4 Comments
Feb 11·edited Feb 11Liked by Barret Baumgart

Hi Barret!

I agree with Nick. You're a very good writer!

I've been writing for the "other" paper in Ridgecrest, the News Review, since last June. I'm not sure the Daily Independent scrubbed only the articles you listed. I've heard since they were sold, ALL past articles have been deleted, unfortunately.

I have covered the issue between Ridgecrest's city council members and the Kawaiisu tribe since the tribe's "Stop the Steal" protest at the Petroglyph Festival last November. I quoted you in one of those articles and gave you and your blog credit.

I am currently writing an editorial about a little skirmish at the last council meeting between the mayor and the Kawaiisu spokesman, Robert Blackwell. I'm calling it "Art Fight at the City Locale." I compare it to the "Gunfight at the OK Corral." :) Anyway, in that editorial, I will use some of your quotes but will, again, give you proper credit.

If you want to read any of the articles I've written, just go to the News-Review website and search Helen Tomlin or Kawaiisu. The one I'm writing now will be in the 2/16 edition if my boss approves it. She usually does :)

Take care and keep up the good writing!

Helen

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author

Hi Helen, thanks so much for reaching out, and thank you for the kind words! I read your piece and really enjoyed it (thanks, too, for the nod to the blog). I'll keep an eye out for the forthcoming Art/Gunfight article. Fingers crossed no firearms enter the conversation at any time! My book China Lake has some additional reporting related to the origins of the festival, petroglyph park, and statements made by archaeologists and tribal members at the time--around 2014 when the Ridgecrest was looking rebrand around the petroglyphs--that you might find interesting. A lot of the material in the book does seem to have been lost online; not necessarily censored, as you say, but trashed over time and through the course of changing hands. I'd love to talk in depth more at some point about your perspective on these issues. Best of luck on the continued reporting. Really really great to see someone covering this immensely important and totally overlooked topic! -B

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Nov 27, 2023·edited Nov 27, 2023Liked by Barret Baumgart

Very interesting, as a person from SoCal, and whom has seen some ancient sites around the world, I agree with your conclusions. You might consider dividing some of these entires up into smaller, separate chunks, and/or editing more. You're one of the better writers I've come across on substack, but fair or not, I don't think most people are inclined to read posts this long.

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Thanks so much for the kind words Nick! I agree, it's too long. I am not a very good 'blogger,' but maybe I'll get better soon.

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