Important!
Discrimination
and Succession in Yucca Valley Politics
Yucca Valley Town Council Meeting – Tuesday, June 23rd at
6 PM – Yucca Valley Community Center
Submitted by: Harry Bowkley, June 22, 2008
For More Information: 760-365-1524 or 760-413-4576 or hbowkley@aol.com
_____________________________________________________________
Yucca Valley Town Councilwoman Lori Herbel is the target of an
extraordinary effort to deny her the possibility of becoming Mayor
Pro Tempore and ultimately Mayor of Yucca Valley.
Ever since the Town of Yucca Valley incorporated in 1991, the
succession from Council member to Mayor Pro Tempore and then to
Mayor has been a fixed rotation based on seniority.
The intent is clear in Municipal Code 2.05.210: “It is the
intent of the council to rotate the position of mayor and mayor
pro tempore through the legislative body to provide each council
member the opportunity to serve." [Italics added]
According to Town Attorney Haubert, rotation “… has
been the tradition in Yucca Valley even before the adoption of
Section 2.05.210”.
Now, after 18 years of orderly successions, four members of the
Town Council are about to vote to rescinded this municipal code
and replace it based on their discriminatory and exclusionary
judgments: “must be earned”, “represents policy
consensus”, “serves at the pleasure of the Council”,
etc.
Why now?
Could it be that in December Councilwoman Herbel will rotate to
the position of Mayor Pro Tempore and subsequently to Mayor?
Could it be that Herbel’s solitary opposition to the flawed
Wal-Mart EIR shamed the Council for its embrace of the Staff’s
dereliction of “due diligence” by recommending approval
of the flawed EIR?
Could it be that the Superior Court struck down the flawed Wal-Mart
EIR with stinging criticism of the Town Council, observing that
Herbel’s “… concerns of evidence of inaccuracies
and omissions … fell on deaf ears and the decision was made
that very evening to adopt the project. “
Could it be that Herbel alone on the Town Council represents a
constituency dedicated to conservation, sustainable growth, native
plant protection, dark night skies and clean air?
Could it be that Lori Herbel is being discriminated against by
her male colleagues simply because she is a woman?
Please attend the next Yucca Valley Town Council meeting
on Tuesday, June 23rd and voice your opinion on this important
issue.
Randy Polumbo and Shari Elf of the Art Queen are proud to announce
a showing of Ann Magnuson's adventures in creating 30 art works
in 30 days.
Ann
Magnuson came to the Art Queen "Many Mansions" art opening
party with her "Fake Basquiats" (Heaven and Hell), which
she had made that day. Hanging them as the guests arrived, Shari
thought to herself, "This woman works well with deadlines!"
Since at the time Shari was trying to record 30 songs in 30 days
on her computer, she had the idea to ask Ann to make 30 art works
in 30 days. We would show the works she came up with, the emphasis
being on her process, not so much the product. For instance, if
she had a busy day or was traveling, she could make a drawing
on a cocktail napkin. Just so she tried to make a piece and be
creative every day. To our delight, Ann went for it! We also asked
Victoria Williams to do the same thing and she wanted to but got
too busy with music stuff. We look forward to Victoria's 30 in
30 show later.
Ann Magnuson is an actress ("Making Mr. Right", "Clear
and Present Danger", "Panic Room", series regular
on the ABC-TV sitcom "Anything but Love"), writer, performance
artist, former singer/lyricist for the psycho-psychedelic band
Bongwater and a part-time resident of Joshua Tree. "I've
been visiting JT regularly since the eighties" Ann told us.
"My husband and I finally got a place out here 5 years ago
and I love it." She loved our '30 in 30' exercise. "Making
art is more fun than acting!" she told us. "The anything-goes
approach gave me a sense of liberation I haven't felt since I
was a kid. It's really helped me look at the creative process
anew."
Although Ann had always enjoyed making craft projects or fake
Jean Michel Basquiat paintings (which are fantastic!) she had
never applied her talents to putting together a whole show of
her artworks. Ann used materials from local thrift stores as well
as organic and inorganic 'found objects' from her rustic desert
environment in Joshua Tree.
Please join everyone at the Art Queen this Saturday, April 11,
7-10 pm for the opening party with live entertainment by the Plaids,
Shari Elf, and maybe even Ann Magnuson! this will also be the
last month to view our "Many Mansions" exhibit.
Newly Released:
KIM STRINGFELLOW'S JACKRABBIT HOMESTEAD
For
the last few years Kim Stringfellow has been making herself familiar
with residents of the High Desert while working on her project
JACKRABBIT HOMESTEAD. Finally this history of
an underrepresented regional history is ready for release as a
web-based multimedia presentation and a downloadable car audio
tour. JACKRABBIT HOMESETAD explores the legacy
of the Small Tract Act in the region near Joshua Tree National
Park and features stories told through the voices of local residents,
historians, and area artists—many of whom reside in reclaimed
historic cabins and use the structures as inspiration for their
creative work.
To experience the project visit:
www.jackrabbithomestead.com
A listening party event hosted by the project's
spon-soring organization, the 29 Palms Historical Society will
be held on Saturday, March 28th, 2009 from 1 to 3 PM
at the historical society museum. This event is free and open
to the public. Please visit the project website for more info,
related events, and directions to the museum.
Funding for this project is made possible, in part,
by a grant from the California Council for the Humanities as part
of the Council's statewide California Stories Initiative. The
Council is an independent non-profit organization and a state
affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities. For more
information on the Council and the California Stories Initiative,
visit www.californiastories.org.
Kim Stringfellow www.kimstringfellow.com
Announcing
Two High Desert Call for Artists!
Joshua Tree Music Festival: Call for Artists
The Seventh Annual Joshua Tree Music Festival
May 15-17, 2009, Joshua Tree, CA
For
the seventh consecutive year, The Joshua Tree Music Festival will
feature exceptional in world music, funk & groove in the Mojave
Desert. Always a haven for artists and musicians, this year’s
event will feature an open air art installation gallery on 2.5
acres including a lake stocked with fish, gorgeous reeds –
offering great potential for art installations that are not limited
by medium or size.
Parameters of Display:
All selected artists will receive ample space and assistance in
most aspects of logistical facilitation on site, though there
is no financial support. Artists and their required installation
crew have free admittance and will be provided space for camping
at the event.
For
more information contact: trav_lit@yahoo.com
Puglisi
January 20 at 12:54pm
Saturday, March 21, Venus Rising @ The Integratron
“A Fusion of Art Science and Magic”
A unique venue located in Landers,
CA, The Integratron offers an opportunity for artists who work
in all scales and mediums. Sitting
on multiple acres and featuring the two story, all wood construction
parabolic dome, this venue provides an environment that that makes
available spaces, both interior and exterior for exhibition. The
energetic dynamism of a geomagnetic vortex, historical connections
to science, UFO's and spiritualism augments the possibility for
both thematic, interactive and interpretive pieces.
Venus Rising is the second segment in a series
of events that fuse art, science, and magic that began at The
Integratron with Victoria Vesna’s luminary nanotech installation
Blue Morph on January 1, 2009.
Parameters of Displaying
At this time all submissions are welcome and artists will be assisted
in logistical means though there is no financial support The artist
may decide whether the work is for sale and determine price; a
Commission fee of 20% will be taken by the venue for any art that
is sold.
For
more information contact: trav_lit@yahoo.com
It
may be over, but it is not yet forgotten - HDTS CB08
We like to send out a belated, but deeply heartfelt, thank you
to the volunteers and participants who made it happen:
To the California Biennial Curator and the team:
Thank
you Lauri Firstenberg and to LA><ART and For Your Art!
To
the artists:
Hannah Greely, Jonathan Hernandez, Patrick Jackson,
Alice Konitz, Joel Kyack, Ann Magnuson, Thom Merrick, Yoshua Okon,
Jack Pierson, Ry Rocklin, Julia Scher, Marnie Weber and the Spirit
Girls, Wonder Valley Institute of Contemporary Art, Amy &
Wendy Yao's Art Swap Meet
To the staff and organizers:
Alexandra Wetzel our new and amazing administrative
director, Shaun Regen our most enduring and supportive founding
organizer, David Dodge for our publication design and Chris O'Hurley
our intern.
And
to our volunteers - without you we could not do what we do:
Sarah Nesbit and Alex
Aram Moshayedi
Tellef Tellefson
Christian Hacket
Thomas Stevenson
Daniel Pelt
Daiana Feuer
Sarah Williamson
Stacy Bengtson
Heather Harmon
Kate Kendall
Chris Bott
Anna Beck
Laura Lawler
Faith Purvey
Carole Frances Lung
Sarah Haughton
Stephen Walters
Tiffany Barber
Joy Anderson
Cesar Garcia
Alex Romano
Drew Dencker
Jessica Mellen
Lucas Clauser
Senna Chen
Tessa Helgerson
Alexandra Stapleton
And last but not least, thank you to Mary, Laura and James at
the Palms
Announcing
HDTS CB08:
On
November 7th, 8th and 9th, 2008, The High Desert Test Sites will
host an expanded desert event in connection with the California
Biennial.
Under the vision Lauri Firstenberg, curator of this year’s
California Biennial, the exhibition has expanded beyond the scope
of the museum to engage venues and sites from as far south as
Tijuana, and as north as San Francisco. As a non-institution dedicated
to the encouragement and support of art that "lives in the
world" HDTS will host the following artists for a three day
event.
HDTS
CB08 is affiliated with the 2008 California Biennial, organized
by the Orange County Museum of Art.
HDTS is produced for CB08 with LA><ART Public Art Initiatives
and Foryouart.
The map is now available in two downloadable parts:
Click
here for Western
sites and Eastern
sites
*Project
descriptions, and the program of events will
be available at the HDTS HQ and information center next to Coyote
Corner on Park Blvd in downtown Joshua Tree. (the directions page
tells you how to get to the high desert from just about anywhere)
HDTS
CB08 Artists Include:
Hannah
Greely
Jonathan Hernandez
Patrick Jackson
Alice Konitz
Joel Kyack
Ann Magnuson
Thom Merrick
Yoshua Okon
Jack Pierson
Ry Rocklin
Julia Scher
Marnie Weber and the Spirit Girls
Wonder Valley Institute of Contemporary Art (WVICA)
Amy & Wendy Yao's Art Swap Meet
Check out the
swap meet website
If
you would like to stay abreast of HDTS updates, events and projects
send an email to mailing
list@highdeserttestsites.com
* We are also looking for responsible, sturdy, fun volunteers
to manage the HDTS headquarters and to help various artists with
their projects throughout the weekend. If you are willing to help
please email Alex at alex.hdts@gmail.com.
PLEASE
NOTE: The High Desert Test Sites is a multi-site event. Attendance
is at your own risk. By attending the HDTS, you agree to assume
sole responsibility for any risk and to release anyone associated
with the HDTS, the CABiennial 08, and LAX from all claims relating
to any injury, damage or loss you may suffer or cause while in
the desert. Thank you - and have a great time!
Announcing: The Moab Video Project by Christy Gast
The
Moab Video Project is a year-long curatorial project
organized by artist Christy Gast, for a TV station
in Moab, Utah. Moab, a small town nestled in
a green valley between unimaginable red sandstone cliffs, was
settled by farmers in the 19th century, and began booming during
the age of uranium mining. The town consists of a business district
along the highway, with neighborhoods squeezed on either size.
Because of the cliffs, its growth is limited. Tourism is the main
industry, and people come from all over the world to see Arches
National Park, where Ed Abbey wrote Desert Solitaire.
In
2006 Christy spent the summer in Moab exploring the wilderness
and tending a big garden - during that time she met the owner
of Mac 21, an extremely local television channel. It was the first
channel in the world to have a cable news broadcast. The signal
from the nearest news channel didn't reach Moab because of its
geographic situation, so the cable channel started broadcasting
an all-volunteer news program. They covered the county commission
meetings in a seriously in-depth manner. Needless to say, the
commissioners weren't impressed. They covered Jeeps getting stuck
on the sides of cliffs, Christy says that she has seen amazing
footage of the newsreader reporting on this. The first cable news
broadcast was extremely microcosmic.
Christy
helped Jim from Mac21 set up his new studio and taught him how
to use Final Cut Pro. Now Mac21 doesn't need to cover the news
anymore--there are other accessible outlets--but there are long
features on the Chinese restaurant, mountain biking safety, and
homes for sale, always shot with these incredible cliffs in the
background. After returning to NY she proposed to curate a short
video program for Moab, which turned into a year-long project.
Mac21 is now airing one artist's video every week for the year
of 2008. The videos are inserted into normal programming, and
each video is broadcasted once every hour or so for one week.
Much of the impetus for this project was inspired by the singularity
of the setting, and the mythology of landscape. Christy says that
when she looks at videos for the program, she tries to think about
watching them in a motel room. “Sometimes I have specific
people in mind. Sometimes I imagine the desert watching.”
All videos are less than 5 minutes long and follow FCC regulations.
www.christygast.info
www.moabvideoproject.org
