Month: August 2009

PALM SPRINGS – It started in 1949 with Johnny Hollinger, Jim Maynor and others riding horseback up the San Jacinto Mountains to find and rescue hikers on their spare time. Since then, over 150 men and women have joined in. “Jole Butler was very instrumental in the group,” says Doug Stevens, a member since 1981.

BURBANK – Two journalists who had been held in North Korea since mid-March returned to the United States today, arriving at Bob Hope Airport amid tears, hugs and expressions of relief that the “nightmare of our lives” was finally over. Laura Ling and Euna Lee landed in Burbank escorted by former President Bill Clinton, who

PALM DESERT – California’s prison system is broken, according to a panel of three federal judges. They find that prisons are packed at twice their capacity and there’s little rehabilitiation to speak of. That leads to a revolving door of criminals coming right back in after they serve their time. The judges say the state’s

PALM DESERT – After months of economic troubles, there is at least one business benefiting from the weak economy: trade schools. Enrollment is through the roof at one local trade school and there is no sign of slowing down. “We are really bursting at the seams here,” says Peter Conrad, Santa Barbra Business College Dean

KDI Kares, the non-profit arm of KDI Elements, is coordinating a shoe drive this summer to obtain as many new shoes as possible to be given to school children in conjunction with the Coachella Valley Rescue Mission’s Back to School Backpack Giveaway which will take place on Saturday, August 22 at the Van Buren Elementary

DESERT HOT SPRINGS – Thousands of people in the Coachella Valleyare vowing to fight crime in their neighborhoodsas part of the National Night Out. From Indio to Desert Hot Springs, neighbors spent the night getting to know their neighbors in an effort to fight crime.Some residents ofthe Arroyo de Paz Apartmentsin Desert Hot Springs don’t

CATHEDRAL CITY – Hundreds of residents from the Sky Valley Mobile Home Park were told to go to Workman Middle School in Cathedral City after an electrical fire shutoff all power to the mobile home park. The fire happened just before 5 p.m.Monday.According to firefighters and residents, the electrical swtich boxes and lines caught fire

Heat waves don’t always translate into crime waves. But criminal activity does change during the long, hot summer in the desert. Cathedral City Police, like other police departments, see a rise in domestic violence. “With increased drinking, with the heat, being uncomfortable, we tend to see a little bit more arguments, a little bit more

LA QUINTA – It is the age-old question: How old is “too old” to be driving? Many families are struggling with this sensitive issue, and they need help on how to take away the car keys from their elderly parents. The gentler approach: Hire a senior helper. Leo Mehan and Jeanine Puskas met two months

INDIO – The Valley’s largest job fair is canceled. Companies aren’t hiring and there aren’t enough jobs to go around. The job fair was scheduled at the Fantasy Springs Convention Center in Indio. The job fair is postponed until October 2010. There’s the hushed silence of a library inside the county employment office in Indio.

INDIO – Cesar Santamariamuniz nervously played with his shackles shortly before Judge James Hawkins decided his fate in an Indio courtroom Monday. Santrmariamuniz was handed a prison term of 99 years to life for the 2007 murder of Jordan Ketchersid and the kidnapping of three other people. The known drug dealer pleaded for a retrail

WASHINGTON – Former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan says the success of the “cash for clunkers” auto rebate program is a matter of timing and reason for optimism. Greenspan tells ABC that car and truck building had begun to rebound even before the program got under way. But, he adds that the “extraordinary response is

PALM DESERT – Zero waste, that’s California’s goal. Recycling and reusing not only helps the environment, it also saves money. This weekend the California Resource Recovery Association launched a three day conference to educate businesses on how to become more environmentally and financially aware. One of the many speakers at the conference was 11 year

RANCHO MIRAGE – Timothy Bradley defended his WBO 140-pound title Saturday night by battering Nate Campbell, whose eye injury forced the fight to be stopped after three rounds. Bradley (25-0, 12 KOs) rode the energy of his hometown crowd in a dynamic performance, although television replays appeared to show an accidental head-butt opening a cut

RANCHO MIRAGE – Desert businesses are battling the weak economy, but a real fight may help. It’s the first event of it’s kind at Aqua Caliente’s “The Show.” Timothy Bradley takes on Nate Campbell in a world championship boxing match, attracting thousands of fans including some celebrities. ” There will be some TV stars and