Nov. 6 Daily Briefing: Pride takes over city streets, major project opens, more funds for navigation center, and more

Welcome to Monday, everyone, where if you’re a frequent visitor to the dog park behind City Hall you’ll want to take note that it’s closed starting today for annual maintenance and reseeding. The city currently plans to reopen it on Dec. 12, but sometimes the reopening doesn’t work out as planned, so we will keep you posted. But don’t fret for your pet — during the closure, the Demuth Dog Park will remain open from daybreak until dusk, seven days a week. It’s located at 4200 East Mesquite Ave.

🎶 Setting the mood: “Who Let The Dogs Out” by Baja Men (In honor of Mark’s beloved UW Huskies, who he had the pleasure of watching defeat USC in person on Saturday)

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LEADING OFF

Agua Caliente museum, plaza opened to public

It’s not every day one of the most significant cultural projects in the state opens in the heart of the city’s downtown, but last Friday was that day.

Driving the news: More than five years after ground was first broken, the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians welcomed the public as it opened the doors to a massive museum and adjoining cultural plaza at the intersection of East Tahquitz Canyon Way and Indian Canyon Drive.

• Those facilities join a 40,000 square foot luxury spa that opened at the site earlier this year.

Zoom in: Inside the 48,000-square-foot museum, visitors learn the story of the original people to call this area home, told in their own voices. Five different display areas chronicle the tribe’s history and tell the story of its connection to the land. Included in the exhibit are artifacts that were unearthed during excavation for the project.

Why it matters: For members of the tribe, completion of the project signifies the end of work dating back 30 years. More importantly, it allows them to tell their story in their own voices.

• “This represents our culture, it represents our traditions, it represents our stories, and it represents our history,” said Tribal Chairman Reid D. Milanovich during brief remarks Friday afternoon. “That’s all been passed down generation by generation and told to us by the generations that came before us.”

Bigger picture: Pointing to the earth tones used in the museum and spa, the subtle architecture that helps buildings blend in with their backgrounds, and landscaping that resembles nearby Indian Canyons, Milanovich said it’s no accident that all the tribe’s projects share a common aesthetic. 

• All are designed to provide a seamless connection to land the tribe has called home for thousands of years.

Bottom line: “It just goes back to the vision,” said Milanovich. “We’re the original people of this land, so we understand this land better than anyone at all.”

Read the complete story here.

BRIEFLY

💵 More funding for help with homelessness, housing

Funding for a Palm Springs facility designed to aid unhoused residents was included in more than $23 million earmarked for projects throughout the state in a recent legislative package passed by the United States Senate.

• Sen. Alex Padilla announced last week that $1.5 million for the Palm Springs Navigation Center was included the first three of its fiscal 2024 appropriations bills in a “minibus.” The House must now consider similar legislation.
  
  
• As currently designed, the $40 million navigation center off McCarthy Road — paid for primarily with funds from outside the city — would have 80 modular housing units and support services to aid in transitioning residents out of homelessness.
  
  
• Zoom in: Closer to home, The Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG) Regional Council announced last week it has awarded $5 million to Lift to Rise, a nonprofit for affordable housing construction that has helped build 600 units, including some in Palm Springs.

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TODAY’S EVENTS

Mon Petit Salon
5 p.m. | Cultural Center
Experience world music with a French accent at Mon Petit Salon, hosted by violin virtuoso Jeremie Levi Samson. ($10)

Leanna & Miguel
5 p.m. | V Wine Lounge
Come enjoy jazz, Latin, bossa and mod music at the lounge until 8 p.m.

Architectural Review Committee
5:30 p.m. | City Hall
The committee is scheduled to meet in the large conference room at City Hall. Find the complete agenda here.

Adult tap dance
6:30 p.m. | Leisure Center
Adult intermediate tap starts at 6:30 p.m., and “absolute beginners” adult tap is at 7:30 p.m. Two left feet are optional! ($20-$25)

SAVE THE DATE

• Pickleball community meeting on Nov. 8.
  
  
• Veterans Day Drive-Thru Appreciation Lunch on Nov. 10.
  
  
• Palm Springs Food and Wine Festival on Nov. 11 & 12.
  
  
• Veterans Day Parade on Nov. 11.
  
  
• ONE-PS Lip Sync Battle on Nov. 12 at the Cultural Center.
  
  
• Jews do the Blues benefit concert on Nov. 15.
  
  
• Palm Springs Speaks series with Temple Grandin on Nov. 17.

AND FINALLY …

Thousands of attendees lined the mile-long parade route along Palm Canyon Drive for the annual Palm Springs Pride Parade on Sunday, celebrating the theme ‘Drag now. Drag forever,’ and honoring our local LGBTQ+ community. 

Driving the news: More than 200 organizations and businesses marched in the parade, which stretched from Tachevah Drive to East Amado Road, terminating at the Pride Festival street fair with outdoor DJs, booths, food, and drinks.

What they’re saying: Ali Montano and Thomas Renau, attending the parade for the second time after moving to the city last year, said the Palm Springs parade was more fun and had a more homey atmosphere than those in larger cities.

• “In San Francisco, Pride became super corporate,” said Renau. “We love the community aspect of Palm Springs.”

Dive deeper with our complete coverage here.