La Quinta Cove

Here’s a third “poem” from the December 17 Nature Walk:

The smell of creosote wafts through the air/as the tiny raindrops began to fall.  We began our walk into the layers of rocks/which form the base of these beautiful mountain ranges/ with the clouds covering the sun.  The usually colorful backdrop seems muted, yet serene.  As we march through this geologic wonder, the stories of ancient times flow through my thoughts/and I wonder how people in those days/could have survived this terrain/without all the modern day conveniences/of the current neighborhood/that I now see spread out below.

Is anyone interested in joining or organizing car pools to distant places of work?  Palm Springs, Riverside, Los Angeles?  We have lots of new Cove residents who have taken advantage of good home prices, but who have kept jobs outside the Valley.  If you are interested in locating a fellow traveler, make contact under “comment” below.  An email address and the location to which you need to commute will suffice. Good luck! (Save your pennies and save our good clean air!)

This from local “Vacationer”:

I just returned from an exytended vacation in the mountains.  I rented in a lovely, friendly neighborhood and felt very much at home.  However, the contrast between that city government and our own La Quinta became very striking.

First of all, city improvements were underway, with the replacement of old natural gas lines with new ones.  This involved trenching the city streets and cutting away areas in front of each home site.  As expected, it was a noisy project, but that wasn’t the worst.  When “completed”, the trenches were left being rough ruts that are dangerous to walk along and annoying to drive on.  The public works department said only one street was to be repaved, the rest would be “patched” if necessary.  Our own Tim Jonassan Public Works guy would not ever allow this to remain so unsightly and dangerous.

Second, a neighboring house looked as if some spouse had given the other the boot, as belongings were strewn along the driveway, the porch of the house and parking area.  Furniture, clothing, toys, appliances, what a mess.  After four weeks, I finally phoned code compliance.  The nice lady said that was an “abandoned” house (maybe foreclosure?) and they had to leave the belongings for 15 days to give the owners a chance to claim what they wanted.  I said it had been at least four weeks, so she said she’d have someone check it out.  After one MORE week, the mess was still there.  Our own Deby Conrad code compliance chief would never allow this to occur either.

Thank GOODNESS we live in a community where awful things like this don’t happen.  THANKS, city hall…..

These photos of garage sale signs were taken this weekend (June 25-26) in the Cove.  Yikes.  Can you spot 2-3 things wrong here?  La Quinta is noted for having probably the best-organized garage sales of any city in the desert.  Families get a permit ($10, last I checked) for which the address is posted on the city website and also at the post office on the  (under-glass) bulletin board.  Two sales are permitted within a 12-month period. http://www.la-quinta.org/Index.aspx?page=99

1. These are illegal signs: two city-generated signs are allowed for each garage sale, and no additional or home-made signs are permitted.

2. These illegal signs are posted on stop signs and street signs which is also illegal.  What’s more, they must be removed at the end of a sale day, so as to not clutter up our streets.

3. Illegal signs make you wonder if this familyeven  got a permit.  Driving by these two addresses and seeing no city signs at all, one concludes that the sales are illegal, with no permit whatsoever.  Checking the addresses against the approved list, leaves no doubt that these families are bootlegging it.  Not fair to those many families who play by the rules, and certainly not a pretty sight when others drive around and see tacky signs….

What happens when the code compliance officers encounter these signs? They take them down and either fine or close down the garage sale.  Let’s help keep our city looking neat by reporting these infractions to city hall.  Call code compliance 777-7050 or email via the city website.  Search for I WANT ”request for city services”. http://www.la-quinta.org/servicerequests/servicerequest.aspx  Include the street address and/or the location of the signs.  Let’s be sure this practice doesn’t become popular.

THIS FROM DAVID:

Has anyone else observed some strange lights in the mountains above the Bear Creek Preserve on the west side of the cove above the wash?  We first noticed them early Monday morning, fairly high in the mountains.   They were still shining last night and early this morning (Tuesday).  Viewing them with binoculars, they appear to be a series of LED lights, but we cannot make out the object which they are attached to.  They are not visible in daylight.  No evidence of small people up there.  Just wondering if anyone else has seen this UFO or whatever it is???

PLEASE HELP US GET TO THE BOTTOM OF THIS MYSTERY…..

Tuesday afternoon, the City Council will be considering action at Sinaola and Eisenhower, where there is now a four-way stop.  Straw vote of Cove-ites.  Which do you prefer, a traffic signal or a roundabout (such as the east end of the Community Park in the Village)?  Bring up the website and cast your vote in the text box under LEAVE A REPLY.   You can use a fictitious name if you wish.

That nice 5.4 bounce on Wednesday should be a gentle reminder to GET THOSE EARTHQUAKE KITS, PLANS, AND SUPPLIES UPDATED.  Food supplies sufficient and current (fresh)?  Water fresh?  Know how to turn off the INTAKE VALVE to your water heater (so that your tank will remain pure and drinkable when our water supply is contaminated)?  Know how to turn off your gas line if you smell gas?  What happens if your family is in various places and someone can’t get home or contact home?  Got copies of your insurance policies and account numbers?  GOT CASH? Need guidance?  Visit the CERT website at http://www.laquintacert.org/ for lists and ideas.

GET BUSY!!!!

Have you been following the media discussions about the “La Quinta Forty”?  The La Quinta High School students involved in internet and actual “games” with an anti-semitic theme?  NOW’S THE TIME TO DISCUSS TOLERANCE WITH YOUR KIDS.  Young people learn important attitudes and values from their families.  This is a good time to promote the virtues of diversity and tolerance in our community.  Strike while the theme is HOT.

Yes, we’ve got ‘em too.  On a few vacant lots, on a little bit of undeveloped terrain, and in the Fred Wolff Bear Creek Nature Preserve.  These were taken in the Preserve on April 5 (Monday):

“Sleepless in La Quinta” writes:

Now that we have the great new signs in the Cove, its time to go around and trim the trees so we can see them. Also, a lot of the stop signs (i.e. Bermudas) are also blocked by trees creating a serious safety issue.

NOTE FROM MODERATOR #2: City staff tells us to report the intersections that need trimming.  The best way is to submit an online request at the City website under Request for Serivce http://www.la-quinta.org/servicerequests/servicerequest.aspx