentinus. It is said that St. Valentinus or Valentine was jailed and executed by the Romans for performing weddings and ministering Christians.
The day began commemorating romantic love during the Middle Ages (14th century) after the writings of Geoffrey Chaucer, thought of...
Welcome back happy people, my next little gem for all of you "Happy Hour" fans is Cuistots. This is an elegant room with a beautiful bar and some incredible food. I first heard about it from a local who recommended it. He raved about the 'bar food' which includes some smaller portions of their incredible French menu. He mentioned...
Week of February 14
© Copyright 2013 Rob Brezsny
ARIES (March 21-April 19): Afrikaner author Laurens van der Post told a story about a conversation between psychologist Carl Jung and Ochwiay Biano, a Pueblo Indian chief. Jung asked Biano to offer his views about white people. "White people must be crazy because they think with their heads," said the chief, "and...
The Coachella Valley Unified School District (CVUSD) is currently hosting a pilot program, which integrates technology into the classroom via iPads. I am always excited to see schools and districts advancing the classroom through the use of technology. The new generation of students is so ingrained with technology that many need it to stay interested, that is why I...
“As a child, I had always dreamed of being a DJ. I’ve loved music since my first record player and 45 record collections at the age of 6,” Robb recalls. Growing up on Staten Island in New York, Robb’s love of music was first fed by taking piano lessons as a young child. He would later find his passion...
Part 1:
No, you do not need a lawyer to prepare a will. You can prepare what is called a Holographic Will by writing it out in your own handwriting with nothing else on the paper. You cannot use a letterhead from a business or hotel and you cannot use a stamp for the date let alone typing anything! Any...
Are you yearning to time travel back to the early 80s?
Rather than go to the effort and expense of building your own
plutonium powered De Lorean/time machine all you need to do
is purchase the new Ra Ra Riot album, Beta Love.
The band Ra Ra Riot formed in 2006. Vocalist Wes Miles,
bassist Mathieu Santos, guitarist Milo Bonacci, violinist Rebecca Zeller
and drummer...
Book Review by Heidi Simmons
----------
Back Roads
Tawni O’Dell
A Novel
-----------
There are stories that weave a dramatic narrative with intensity and emotion. Tawni O’Dell’s Back Roads (Viking, 338 pages) captures an authentic voice of suffering and confusion in this coming-of-age story set in the woods of Pennsylvania.
Back Roads is the story of nineteen year-old Harley Altmyer who must take care of his...
By Lisa Morgan -
When the super group comprised of Clem Burke (Blondie/Eurythmics), Glen Matlock (Sex Pistols/Rich Kids/Iggy Pop/ The Faces), James Stevenson (Generation X/The Alarm/Gene Loves Jezebel) and Gary Twinn (Supernaut/Twenty Flight Rockers) got together over wine to form a group and a name, their only thought was to change the word “English” to “International” so as not to...
By Lisa Morgan -
Here I sit at my computer pumping out articles as articulately as I can, burning the pages of my thesaurus to paint an inspiring picture of our valley’s ample supply of original musical talent. I had an entire soliloquy written for Pictures of Eden...and then I read their own description on their website, picturesfromeden.com. I was...
By H. Simmons -
As the geographical center of the Coachella Valley, the City of Palm Desert has taken those coordinates to heart and created an axis for education, retail and entertainment enhanced with a sense of art and culture.
The year-round population of 48,500 residents is a community made up of retirees and families. Palm Desert does not elect a...
By Lisa Morgan -
Picture yourself busting your posterior at a corporate job in national retail chains for 25 years, 12 of which you worked without a single pay raise, dealing with spread sheets and numbers and “corporate crap”, basically not having much fun at all. What do you do? Well if you’re Brian Williamson, you open up Rocket Fizz...
Advertisement
