Month: July 2009

COACHELLA – A man found with a gunshot wound to his torso at an apartment complex died at a hospital late Thursday night, police say. Coachella Police were called to the Cedar Springs Apartments in the 53000 block of Harrison at 10:45 p.m. on reports of a person shot. That’s where they found the 24-year-old

INDIO – An admitted methamphetamine user was found guilty Friday of first-degree murder for beating and strangling his mother in her Indio home in 2006, but jurors cleared him of a torture allegation. The three-woman, nine-man jury, which got the case late Thursday and reached its verdict this afternoon, must now determine if 43-year-old Efrain

PALM DESERT – It hasn’t been the best of weeks for tanning salons. The World Health Organization came out and placed tanning beds in the top cancer category, right up there with smoking. It’s putting local salons a bit on the defensive. “Got a little nervous, obviously.” D.J. Jacobs, manager of Bronze Your Buns in

CATHEDRAL CITY – Ford Focuses are on sale at Palm Springs Motors in a nearly empty parking lot. It’s just one sign of how many cars are being sold. “Car sales are up for the first time in a long, long time,” sales manager Roy Hoffman says. “We’re up about 40 percent from last month

PALM DESERT – To some consumers it’s simple: the more you spend, the more there is to complain about. “The higher the prices you pay, the more you should expect,” consumer Eric Shute points out. However, that’s easier said than done. Some say getting what you pay for is a novelty these days. “People don’t

IDAHO FALLS – You might expect to see a sight like this in Spain, but Thursday a bull caused quite a commotion in downtown Idaho Falls. “At first I was really freaked out why we had so many people around with police and Local News 8 and then (my sister) said, ‘Katie get up here

PALM SPRINGS – A large majority of the vintage World War II planes at the Palm Springs Air Museum could be grounded indefinitely.The Palm Springs Air Museum filed alawsuit against the owner of the planes, Jo Rose Pond, in the Riverside County Court. The 32-page lawsuit includes several allegations lodged against the owner, the widow

BANNING – Police are investigating a vehicle vandalism spree in the Banning area. It happened in a four-block area between King Street and North Second Street. Police got the first call just before 6 Tuesday morning and quickly realized it was not an isolated incident. By 3:30 p.m., they had identified around 15 victims. All

PALM DESERT – The cuts are deep and students are feeling the pain. California State University is dealing with a $584 million deficit for the upcoming year. Cuts were made earlier this year and it’s happening again. “They’re eliminating classes so we need to drive to the main campus,” says Amber Hardcastle, CSU-San Bernardino Palm

DESERT HOT SPRINGS – Just before noon most weekdays, dozens of people line up at the Food Now charity in Desert Hot Springs. It’s 100 degrees and rising by this time of day. An umbrella was not enough to protect 72-year-old Mary Snow. “I was standing in line at the food bank. I felt dizzy

PALM SPRINGS – David Brinkman is doing double duty these days. Not only is he running the Desert Aids Project, he’s also running after state lawmakers to help override Gov. Schwarzenegger’s decisions onHIV andAIDS funding. “We sent out another e-mail blast to 7,000 people in the Valley asking them to call,” Brinkman, the DAP’s executive

PALM SPRINGS – Defense Secretary Robert Gates will consider a study by military health officials who recommend a total ban on smoking in the military. Nearly a third of people in the military smoke. Hundreds of millions of dollars are also spent on smoking-related healthcare. Joseph Mitchell picked up smoking during his six-year stint in

LA QUINTA- They’re not teenagers, but they’re not kids. Middle school students fall right in the middle. These junior high years are also some of the most critical. “During this time, educators can really make a difference wether a child will understand and become a good student or if they will fall by the sidelines,”

INDIO – Authorities have identified a driver killed in a rollover crash on Interstate 10 in the East Valley early Wednesday morning. California Highway Patrol said Manual Baltazar, 26, of Banning, was driving his pickup truck on the eastbound I-10 just past the Golf Center Parkway exit around 4:45 a.m. when he started drifting towards

DESERT HOT SPRINGS – Some Desert Hot Springs residents are out of their homes after an apartment fire Wednesday morning. It started just before 8:30 a.m. at a small 4-unit complex on the corner of Mesquite Avenue and 2nd Street. “I hear the landlord, he’s like ‘fire, fire, fire’. I come out, thought they were

CATHEDRAL CITY – The Cash For Clunkers program hasn’t even been out for a week, but there’s already, as some people are calling it, “clunker confusion.” Two of the questions we hear the most about the Cash For Clunkers program have to do with terms for leasing cars and why the government is suddenly changing

SAN DIEGO – Video games, collectables, and Cookie Monster? The 40th year of San Diego’s annual Comic Con proved it’s not just your father’s comic book convention anymore, unless your father would dress up like a Storm Trooper or a Transformer. Yes, the convention had just about everything, but what happened to the comics? “The

RIVERSIDE – More than 10,000 vehicles were reported stolen in Riverside County in 2008 — a 14.5 percent drop compared to 2007, according to figures released today by the California Highway Patrol. In 2008, 10,691 vehicle thefts were reported in Riverside County, compared to 12,499 the previous year, CHP spokeswoman Sylvia Mosley said. More than

INDIO- The President’s Cash for Clunkers program is in full swing. It’s designed to get gas guzzlers off the streets and put Americans into newer, more fuel efficient cars.At the same time, the program is hurting non-profit charities here in the Coachella Valley. Willard Mansker is homeless. He has been at Martha’s Village & Kitchenfor

NORTH SHORE – Construction jobs are difficult to find in these tough times. Many experienced professionals are making do any way they can. “I have a lot of friends who have been in this valley 20, 30 years, and they’re painting, doing handyman jobs — whatever they can do to stay busy; just hoping the