Month: December 2009

CATHEDRAL CITY -Charities are facing big grant cuts as city leaders decide they just can’t afford them anymore. Teenagers take part in the tutoring program at Working Wonders. The Cathedral City charity has expanded their focus on families living with HIV and AIDS to include helping troubled teens. Charity director Evelyn Hernandez Valentino says, “We

PALM DESERT -The Living Desert’s first litter of African wild dogs were born in October, it was announced today. Malia, the puppies’ mother, gave birth to two female and two male pups on Oct. 23, said Liz Hile, curator of animals at the zoo and botanical gardens, which preserves 1,000 acres of natural desert. The

SALEM, Ore. – A man connected to the murder of an unidentified woman in 1992 was arrested this week in Oregon. Keith Hunter Jesperson has been a person of interest in the murder case of a woman found alongside California State Route 95 on August 30, 1992. Coroners estimated her age at 20-30-years-old at the

INDIO – Students playing basketball at Shadow Hills High School are doing exactly what Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger wants them to be doing: physical exercise. They are fulfilling his fitness challenge in fighting childhood obesity. Jake Steinfeld,Chairman of the Governor’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports, said atThursday’s kick-off event thathe recently read a study that

BANNING – Witnesses say a car “flew off the freeway” in Banning, this afternoon, along a stretch of Interstate 10 in Banning. The California Highway Patrol says the accident was reported shortly after noon. The car reportedly drifted off the interstate and overturned into the vegetation alongside the freeway. Rescue crews had to cut the

RIVERSIDE -Fewer Riverside County households fell into foreclosure last month, but the number was still higher than a year ago, a real estate tracking firm reported today. A total 7,470 mortgage default notices, auction sale notices and bank repossessions were recorded in Riverside County in November — a 22 percent drop from October, but a

RIVERSIDE – Two more Coachella Valley residents have died from complications of Swine Flu, according to the Riverside County Health Department. Health officials say since November 19, a 36-year-old woman and a 51-year-old man both died from the illness, making a total of ten people who have died locally. The good news is no probable

PALM SPRINGS – Three of Hollywood’s elite will be honored at the Palm Springs International Film Festival Awards Gala in January. Jason Reitman, director of “Up In The Air,” will receive the Director of the Year Award from the PSIFF. Jeremy Renner, an actor who appeared in “The Hurt Locker,” will receive the Breakthrough Performance

MORONGO VALLEY – Twenty-six-year-oldMichael Hughes died November 11th off Highway 62 in Morongo Valley after his motorcycle clipped an SUV driven by an 86-year old George Martin. It happened just down the road from Tamara Dean’s house. It’s not the first crash she’s seen on the road. It makes her nervous to live so close

WASHINGTON -Obama administration official says some Transportation Security Administration employees have been placed on administrative leave after it was discovered that sensitive guidelines about airport passenger screening were posted on the Internet. Assistant Homeland Security secretary David Heyman has told senators a full investigation into the security lapse is under way. Heyman says the Homeland

COACHELLA – Augustine Casino is kicking off it’s annual canned food drive to benefit Martha’s Village and Kitchen. “They have a constant need for food and so we’re collecting canned goods here, so any vegetables, any non-perishables you want to bring down to the casino,” says Jon Willett with Augustine Casino. Food bins and signs

PALM SPRINGS – Monday’ssnow fall was a welcome sight to local mountain areas that rely on people flocking to the snow. At the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway Tuesday, business was brisk. A good winter season for the Tramway means seeing 30 thousand riders a month during the peak winter months of December, January and February.

INDIO – Steven Laufer is happy to have a roof over his head. He’s one of 25 who spent the night Tuesday night at the Coachella Valley Rescue Mission (CVRM). Laufer says, “You’re up against the cold weather, you can get pneumonia, you can get sick or even worse.” The Mission is only allowed to

RANCHO MIRAGE – Palm Springs boxing star Timothy Bradley addressed the media for the last time before this weekend’s big fight, this afternoon. He and competitor Lamont Peterson, and Vic Darchinyan and Tomas Rojas, appeared poised and ready for what amounts to a really tough match at the Agua Caliente Resort Casino, which will be

INDIO -An Idaho man who pleaded guilty to driving drunk when he struck and killed a motorcyclist in Palm Springs was serving a six month sentence today in Riverside County jail, authorities said. Max Moorehouse, 78, of Boise, Idaho, pleaded guilty last Wednesday to one count of vehicular manslaughter and two DUI charges stemming from

INDIO- Riverside County Sheriff’s Deputies are searching an area near Rubidoux and Tahquitz Avenue for a suspect wanted in a shooting last week. Angel Esparza is wanted in connection with the fatal shooting of 16-year-old Angel Luna in front of the Coachella Boys and Girls Club. Esparza is a known gang member, and considered armed

RIVERSIDE -Riverside County Fire Chief John Hawkins today lifted restrictions on open burning in unincorporated areas and reopened hiking spots previously closed because of fire danger. In July, Hawkins ordered a ban on private burning activities related to debris disposal, citing the “acute dryness” of vegetation across the county and the increased likelihood of wildfires.