CVIndependent

Lights! Camera! Commercial! The Center Launches a 60-Second Commercial Contest

Friday, June 14, 2013  |  Jimmy Boegle

Shann Carr thinks that The Center—the Coachella Valley’s community center for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender folks—is grossly underutilized.

She says that when she discusses The Center with locals who are L, G, B or T, she learns that a shocking number of them aren’t familiar with the service...

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Who Needs to Look Out the Window? Check Out These Weather and Wildfire Apps

Wednesday, June 12, 2013  |  Jonathan Thompson

It’s springtime in the West (and almost summertime), that time of year when brooks babble abundantly with snowmelt; cute baby animals prance around; verdant meadows' blossoms cover tree branches like virgin snow; the temps cross triple-digits every day here in the desert—and it all goes up in flames...

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Ask a Mexican: Why Are Mexican Drug Cartels So Hideously Violent?

Wednesday, June 19, 2013  |  Gustavo Arellano

Dear Mexican: A co-worker recently turned me on to a website that features many videos of unspeakable atrocities that the drug cartels are committing in Mexico—including many graphic displays of murders and beheadings. I recently saw one of a woman getting her head cut off with a knife! I wish I had ...

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The Potted Desert Garden: You Can Have Flowers During the Summer

Tuesday, June 18, 2013  |  Marylee Pangman

I always tell people that gardens succeed when they have a mindful caretaker. Our potted plants will do what we want them to do, as long as we provide them with a little help.

If you have the watering down (see the columns from the last couple of weeks), here are other things you can do to keep your ...

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Desert Arts: The Art Place in Palm Desert Is a Hidden Gem for Lovers of Design and Décor

Tuesday, June 18, 2013  |  Richard Almada

For more than a decade, The Art Place in Palm Desert has been a hub for galleries and boutiques that offer original home décor and accessories to the public.

I recently visited The Art Place—located at 41801 Corporate Way, just off Hovley Lane west of Cook Street—to review the center for an upcoming ar...

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Western Lit: 'Short Nights' Tells the Story of a Photographer Who Lost Everything to Document Native American Societies

Saturday, June 15, 2013  |  Lee E. Cart

In Short Nights of the Shadow Catcher , Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter Timothy Egan—who also won the National Book Award in 2006 for The Worst Hard Time —chronicles the life story of photographer Edward Curtis in engrossing detail.

Curtis, famous in the late 1890s for his Seattle society portraits, bega...

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Home Video Review: We Can't Say Much About 'Sightseers' Without Giving Away Too Much About This Deranged Delight

Wednesday, June 19, 2013  |  Bob Grimm

This movie caught me completely off-guard, thanks to a deranged surprise. Therefore, I’m not going to write anything in this review that will give away the twist.

This is a funny, dark and twisted road comedy that boasts Edgar Wright (director of Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz ) as one of its executive p...

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Home Video Review: Anthology 'V/H/S/2' Is a Rare 'Found Footage' Film That Works

Tuesday, June 18, 2013  |  Bob Grimm

Regular readers know that I am not a fan of the “found footage” movie, especially “found footage” horror films.

I HATE it when somebody is being chased by a monster or an evil cat or whatnot, and they manage to keep the film rolling. That’s crap! They would either drop that camera or use it as a weapon.

S...

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The Lucky 13: Wilber Pacheco, of the Tribesmen

Saturday, June 15, 2013  |  Jimmy Boegle

Meet the Tribesmen, one of the busiest local bands these days—and specifically, meet Wilber Pacheco. The 24-year-old Indio native works in retail when he’s not playing indie rock with his bandmates—and you can catch Pacheco and co. on Sunday, June 16, the final day of downtown Cathedral City’s AMFM ...

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Takin’ It to the Streets: The Doobie Brothers Tour Behind Their Most Successful Album in Decades

Monday, June 10, 2013  |  Brian Blueskye

Despite lineup changes and a breakup, the Doobie Brothers have had a long, successful existence and have racked up a lot of hits.

They’re currently touring behind their latest album, 2010’s World Gone Crazy, and are making a stop at the Fantasy Springs Resort Casino on Saturday, June 15.

The band came t...

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The Indy Endorsement: The Shaved Spit-Roast Organic Pork at Figue Mediterranean

Monday, June 17, 2013  |  Jimmy Boegle

What: The shaved spit-roast organic pork

Where:  Figue Mediterranean, 47474 Washington St., La Quinta

How much: $29

Contact: 760-698-9040; www.eatfigue.com

Why: Savory + sweet + pork skin = OMG

Can we talk about pig skin for a moment?

No, I am not referring to football here. I am talking about cracklins, or ch...

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Local Suds: Can an Ambitious New Thousand Palms Brewery Help Put the Coachella Valley on the Craft-Beer Map?

Friday, June 14, 2013  |  Erin Peters

The internationally famous desert resort destination that we call home, as of this moment, has never had a larger-scale commercial brewery that focused on one thing, and one thing only: beer.

Who knows why? Blame the caviar crowd, or maybe the midcentury martini surroundings. In any case, this omissi...

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