Month: October 2009

A former investigator with the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office is the target of a criminal investigation. Recently retired D.A. Senior Investigator Candette Hammond is accused of perjury. News Channel 3 has confirmed Sheriff’s detectives handed over the case just days ago to the Palm Springs Police Department. Candette Hammond is not under arrest tonight.

By Elyse Miller, News Channel 3 Reporteremiller@kesq.com LA QUINTA – A valley teenager is beating the odds, living a life doctors never thought possible. Now, he’s giving back to the association that helped him survive a rare condition. “Basically, everyone was just crossing their fingers hoping I would make it,” says Bryce Griffith. The 16-year-oldwas

By Jason Sloss, News Channel 3 Reporterjsloss@kesq.comÂ@ PALM SPRINGS – The Coachella Valley stands as the epicenter of the nation’s potential for harnessing wind and solar energy. That’s according to U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar, who arrived in Palm Springs Friday morning after flying from LAX, above the I-10 corridor to Blythe, getting

PALM SPRINGS – Some Palm Springs residents are finally breathing easier after a neighbor moved out of their home, leaving more than a dozen cats behind to fend for themselves. Those neighbors had to deal with an overwhelming mess and smell. A cat being pulled from inside a kitchen drawer was just one of the

HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius today unveiled several new resources on the federal government’s one-stop resource for flu information — www.flu.gov. The Web site now features a new H1N1 Flu Self-Evaluation guide for adults 18 and older along with a new Flu Myths and Facts section, which provides the public with the latest and most accurate

LA QUINTA – She looks, plays, and smiles like any happy 10-year-old girl. “To look at her on a day-to-day basis, you wouldn’t know anything was wrong,” says Chris Preston, fourth grade teacher at Ronald Reagan Elementary School. But Caitlyn Neely is fighting a tough battle, one too hard for her or her friends to

INDIO – Keith Urban and Toby Keith will make their Stagecoach debuts in April, when the two-day country music festival returns to the Coachella Valley, organizers announced Wednesday. The festival will return to the Empire Polo Club on April 24-25 for the fourth time, according to Goldenvoice, which produces the event. The event attracted more

RANCHO MIRAGE – Heavy smoke was visible in Rancho Mirage as three to four large mulch piles were on fire at the property owned by the affluent Blixseth family. Witness calling into the News Channel 3 newsroom reported heavy smoke at the property near Indian Trail and Dunes View Roads just after 4 p.m. Wednesday.

PALM DESERT – College of the Desert is getting some green to turn the valley greener. “We’re very excited,” says Larry McLaughlin, the school’s director of advanced transportation technology and energy. “We have some great plans.” Through the California Clean Energy Workforce Training Program, COD received more than $815,000 to train workers for green jobs.

NORTH SHORE – A 52-year-old man, who lost control of a vehicle that overturned and crashed into a mobile home in North Shore, died Wednesday, but no one in the trailer was hurt. Darrel J. Schaumleffel of North Shore was declared dead at 7:36 p.m. Tuesday on 70th Avenue near Windward Drive, which is near

LA QUINTA – A 64-year-old man who collapsed and died while hiking in the hills near La Quinta was identified today as a local resident. Ken Leroy Clark of La Quinta was with his adult daughter when he collapsed on the Bear Creek Trail shortly after 9 a.m. Monday, according to the Riverside County Coroner’s

INDIO – To know someone, you have to walk a mile in their shoes. That’s what the Riverside County District Attorney’s office aimed to do at Tuesday’s Walk-A-Mile event. People stepped into Terria Smith shoes. She is a domestic violence survivor. “He hit me so hard … He hit me so hard that I remember

RIVERSIDE – Riverside County health officials say the Swine Flu vaccine is on its way. The first batches of vaccine sprays are expected later this week. Doctors and nurses will be among the first to get it. All county workers are recommended to get the swine flu vaccine. Head of Riverside County’s Public Health Department,

Enter for your chance to win a pair of tickets to the Wheels on Reels Film Festival – A Film Festival Where Cars and Bikes are the Stars! Wheels on Reels takes place on October 23-24th at the Mary Pickford Theatre in Cathedral City.

Enter for your chance to win 1 pair of tickets to the Steely Dan concert at Fantasy Springs Spa and Resort on Saturday, October 17th!

RIVERSIDE – Glen Heggstad is a well-respected local businessman. Hefounded Coachella Valley Judo and Jiu-Jitsu in Palm Desert. Now, the California Attorney General’s Office is accusing Heggstad of conspiring to murder Cabazon Indian vice chairman Fred Alvarez. Alvarez was murdered at a Rancho Mirage home on July 1st, 1981. His friend, Ralph Boger, and Alvarez’s