Month: December 2009

PALM DESERT -Drivers in Palm Desert got a surprise, this morning,as water shot nearly 50 feet into the sky. Witnesses say someone backed into a fire hydrant in front of the Residence Inn at the corner of Cook and Frank Sinatra. Firefighters arrived and shut off the water, and the roadway had dried off by

DESERT HOT SPRINGS – Police say a drug deal ended in violence when 19 year old Christian Kong allegedly opened fire on a car full of people, killing the driver and injuring two other men. Another passenger, a 24 year old Las Vegas woman, escaped uninjured. It happened near Desert Hot Springs high school, just

DESERT HOT SPRINGS- It’s being called ‘Home for the Holidays.’ another clean and safe option for the less fortunate during this holiday season in the Coachella Valley. “You’d be surprised how many don’t have air conditioning, don’t have swamp coolers. You go to a property and you smell gas, natural gas leaking,” says Edward Verdugo.

COACHELLA – Families facing hardships this holiday season lined up outside Martha’s Village to get their hands on a box –or two– of food donations. Patti Garza, of Indio, has to feed a family of six. “Iused to be a supervisor and able to make some good money,” she said. “And as you can see,

PALM DESERT – Tracey Delaney spends her days running a busy jewelery store on El Paseo, so when her doctor told her she needed to take a daily medication it was a struggle for her to remember. “I tried every trick in the book to remember my pills,” Tracey said. “I’d put it on the

INDIO – News Channel 3 learned Monday that Jimmy Hughes will no longer have the possibility to bail out before his trial begins. The accused triple murderer needed $100,000 to secure a bail bond using his extensive Christian ministry properties in Honduras. When News Channel 3 asked Deputy District Attorney Mike Murphy last week if

PALM DESERT – Linda Athey of Rancho Mirage says she does 15-20% of her shopping on El Paseo. She credits the beautiful streets and shops with good quality items for the dollars she spends shopping on El Paseo. Nationwide salesfor women’s apparel and luxury items at big box retailers are way down, but that’s not

INDIO – Santa Claus came to town! St. Nick greeted the neighborhood kids at Palo Verde Apartments Tuesday morning, but there was one child he was looking for specifically: Daniela Aguayo. Daniela, 10,has lymphoma cancer. She was scheduled to leave for Loma Linda University Children’s Hospital in a couple of hours to get her last

INDIO -A woman landed on her head when she fell out of a moving motor home in a freak accident in Indio today, police said. The woman, whose name was not released, fell around 10:45 a.m. as her husband was making a left turn from Jefferson Street to Highway 111, said Ben Guitron of the

RIVERSIDE -Home sales in the Riverside/San Bernardino area fell 13.5 percent in November compared to the same time last year, and were down 17.6 percent from the previous month, according to figures released today. The median price of an existing single-family home in the area last month was $177,840, down 12.3 percent from $202,740 in

WASHINGTON – Sen. Roland Burris of Illinois recited “Twas the Night Before Christmas” for healthcare reform. His version reads: It was the night before Christmas and all through the Senate,The right held up our health care bill No matter what was in it.The people had voted, they mandated reform.But Republicans blew off the gathering storm.

INDIAN WELLS – The Indian Wells Tennis Gardens and BNP Paribas Open were both sold to the co-founder and CEO of Oracle Larry Ellison, who has now formed Tennis Ventures, LLC. Ellison purchased 100% of the assets from Charlie Pasarell and Raymond Moore, previous owners, as well as from George Mackin and Bob Miller of

THERMAL – Two people were found dead Sunday in Thermal, and authorities believe the pair was murdered. Sheriff’s deputies discovered the bodies on a dirt trail within a vineyard near Avenue 58 and Pierce Street, said Deputy Craig Roberts of the Indio sheriff’s station. “The preliminary investigation revealed the decedents were victims of a homicide,”

DESERT HOT SPRINGS – A 19-year-old who shot and killed another teen, and then wounded two other men in what police believe was a drug deal gone bad, is behind bars and being held on $1.5 million bail. The apparently botched drug buy took place at about 1:45 a.m. Saturday near 5th Street and Golden

COACHELLA -Christmas came early for thousands of people in Coachella on Saturday. Jordan Outreach Ministries held it’s 12th annual “Christmas for Kids” providing toys and food for needy families here in the valley. A line wrapped all around the building. People stood waiting for more than two hours, but they say it’s worth it. “It

HEMET – Riverside County sheriff’s Deputies on a probation sweep of felons’ homes say they found a bomb, military flares, several guns, ammunition, a pot growing operation and other drugs in the Hemet home of one man. A report from Hemet police Friday said that officers arrested 36-year-old Zane Hartsfield on suspicion of being a

LOS ANGELES – A defense bill passed Saturday would support clean- vehicle research at a Pasadena-based automotive center, combat medicine at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and several other Southland recipients, Sen. Barbara Boxer announced today. The bill, which awaits the president’s signature, would extend unemployment benefits set to expire at the end of the year for

By News Channel 3newsline3@kesq.comand Kesq.com News Services PALM DESERT -Palm Desert Police are out making the streets safer ahead of the holiday weekend. They held aDUI checkpoint last night on Monterey and Country Club. It ran from from 9 p.m. Fridaytill 2 a.m. Saturday. During the checkpoint,police screened more than 400 vehicles and made 15

CATHEDRAL CITY – Cathedral City Police have arrested a man accused of carjacking a vehicle outside a Walgreens store Fridaynight. It happened just before 10:30 p.m.at the Walgreens on the 33900 block of Date Palm Drive. Police say Brandon Tripp, 29, of Indio walked up to a vehicle and ordered the driver to get out.

RIVERSIDE -Beginning Friday, law enforcement agencies across Riverside County will be ramping up patrols to snare drivers under the influence of alcohol or drugs as part of a two-week holiday crackdown. The “Avoid the 30” campaign, named for the local and state law enforcement agencies that operate in the county, will start Friday evening and