Time to stand up and salute

The Coachella Valley does Veterans Day right, treating it with the somber respect it deserves. Several events are scheduled.

The Healing Field: In what has become a Cathedral City tradition, 5,231 six-foot-tall American flags will be erected at Patriot Park in honor of the soldiers who have died in Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan.

It is the fourth year the Healing Field has been displayed in the city. Each flag will be tagged with the soldier's name, age, hometown and branch of service.

Four will honor service members with ties to the Coachella Valley.

There will be 975 more flags than last year, a grim reminder that this nation is still at war and brave young Americans are sacrificing their lives for our freedom.

The opening ceremony will be at 11 a.m. Sunday at the park at the corner of Date Palm and Dinah Shore drives. The flags will remain on display until Nov. 14.

13th annual Palm Springs Veterans Day Parade: It steps off at 3:30 p.m. Wednesday on Palm Canyon Drive from Ramon to Alejo roads. It will be followed by a concert and capped off with fireworks.

U.S. Vets Veterans Day fundraiser: As Stephen Peck, son of the actor Gregory Peck, wrote in Friday's Opinion Page, there are 20,000 homeless veterans in Southern California, many in our valley.

This event — from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Wednesday at the Westin Mission Hills Resort in Rancho Mirage — will raise money to support a shelter for veterans at March Air Force Base and other services provided by the U.S. Veterans Initiative.

Admission is $65. Call (760) 324-2900 for reservations.

Buddy Poppies: Indio Post 3699 of the Veterans of Foreign Wars and the Ladies Auxiliary will place flags on the headstones of all veterans buried at the Coachella Cemetery. Afterward, they will then distribute Buddy Poppies at Jensen's in Palm Desert and at the Ralphs supermarket on Jefferson Street at Avenue 50 in Indio.

The Buddy Poppies are a major fundraiser for the VFW. Inspired by the poem “In Flanders Fields” written by Lt. Col. John McCrae of the Canadian forces in 1915 before the United States entered World War I, the VFW began selling the artificial flowers in the 1920s.

The post will hold an informational meeting from 10 a.m. to noon Nov. 14 at at the National Guard Armory, 43-143 N. Jackson St., Indio.

Veterans Day and 13th birthday celebration of the Palm Springs Air Museum: The air museum, at 745 N. Gene Autry Trail, will commemorate the day and mark its anniversary from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Nov. 14.

There are many other fine Veterans Day observances throughout the valley. We encourage parents to bring their children along so they can appreciate the sacrifices so many have made for us.

A world of music coming to DHS?

We love the idea of the World Music and Wellness Festival in Desert Hot Springs.

The City Council has given City Manager Rick Daniels a green light to negotiate a contract for as much as $250,000 with Tressed Ventures to produce the inaugural festival, perhaps in late April or early May or next September.

The city hopes for as many as 10,000 spectators, which would be a nice boost for hotels, restaurants and retailers.

Why should Indio have all the fun with outdoor music?

The canopy crackdown

The Palm Springs Planning Commission is considering controls on the complex conundrum of car canopies.

The staff estimates there are about 220 canopies in the city. Staffers suspect most lack a permit and many may be closer to the street than the city code allows.

We rather like the look of most canopies. In so many houses these days, the garage seems to be the focal point of the house.

Of course, canopies should be secure and not at risk of blowing away. And they must not be a fire danger.

But we hope the city doesn't waste too much money or energy on the problem.