Indy Digest: Nov. 27, 2023
Rather than discussing the news of the day, I’m going to take you behind the scenes and crunch some numbers regarding the publication of our print edition.
Here’s a photo of what 16,000 copies of the Best of Coachella Valley print edition of the Coachella Valley Independent looks like.
According to the printer, this whole thing weighs 4,703 pounds. This is 320 bundles with 50 papers each, for a total of 16,000 copies.
This issue is 56 pages—larger than our “normal” 40 pages, thanks to Best Of. That means 896,000 total print pages of Coachella Valley Independent goodness.
The paper arrived yesterday (Sunday). The hubby and I went to the delivery site, packed both our cars with bundles, and took about 200 bundles, or 10,000 copies, to our storage unit. A short time later, our circulation department (aka Christopher) arrived and picked up the rest.
This week, Christopher will drop off most of these 16,000 copies at more than 300 locations, in all of the valley’s nine cities and beyond. The rest of the papers will be used to refill some of our busier stops—like grocery stores (Vons and Albertsons)—throughout the month.
Over the next four weeks, almost all of those 16,000 copies will be snatched up by our readers. Then we’ll start the process all over again, when 16,000 copies of our January issue arrive.
However, that issue will likely “only” be 40 pages—or 640,000 total print pages of Coachella Valley Independent goodness.
—Jimmy Boegle
From the Independent
Best of Coachella Valley 2023-2024: Readers’ Picks
By Staff
November 27th, 2023
Our readers’ picks for the Coachella Valley’s best restaurants, individuals and organizations for 2023-2024.
Best of Coachella Valley 2023-2024: Staff Picks
By Staff
November 27th, 2023
Our staff and contributors have their say about the Coachella Valley’s best.
Human-Pet Connections: Animal Samaritans Is Selected as the Best Veterinarian by ‘Independent’ Readers
By Kevin Fitzgerald
November 27th, 2023
Founded in 1978 by a group of Coachella Valley animal lovers, Animal Samaritans focused initially on pet rescues and adoptions, along with education regarding the humane treatment of animals. Veterinary services became part of their operations a few years later.
A Century of Dates: Shields Date Garden—Our Readers’ Perennial Best Date Shake Choice—Tells the Story of How the Fruit Became a Coachella Valley Staple
By Matt King
November 27th, 2023
Since 1924, the shop off Highway 111, featuring a giant knight statue, has welcomed visitors to enjoy dates—and learn about the date industry of the Coachella Valley.
Unpredictable Arrivals: A Look at How Riverside County Deals With the Tens of Thousands of Asylum-Seekers Who Pass Through Each Year
By Kevin Fitzgerald
November 24th, 2023
Since March 2021, 90,165 migrant asylum-seekers have made Riverside County their first stop upon entering the United States legally. Here’s what happens after they arrive.
Half of a Good Movie: Ridley Scott’s ‘Napoleon’ Has Some Fine Moments—but It Feels Over-Edited and Incomplete
By Bob Grimm
November 27th, 2023
Napoleon Bonaparte is a grand figure, and Joaquin Phoenix flavors his characterization with some wacky, childish and eccentric personality traits at times, yet it all seems a bit “edited.”
Best of Coachella Valley Winners’ Advertising Spotlight!
More News
• A record outbreak of mpox in Congo has health officials around the world concerned. ABC News reports: “WHO said the risk of mpox spreading to other countries in Africa and globally ‘appears to be significant,’ adding that there could be ‘potentially more severe consequences’ than the worldwide epidemic last year. (Oyewale Tomori, a Nigerian virologist) lamented that while the mpox outbreaks in Europe and North America prompted mass immunization campaigns among affected populations, no such plans were being proposed for Africa.” (One thing this ABC News story didn’t mention: The strain that’s now being sexually transmitted there may be more severe and deadlier.)
• While we’re on the topic of diseases: A HuffPost reporter takes a look at a plan by the Biden administration that could limit the scourge of hepatitis C: “Hepatitis C kills thousands of Americans every year, making it the nation’s deadliest bloodborne infectious disease. And it doesn’t have to be this way. There’s a cure for hepatitis C that works in almost all cases―an antiviral medication that’s been around for a decade, needs to be taken for just two or three months, and has relatively mild side effects. But lots of Americans diagnosed with the disease aren’t getting the drug because it’s too expensive, or they’re getting it only after the virus has already done severe damage. … President Joe Biden has proposed to do something about that. His 2024 budget calls for a campaign to ‘eliminate’ hepatitis C by making sure at-risk people are aware of the disease and its cure, giving providers the training and tools to identify cases early, and getting the medication to everyone who needs it. Although nobody believes the campaign would actually wipe out the disease, at least in the near term, experts think it could dramatically reduce its incidence―and the death toll too.”
• A ProPublica headline: “Voters in at Least 10 States Are Trying to Protect Abortion Rights. GOP Officials Are Throwing Up Roadblocks.” More details: “In the year since Roe v. Wade was overturned, Gallup polling shows that a majority of Americans believe abortion should be legal, with two-thirds of those polled saying it should be permitted in the first trimester. To protect access to reproductive care, coalitions across the country are organizing ballot initiatives—a democratic tool that enables proposed amendments to become state law with enough petition signatures. But abortion-rights advocates say their opponents are increasingly matching their efforts with an assortment of legal and political challenges that have stalled or even blocked their ability to introduce initiatives.”
• We’ve covered the fact that drug overdoses are a severe problem in the Coachella Valley before—and we almost certainly will cover it in the future, too. A substance abuse expert, writing for The Conversation, breaks down the horrific nationwide numbers with the help of some charts. A tidbit: “Only 1 in 10 teens and tweens who died from a drug overdose had a history of treatment for a substance use problem, and only 1 in 7 had ever experienced a prior nonfatal overdose. Adolescents who fatally overdose do not necessarily show the warning signs generally expected beforehand, such as problems with alcohol or other drugs or prior substance use treatment. This pattern underscores the importance that all parents proactively talk with their children about substance use by the time they are 12 years old.”
• On a completely different subject, the Los Angeles Times reports on the friendly relationship Gov. Gavin Newsom and Fox News’ Sean Hannity have: “Hannity, who typically cites California’s problems with crime and housing as a symbol of all that’s wrong with the Democrats, was even singing praises for In-N-Out Burger at his second interview with the governor. ‘From the first time we met we just hit it off and there was a certain relationship that developed that was like, “Oh, come on, you don’t believe all that,”’ Hannity said of Newsom in a recent interview at Fox News headquarters in Midtown Manhattan. ‘It was always friendly and never contentious. You can say anything to him. You can have fun with him.’ The success of their recent meetings prompted Hannity to turn it up a notch. He invited Newsom and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, running for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, to debate on his program. Hannity negotiated the terms and details directly with the political rivals, who will meet Thursday in a 90-minute showdown at 6 p.m. Pacific on Fox News.”
• And finally … NPR reports on the latest plague to hit the great state of California: giant tumbleweeds. Sure, why not. Some details: “A giant tumbleweed roughly the size of a Volkswagen beetle was spotted hurtling its way down a four-lane road in California (last) week. The jaunty brown bundle of brush was captured on video and posted on Tuesday on X, formerly known as Twitter, where it has gathered a number of fans who have compared it to a giant hairball, belly lint gone wild, and the critters from the eponymously named 1986 sci-fi horror movie. … In 2020, a swarm of tumbleweeds took over a stretch of Washington state highway that piled up to 30 feet high in some places. Cars and trucks were trapped for hours. Authorities dubbed it Tumblegeddon. A couple of years later, about 100 homes in Victorville, California, were seemingly swallowed up by thousands of prickly tumbleweeds that were strewn about by 50 mph winds.” Ain’t nature great?
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