Month: October 2009

INDIAN WELLS — More than 600 of the valley’s government and business leaders watched the unveiling of a plan aimed at adding more than 8,900 jobs to the desert by 2016. The Coachella Valley Economic Partnership and Desert Lyceum came up the plan. If it works, it could add jobs in healthcare, renewable energy and

TheFood and Drug administration is cracking down on product labels promising that the food you buy is healthy. Specifically, the FDA is taking a closer look at the Smart Choices program. Products ranging from General Mills’ Cocoa Puffs and Kelloggs Fruit Loops are stamped with the Smart Choices logo. Friday, News Channel 3 learned that

PALM DESERT – Students at College of the Desert are sleeping in boxes Friday night. It’s all part of the Phi Theta Kappa’s ” Homeless Camp.” Students want toraise awareness about the plight of homelessness here in the valley. Over the past couple years many shelters and food banks have seen a huge increase in

PALM DESERT – Heirloom tomatoes are just one of Brian Desborough’s specialties he grows at the Santa Rosa garden. “I’m growing butternut squash, you can store these at room temperature for weeks,” says Desborough. This is one of nearly 200 plots in Palm Desert’s community garden program.A program so popular, there has been a waiting

PALM SPRINGS – The City of Palm Springs is going green and they want you to do the same.As part of the”YourSustainableCity” celebration, Wednesday nightelectric cars were featured during the neighborhood rally at City Hall. The events sponsored by KESQ News Channel 3 are aimed at providing residents green solutions for everyday problems. At the

RIVERSIDE – Riverside County residents whose finances are strained, leaving them without the means to pay rent or mortgage payments, may qualify for assistance under a federal program intended to prevent homelessness, county officials announced. The U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development has allocated $4.2 million to Riverside County as part of HUD’s “Homeless

PALM SPRINGS – Firefighters’ quick action stopped an air conditioner fire from spreading at Confessions Nightclub in Palm Springs, thursday evening. The fire broke out about 4:45pm on the roof of the building, prompting the sprinklers inside to go off, and filling the nightclub with smoke. None of the neighboring businesses were affected. It took

INDIO – Opening statements wrapped up and testimony has begun in the trial of a reputed gang member accused of gunning down a man in a driveway during a robbery in Cathedral City. Miguel Valdivia Najera, 28, faces charges of first-degree murder, robbery and being a felon in possession of a firearm in the May

RIVERSIDE – The Riverside County Economic Development Agency says it will use more than $4 million to help prevent troubled families and residents from losing their rental homes and apartments, heading offhomelessness. The money is part of the president’s recovery money. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development is administering the funding through its

INDIO- A woman accused of stealing more than $100,000 from a La Quinta soccer league says she didn’t do it. News Channel 3 confronted her face to face when this story broke in July. Thursday, we asked hermore tough questions after she pleaded not guilty in court. We approached Sharon Schumaier in the hallway of

RIVERSIDE – New numbers out on Thursday show a sharp rise in the number of Swine Flu cases in Riverside County. Last week, 105 probable cases had been reported to the county. This week, the number surged to 130 probable cases. To make matters worse, doctors have confirmed 815 cases of H1N1 infection in the

LA QUINTA – Students at Colonel Mitchell Paige Middle School are “going green.” Thursday,they began work on their school garden. This is one assignment students at Colonel Mitchell Paige want to do: their very own garden. “I was really excited because this is the first time i’ve actually been gardening,” said sixth grade student Grabriella

LA QUINTA – State lawmakers are still working on a deal to improve California’s aging and substandard water system. But it’s already being done here in the desert. The Coachella Valley Water District has unveiled its third major ground water replenishment facility,named after a former water district General Manager Thomas Levy. In his 30 years

PALM DESERT – Julie Hendrix says she had to protect her 2 nieces from hundreds of fans who invaded Westfield Shopping Town to see the rap group “New Boyz.” “Everybody came running and pushing and jumping,” says Hendrix. U-92, who helped organize the event, says security was lacking for the event. Organizers originally expecting a

PALM SPRINGS – The story of a 6-year-old boy and a loose balloon caught the nation’s attention last week. The boy wasn’t hurt but new questions are being asked, this time of child welfare, in light of police statements that the whole thing was a hoax. “There may be emotional abuse in the sense that

PALM SPRINGS – The City of Palm Springs hosted an electric car and neighborhood rally Wednesday night to encourage people to go green. It’s part of “Your Sustainable City Week,”andKESQ News Channel 3 is a sponsor of the event. Residents checked out the latest in electric cars and the best ways to go green. Throughout

RIVERSIDE – One election watchdog group claims they found the secret computer codes for local electronic voting machines. They’ve posted these codes on the internet for everyone to see. But, the voting machine company and Riverside County election officials say the voting machines remain safe. Electronic voting has long been controversial. Instead of paper ballots,

PALM DESERT – Inside schools, germs spread fast. “I tend to call it the petri-dish effect,” says Michaeleen Prest, Desert Sands Unified School District Lead Nurse. “They are close together and it grows together.” Before it grows out of control, Desert Sands Unified School District leaders meet every morning to discuss the latest Swine Flu