What’s at Stake on Election Day; the Latest on the McDonald’s/Listeria Issue–Coachella Valley Independent’s Indy Digest: Oct. 24, 2024

Indy Digest: Oct. 24, 2024

Earlier tonight, we sent our November print edition to press. As I looked over the proofs, I was struck by how many of the stories, directly or indirectly, illustrate how much is at stake in this year’s presidential election.

The aforementioned print edition—which will hit stands next week—is our 12th annual Pride Issue, and all of our Pride stories this year touch upon the struggles of the LGBTQ+ community, past and present. These stories will all be posted at CVIndependent.com and included in the Indy Digest in the coming days.

Our lead piece is about the new Q+ Art initiative at the Palm Springs Art Museum. Why does Adam Lerner, the museum’s executive director, feel the need for such an initiative?

“We feel it’s important to send a message to the general public, especially today, where there is so much prejudice in the world,” he told Haleemon Anderson. “We think that museums can be important forces in our culture, where we can affirm a plurality of voices.”

Next up is Kevin Fitzgerald’s interview with Renae Punzalan, the director of youth services at the Marsha P. Johnson Youth Drop-in Center, which is part of the Transgender Health and Wellness Center.

“Even though we’re here in Palm Springs—which is supposed to be the gay mecca, right?—there are still students who face discrimination for being trans or gender-diverse,” she told Kevin.

Our third Pride piece, also by Kevin Fitzgerald, is an interview with Michael G. Lee, author of When the Band Played On, a biography of pioneering gay journalist Randy Shilts. Lee will be interviewed by another iconic gay journalist, Hank Plante, at the Palm Springs Cultural Center on Nov. 16. Lee talked about his experiences working in HIV health.

“There was always this recognition that our work, even though a lot of it was standard human service-type work, was imbued with a certain political edge because of the process it took to get funding for AIDS research and community-based services,” he said. “It was still a partisan topic, even into the early 2000s, and we continually had to press against opponents in legislative bodies. … Depending on what happens with the climate of this country, we could be revisiting those fights sooner than we think.”

We conclude our Pride section with Matt King’s feature on Great Autos, an LGBTQ+ car club.

“A lot of our members, when we first started, were closeted,” said Mike Parente, a Great Autos board member and the club historian. “We used to send out the newsletter in a plain wrapper, (and members) didn’t want to be listed in our roster, because homophobia was such a bigger thing.”

Beyond the Pride section, Matt wrote a preview of the Reel Women’s Film Festival, which benefits Planned Parenthood of the Pacific Southwest; it’s happening on Nov. 10. (That story will also soon be posted online and included here in the Digest.)

“We are all humans going through so many things, so many problems, and reproductive health care and reproductive health access, and having that bodily autonomy—it weaves itself through all of our narratives,” said Jacque Casillas, Planned Parenthood of the Pacific Southwest’s donor relations manager. “Every single person has sexual reproductive health, and it is so critical that you have not just access, but safety and security.”

We currently live in a country where, in many places, LGBTQ+ freedoms and womens’ bodily autonomy have been taken away or are being threatened. One major presidential candidate has made it clear that she supports the LGBTQ+ community and a woman’s right to choose; the other has made it equally clear—with his words, his actions and the people with whom he surrounds himself—that he’s happy to take away abortion rights, demonize trans people, and elevate judges who want to roll back LGBTQ+ rights, including gay marriage.

As I write this, pollsters say the presidential race is as close as it can get—Kamala Harris and Donald Trump are equally likely to win the election.

I am legitimately afraid.

—Jimmy Boegle

More News

• The Palm Springs nonprofit CEO who is accused of misusing hundreds of thousands of dollars of government money has been indicted. Our friends at the Palm Springs Post report: “Jacob Rostovsky, CEO of Palm Springs-based nonprofit Queer Works, faces a 53-count indictment on charges including fraudulent claims, grand theft, and money laundering, it was announced on Wednesday. In a statement released to the media, Riverside County District Attorney Mike Hestrin revealed allegations of misuse of over $840,000 in public funds intended for housing assistance and basic income payments in the city of Palm Springs and Riverside County. The 33-year-old Rostovsky surrendered at the DA’s Office on Oct. 17 and posted bail of $944,000. He was arraigned at the Hall of Justice in Riverside when the grand jury indictment was unsealed.”

• The headline from our partners at Calmatters: “Most California Republicans in Congress won’t commit to certifying the 2024 presidential election.” Sigh. Some details: “In January 2021, seven of the 11 California Republicans in Congress refused to certify the 2020 presidential election results, boosting former President Donald Trump’s false claim that he lost in a rigged vote. Now, as Trump attempts a return to the White House, only a third of California’s Republican U.S. representatives have pledged to certify the results this November. Only four of the 12 GOP incumbents—who are all seeking another term—have promised to uphold the election results. Of the three GOP challengers in California’s most competitive districts, two—Scott Baugh in Orange County and Kevin Lincoln in the Central Valley—made the same pledge in response to a CalMatters inquiry. And in California’s U.S. Senate race, GOP candidate Steve Garvey made the commitment in February.” The story later contains a shred of good news: “Rep. Ken Calvert, who represents the 41st District in Riverside County, is the only California Republican member of Congress to commit to certifying the presidential election results this time after objecting four years ago.”

• A ProPublica investigation has revealed that, as the lede says, “For years, America’s most iconic gun-makers turned over sensitive personal information on hundreds of thousands of customers to political operatives.” The story continues: “Those operatives, in turn, secretly employed the details to rally firearm owners to elect pro-gun politicians running for Congress and the White House, a ProPublica investigation has found. … At least 10 gun industry businesses, including Glock, Smith & Wesson, Remington, Marlin and Mossberg, handed over names, addresses and other private data to the gun industry’s chief lobbying group, the National Shooting Sports Foundation. The NSSF then entered the gun owners’ details into what would become a massive database. The data initially came from decades of warranty cards filled out by customers and returned to gun manufacturers for rebates and repair or replacement programs. A ProPublica review of dozens of warranty cards from the 1970s through today found that some promised customers their information would be kept strictly confidential. Others said some information could be shared with third parties for marketing and sales. None of the cards informed buyers their details would be used by lobbyists and consultants to win elections.”

• Yet another food company is the subject of a listeria outbreak—McDonalds. ABC News reported today: “Produce company Taylor Farms has issued a voluntary recall on raw onions in connection with a deadly E. coli outbreak linked to McDonald’s quarter pounders. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has said that raw slivered onions and the beef patties are the focus of their investigation as potential E. coli sources, but also indicated that preliminary data suggests the onions are ‘a likely source of contamination.’ Taylor Farms told Bloomberg when the recall was announced that it had not found traces of E. coli in its onions. In a separate but related recall notice from restaurant supplier US Foods obtained by ABC News, the company advised its customers that Taylor Farms, one of its suppliers, announced a recall out of an abundance of caution on four raw onion products ‘due to potential E. coli contamination.’ … As of the time of publication, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has reported 49 cases of E. coli with 10 hospitalizations and one death across 10 states linked to McDonald’s Quarter Pounders.”

• If you’re 50 or older, the CDC thinks you should get vaccinated against pneumonia. NPR explains: “For the first time, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has lowered the recommended age for those who should get a pneumococcal vaccine—down to 50, from 65. ‘Lowering the age for pneumococcal vaccination gives more adults the opportunity to protect themselves from pneumococcal disease at the age when risk of infection substantially increases,’ the CDC said in a statement. ‘Pneumococcal bacteria can also cause serious illnesses, including pneumonia, meningitis, and bloodstream infections, and older adults are at increased risk for pneumococcal disease.’ Wednesday’s recommendation comes as respiratory infections caused by the bacteria mycoplasma pneumoniae are rising across the U.S., especially in children, according to the CDC.”

• And finally … Denny’s has announced that it will soon close 150 locations—and that franchisees can limit their hours. CNN says: “Fifty locations are set to close by the end of 2024, while the remaining 100 will shutter in 2025, Denny’s announced in an earnings call Tuesday. That amounts to a tenth of its restaurants, leaving 1,375 locations once completed. A specific list of closing restaurants (wasn’t) immediately announced. … The chain, best known for never closing its doors, is also making a major concession with its franchisees over the requirement of remaining open 24/7. Since the pandemic, about a quarter of its restaurants have not returned to those around-the-clock hours, so Denny’s is easing up on the requirement for a franchise to do so. Denny’s joins a broader trend of restaurants slashing hours since the pandemic. Major shifts in customer behavior, including earlier dinner times and drinking less alcohol late into the evenings, have held back a return to pre-pandemic patterns. Higher labor and food costs have also led restaurants to close earlier.”

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