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Thursday, March 19-March 25, 2026
Veterans call for maintaining protections for desert public lands
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Following $1.18B in state funding, SoCal officials tout expansion of behavioral health facilities
By Joe Taglieri
By Joe Taglieri
joet@beaconmedianews.com
joet@beaconmedianews.com
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group of veterans called for the protection of California desert public lands Tuesday in Joshua Tree. According to Vet Voice Foundation, public lands are facing unprecedented threats from the federal government amid multiple attempts to privatize and sell-off these places. The California desert, which includes millions of acres of public lands, is a part of the nation’s military history, supports small businesses and helps create jobs while providing places where veterans and others spend time outdoors, Foundation members said. Over the past year, there have been multiple attempts to pass legislation that would sell-off public lands acres nationwide, including in California, and the mass firings of agency employees who were responsible for managing these places. In November, President Donald Trump nominated Steve Pearce, a longtime advocate for the privatization and sale of public lands, to lead the Bureau of Land Management. If the U.S. Senate confirms his nomination, Pearce will be
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The Corn Springs Campground in the Chuckwalla National Monument. | Photo courtesy of the Bureau of Land Management/Flickr (PDM 1.0)
responsible for millions of acres of California desert public lands. “Veterans work as wildland firefighters, park rangers, land managers, and biologists,” Janessa Goldbeck, CEO of Vet Voice Foundation and a U.S. Marine Corps veteran, said in a statement. “Thousands more veterans build small businesses around public lands — as guides, outfitters,
outdoor instructors, tourism operators, and more. Threats to these places are a threat to how many veterans make a living. This issue is not theoretical. It is about paychecks, pensions, mortgages, and family stability.” Chemehuevi Indian Tribe Chairman Emeritus Glenn Lodge also spoke at the event Tuesday about the See Public lands Page 18
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significance of California desert public lands. “California desert public lands are our homelands,” Lodge, a U.S. Army Special Forces veteran, said in a statement. “We have stewarded these places from time immemorial and we have served our nation abroad as well. We stand against any threats to our desert
lected officials throughout Southern California on Monday welcomed the latest round of state funding totaling $1.18 billion for more residential and crisis treatment centers statewide. Grants from Round 2 of Bond Behavioral Health Continuum Infrastructure Program will support 66 projects across 130 behavioral health facilities, including in rural and tribal communities, according to Gov. Gavin Newsom's office. Counties and cities are expected to gain a total of 6,919 residential treatment beds and 27,561 outpatient slots, which according to the governor's office exceeds Proposition 1 statewide goals in just two years and supporting 177 projects across 333 facilities. Voters enacted the proposition, a $6.4 billion bond that Newsom supported, in 2024 by a narrow margin of 50.2% to 49.8%. The new funding round follows the recent announcement of a 9% decrease in unsheltered homelessness statewide, the first such reduction in 15 years. See Prop. 1 Page 04
A recent report by CalMatters found that none of the projects expected in 2025 under Newsom’s mental health ballot measure have opened. Projects in the initial round have hit delays, in some cases pushing back opening dates by two years, or been cancelled. The state awarded nearly half of Proposition 1 bond funds last spring, kicking off what Newsom called the swiftest distribution of bond funds in state history. Expectations were that 10 of the first 124 projects would complete by the end of 2025. CalMatters has confirmed that nine of those projects were delayed, with new completion dates ranging from this summer to summer 2028. One project was cancelled. A number of local officials issued statements welcoming the second infusion of state funding. Los Angeles County Board Chair Hilda L. Solis: “For years, Los Angeles County has been in the midst of mental health and substance use crises, and I supported Proposition 1 to bring the needed resources to