All of California is officially facing drought conditions, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor . And much of the state is in extreme or severe drought after the dry winter.
Ridgecrest Daily Independent
Searles Valley Minerals will not have water service shut off for non-payment of fees . at least not yet.
An Indian Wells Valley Groundwater Authority special hearing Thursday on SVM s failure to pay the $2,130 per acre-foot replenishment fee was continued to the authority s June regular meeting so the GA could investigate SVM’s claim that cutting the company’s water supply would take down service to every house, business and school in Trona as collateral damage. If you cut off the water supply to Searles, two things will happen. One is Searles will go out of business, said Jeff Dunn, special counsel to SVM. And if it goes out of business it will never be able to pay your replenishment assessment.
Ridgecrest Daily Independent
Update: the city council will also have a closed session at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday to discuss existing litigation, according to a city notice sent out Monday.
The Ridgecrest City Council on May 5 will consider awarding a non-exclusive taxi franchise to Ridgecrest Taxi.
Under the agreement Ridgecrest Taxi would charge a $4.00 minimum fare; $3.00 per mile; $0.25 for each additional 1/12 of a mile or fraction thereof, and $0.75 for each additional moment of waiting time, according to the staff report.
There would be no discount for military or senior citizens, according to the report.
The new franchise agreement is intended to clean up previous agreements, according to the staff report.
Council to consider establishing Ridgecrest historic district
Ridgecrest Daily Independent
Ridgecrest old-timers like to share memories of the city’s early days. The task has been made easier by the Historical Society of the Upper Mojave Desert, which maintains a cluster of historic buildings on and around West Ridgecrest Boulevard downtown.
When the Ridgecrest City Council gets together April 21 they will look at formally establishing a Ridgecrest Historic District which would include these buildings.
“What we are trying to do is preserve as much of old Ridgecrest as possible,” said Mayor Eric Bruen Friday.
The proclamation was initially suggested by the HSUMD, a 501(c)3 non-profit, as a way of preserving and protecting the area of historic significance.
Ridgecrest City Council to talk state vs. local zoning on March 17
When the Ridgecrest City Council meets March 17, the agenda will be dominated by planning-related issues.
Mayor Eric Bruen will ask the council to weigh in on the balance of power between the state and local governments when it comes to zoning.
The issue appears to be both simple and complex.
Specifically, council will be asked to support the idea of retaining local control over zoning. By extension, they will also be asked to support the organization California Cities for Local Control, which is mentioned in the staff report. This group describes itself as a grassroots group advocating for local control over zoning and land use decisions, according to its website at https://localcontrolca.com/.