Business Owners Dig Out, Rebuild After Tragedy; Britain Moves to Ban Smoking for People Born After 2009–Coachella Valley Independent’s Indy Digest: April 18, 2024

Indy Digest: April 18, 2024

The last month or so has worn me out.

There has been a lot to do here at the Independent and at our sister newspaper in Reno. I’ve also been spending a ridiculous amount of time in meetings and discussions dealing with the proposed California legislation that would force Google and Facebook to pay news operations for the links to news on their platforms. Throw in some family obligations, and my schedule has been nuts.

However … I am lucky. I am blessed. The trials and tribulations I’m dealing with right now are nothing compared to the mess—figuratively and, especially, literally—the businesses and homes in the Panorama area of Cathedral City have had to endure since the arrival of Tropical Storm Hilary last August.

For a story published earlier today at CVIndependent.com, Haleemon Anderson talked to the owners of three businesses that were upended when a mudflow, caused by rain from the tropical storm, crept through their corner of the Panorama area on Sunday, Aug. 20, 2023.

(As an aside: It blows my mind that we’re reporting on tropical storm damage here in the Coachella Valley. This is just the latest addition to the list of unbelievably surprising things we’ve all had to deal with in recent years.)

Meanwhile, I’m still rattled by the awful news, discussed in this space on Monday, regarding the April 14 fire that destroyed four businesses in the Bristol Farms shopping center in Palm Desert, including two restaurants: Papa Dan’s Pizza and Pasta and, a personal favorite, D’Coffee Bouteaque. I can’t even imagine what it would feel like to watch my business literally burn. I feel queasy just thinking about it.

However, both of these stories, as terrible as they are, also have a positive side.

Anne Ambrose, Cathedral City’s assistant city manager, told Haleemon that she was wowed by the community’s response to help those harmed by Tropical Storm Hilary. “The community just came out in force to help (these) very small geographic areas of our community that were impacted so dramatically,” Ambrose said. “… There has been such a great response from the private sector, public sector, nonprofit and individuals that I thought was just very special, and I’d not experienced to the extent that I did here and throughout the Coachella Valley,” she said.

A fundraiser largely put on by real estate agents brought in more than $14,000 to help Frazier Pest Control, one of the businesses ravaged by the mudflow. Another, Desert Promotions, was helped by a GoFundMe campaign that netted more than $32,000.

A similar community response is developing to help the Palm Desert businesses destroyed by the fire on April 14, with multiple crowdfunding efforts emerging to raise funds for the victims. (As of this writing, I have not been able to verify the legitimacy of these various crowdfunding efforts; when I do, I’ll include links here in the Indy Digest.)

I am taking these stories as a reminder that I need to be thankful for what I have. Two more lessons: Life is unpredictable—and we’re fortunate to live in an amazing place with a lot of good people.

—Jimmy Boegle

More News

• The Los Angeles Times looks at a battle over the language of a proposed ballot initiative that Californians may have to decide on come November: “Supporters of a proposed November ballot initiative wanted the all-important title of their measure to reflect their beliefs, a name like ‘Protect Kids of California Act.’ But Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta saw things differently when his office chose the name signature gatherers must use: ‘Restricts Rights of Transgender Youth.’ Among its provisions, the initiative in question—which has not yet qualified for the ballot—would require schools to notify parents if a child changed gender identification unofficially or in schools records, such as a roll sheet. With a May 28 deadline to submit signatures … initiative backers must use the state’s description, which they say is hindering their effort. They have sued the state, claiming the initiative was ‘branded with a misleading, false, and prejudicial title.’ A hearing is set for April 19.”

• Great Britain is on the verge of banning smoking—entirely and forever—for people born in or after 2009. BBC says: “MPs have voted to back the government’s plans to create a ‘smoke-free generation,’ and reduce the number of smoking-related deaths. … The restrictions will apply to the sale of cigarettes in the UK rather than the act of smoking itself. Under the new law, each year, the legal age for cigarette sales—currently 18—will increase by one year. It means that people born in or after 2009 will never be able to legally buy cigarettes, leading to an effective ban. The law will not affect those who are allowed to buy cigarettes now. To crack down on under-age sales, the government says it will introduce £100 on-the-spot fines for shops in England and Wales which sell tobacco and vapes to underage people.”

• An update: The state is set to again try to pass a rule—recently scuttled at the last minute by the Newsom administration—that would offer some protections to indoor workers from extreme heat. However, the new rule won’t apply to people who work in prisons. Our partners at Calmatters say: “The Division of Occupational Safety and Health, or Cal/OSHA, announced today that it plans to revise a proposed indoor heat rule for all workers statewide to carve out ‘state and local correctional facilities.’ That would temporarily resolve cost concerns raised by Gov. Gavin Newsom’s administration, and allow the rule to be formally approved this summer for all other workers. The rule is intended to benefit those who work indoors without air conditioning as rising temperatures increase Californians’ risks of heat illness. The industries most likely to be affected include warehouses, restaurants and manufacturing. The proposed rule requires employers to either try to cool workplaces that get hotter than 87 degrees indoors, or take other measures to reduce the risks of heat illness, such as slowing down production, shifting schedules or mandating more breaks.”

• And now here’s an utterly disgusting headline, compliments of the Los Angeles Times: “Avian flu outbreak raises a disturbing question: Is our food system built on poop?” Apologies if you’re eating while reading this. Good news: The situation is not as bad as that headline makes things sound. Bad news: It’s still pretty gross. Some details: “If it’s true that you are what you eat, then most beef-eating Americans consist of a smattering of poultry feathers, urine, feces, wood chips and chicken saliva, among other food items. As epidemiologists scramble to figure out how dairy cows throughout the Midwest became infected with a strain of highly pathogenic avian flu—a disease that has decimated hundreds of millions of wild and farmed birds, as well as tens of thousands of mammals across the planet—they’re looking at a standard ‘recycling’ practice employed by thousands of farmers across the country: The feeding of animal waste and parts to livestock raised for human consumption. ‘It seems ghoulish, but it is a perfectly legal and common practice for chicken litter—the material that accumulates on the floor of chicken growing facilities—to be fed to cattle,’ said Michael Hansen, a senior scientist with Consumers Union.”

• Robert Victor, the Independent’s longtime astronomy columnist, has politely but firmly insisted that I tell you about an event, about the importance of dark night skies, being put on by the Oswit Land Trust. It takes place at 5:30 p.m., Wednesday, April 24, at the Demuth Community Center, at 3601 E. Mesquite Ave., in Palm Springs. The description: “Join NPS Park Ranger David Larson and OLT Board Member Rob McCann to explore the wonders and importance of a naturally dark night sky and what can done to preserve this resource for future generations.” The event is free; please RSVP to DavidP@OswitLandTrust.org. Get more information here.

• And finally … “endless shrimp” may drive Red Lobster into bankruptcy. Yes, really. Delish reports: “According to Bloomberg, Red Lobster is considering a Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing in hopes of restructuring its debts. The company has reportedly received advice from law firm King & Spalding and is hoping to get out of long-term contracts and renegotiate leases in the process. … The pandemic and labor costs aren’t the only culprit of Red Lobster’s declining profits. Those all-you-can-eat promotions have also caused a toll. Its $20 Ultimate Endless Shrimp deal cost the company $11 million in its third quarter alone, according to Restaurant Business. The chain ultimately raised the cost to $25, though, I hardly think that will the recoup $11 million.” Ooh, snark!

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