Andrea McKenna • August 13, 2026
Under the Borrego Sky: A Local Look at Desert Life
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Did You Know?
Under the Borrego Sky Is a Local Blog About Life in Borrego Springs
Under the Borrego Sky offers a resident’s perspective on everyday desert life, from changing seasons and nature to local landmarks and the quieter rhythms of the community.
Created by Shannon Cheesman, a longtime visitor who eventually made Borrego Springs home, the site offers something different from a traditional visitor guide: a look at Borrego Springs through the eyes of someone who lives here.
It’s a useful resource for visitors, people considering a move, and anyone curious about year-round life in the desert. Explore: UnderTheBorregoSky.com
Learn More About Borrego Springs
By Karen Pearlman, East County Magazine Aug. 12, 2026 (San Diego County) – The San Diego County Board of Supervisors will open the floor up at its Aug. 18 meeting for a presentation from two environmental groups opposing San Diego Gas & Electric ‘s proposed Golden Pacific Powerlink . The Golden Pacific Powerlink is the planned 500-kilovolt transmission line with structures 150 to 200 feet tall that would cut through Anza-Borrego Desert State Park and more than 100 miles of other terrain across San Diego and Riverside counties. The $1.624 billion Golden Pacific Powerlink would be among the largest transmission lines in the utility’s system — meant to carry electricity about 135 to 145 miles from SDG&E’s Imperial Valley Substation to a new substation near the decommissioned San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station, at the San Diego–Orange County line.
BASIC (Basic Assistance for Students in the Community) is hiring a Managing Director to lead programs, fundraising, operations, and community partnerships that support education for students and families in Borrego Springs. This is a visible, hands-on leadership role for someone who can build trust, get things done, and champion BASIC's C2G cradle to graduation mission. Key Responsibilities Partner with the Board to set priorities and support strong governance. Manage general daily operations, including use of technology, tracking data and written information, running meetings and supervision of a small staff. Guide BASIC programs, including the Dolly Parton Imagination Library, Learning Academy, and Scholarships. Manage fundraising and communications (external and internal). Build strong partnerships and serve as a trusted community ambassador. Ideal Candidate Bilingual in Spanish and English Proactive, organized, and comfortable in our small community. Strong communicator (written and verbal) and relationship-builder. Leadership experience in nonprofits, fundraising, programs, administration, education or community service. How to Apply Send your resume to basic2026job@borregobasic.org by September 15, 2026 Learn more about BASIC: www.borregobasic.org
By Dennis Mammana Week of Aug 16-22, 2026 It was 20 years ago that our solar system lost a planet. Well, it didn't really go anywhere, but Pluto is no longer a planet because it's been reclassified. I'm sure you figured out in school that scientists love to classify things. Rocks, clouds, plants and, yes, even stars and planets. So why did they feel the need to reclassify Pluto? Because Pluto doesn't seem to fit the pattern of the rest of the major worlds of our solar system. First, it's a world not even 1,500 miles across; in other words, if we could bring it to Earth, it would fit inside of Mexico. Its orbit is tipped about 17 degrees to the orbits of all the other planets and is so elongated that every 240 years it crosses the orbit of Neptune. In addition, Pluto is an icy world with only five known moons, yet it exists in the realm of the gassy, ringed giants, around which hundreds of moons orbit. This is one strange world, so on Aug. 24, 2006, when the International Astronomical Union reclassified it as a "dwarf planet" — one of five currently known — some folks became quite upset. I hear people say all the time, "Pluto was a planet when I was in school, and by God, it's still a planet!" But that's not how science works. As we learn more about nature, we find characteristics and patterns that don't match up with our previous notions. Sometimes when that happens, we must change the way we think. It's all good science, and it happens more frequently than you might imagine. Ages ago, anyone on the high seas would have considered whales as fish. Though whales were known to have characteristics different from fish, it wasn't until 1758 that the 10th edition of Carl Linnaeus' "System Naturae" officially branded them as mammals. I'd be willing to bet that if the internet had existed back then, folks would have been screaming for Linnaeus' hide, and proclaiming, "Whales were fish when I went to school, and by God, they're still fish!" But here we are, three centuries later, and no one's upset any longer. No, Pluto just doesn't fit the patterns of all the other planets, so for that reason, it seems to me, Pluto cannot legitimately be categorized as a planet. So if Pluto's not a planet, what is it? A moon of one of the outer planets that broke free? A monster comet? A weird missing link? Good questions, all. Unfortunately, we just don't know. It was in 1930 that Clyde Tombaugh found Pluto, and some of his ashes were carried onboard the New Horizons spacecraft as it sped past and explored this distant world in 2015. Those who are more sentimental than scientific believe that this reclassification is an insult to the man who was so very proud of being the discoverer of the last planet of our solar system. I knew Clyde, and I'm pretty sure this wouldn't bother him one bit. In fact, I suspect he would be even more honored to be the discoverer of the first of an entirely new class of worlds! Visit Dennis Mammana at dennismammana.com. To read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com .
