Month: August 2010

Karl Green, the Coachella Valley dance instructor accused of molesting some students and having sex at least one, pleaded guilty on Wednesday to one count of unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor. A Riverside County judge sentenced him to formal probation for 36 months. He will also spend 180 days in the sheriff labor program,

It took artist Thomas Nichols nine months to complete his latest work, but it may be his most recognized. “When you lose 343 firefighters in one day, that becomes part of our history,” he said. Nichols designed a photo print that salutes those fallen firefighters. It is titled “When They Ran Out, We Ran In.”

Twenty-four year-old Michael Pacelli of La Quinta is getting a first hand look at the business climate in the desert. He’s working this summer for the Coachella Valley Economic Partnership. He’s one of 30 paid college interns conducting a business visitation survey; a tool for CVEP and Riverside County to use as a gauge for

The federal judge who overturned California’s same-sex marriage ban says he is ready to rule on whether gay marriages should resume immediately in the state or await an appeals court’s input. KESQ.com will provide live updates on this developing story online, and send breaking news alerts as soon as the judge’s decision is announced. Chief

Desert Hot Springs police told News Channel 3 they’re investigating a possible attempted carjacking on Wednesday afternoon. Sgt. Dan Bressler said the incident happened at 1:11 p.m. on the 14100 block of Palm when a man was hit by some sort of blunt object, either a rifle or pipe. The victim told investigators a window

A federal judge has ruled that gay marriages in California should remain on hold until at least Aug. 18. Judge Vaughn Walker set the deadline to give gay marriage opponents time to appeal to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. If the appeals court fails to act by 5 p.m. local time on Aug.

Firefighters kept a close eye on vegetation after a fast moving fire burned 256 acres north of Banning. Thick gray smoke was seen and first reported around 4:44 p.m. on Tuesday. “There was some wind,” said Capt. Fernando Herrera, with Cal Fire. “We had gusts up to 33 mph.” The fire was burning in a

A Cathedral City man was convicted today of breaking into the homes of two women and sexually assaulting them. Juan Pablo Ramos, 19, was found guilty of sexually assaulting a woman on Jan. 24, 2009, at her residence on Avenue La Paz near Tortuga Road in Cathedral City, and raping another woman in October 2007.

Police arrested the driver of a reported carjacking in Desert Hot Springs today for intent to purchase illegal drugs. Desert Hot Springs police arrested Katherine Mildred Reinhard of Salton City, and booked her in the Riverside County Jail in Banning. Police said Reinhard was the driver of a Ford Focus, which allegedly carried the suspects

The Palm Springs Aerial Tramway will be closed for maintenance nearly two weeks, starting Sept. 13. The tram will reopen Sept. 25, tramway spokeswoman Lena Zimmerschied said. Crews will be replacing the 1 3/4-inch steel cables that support the counterweights. They are scheduled to be changed every 12 years, said Rob Parkins, the tramway’s general

Cathedral City police were investigating a possible kidnapping today. A police spokesperson said a dispatcher received a 911 call at around 9:45 p.m. reporting the possible kidnapping in the 29-000 block of Avenida La Vista. Officers arrived and contacted a 24-year-old man who claimed he was assaulted by the suspect. The man told officers his

It’s a story still getting a lot of talk around water coolers: the Jet Blue flight attendant who snapped on a flight from Pittsburgh to New York on Monday. 38-year old Steven Slater has been arraigned on charges of criminal mischief, reckless endangerment and trespassing. According to police, Slater got into an argument with a

Riverside County supervisors postponed action today on a Cal Fire proposal to fold the county’s 500-member volunteer firefighter force into a new reserve firefighter program with stricter standards. “There are more steps that need to be taken before we (proceed with) this,” said Supervisor John Benoit, a volunteer fireman. “There have been concerns raised by

A heat warning was issued today for eastern Riverside County, where daily high temperatures are expected to climb into the low 100s for the next week. The warning was issued for all areas extending from Cabazon east to the Arizona border, according to Danyte Mockus with the Riverside County Department of Public Health. Stay with

Funeral services were pending today for three women, including California Baptist University cheer coach Wendy Rice, who died in a fiery three-vehicle crash on the Sierra Nevada eastside south of Bishop. People mourned Tuesday on two Southland campuses, at Cal Baptist in Riverside and at Cathedral Catholic High School in San Diego. Of the four

The man accused of kidnapping actor Jeremy London in Palm Springs on June 10 is scheduled to appear in court on Thursday morning. Brandon Adams, 26, has pleaded not guilty to felony charges of carjacking, kidnapping, robbery, taking a vehicle without the owner’s consent and receiving stolen property. He also faces a sentence enhancing allegation

Un hombre de Cathedral City est tras de las rejas por presuntamente raptar a su ex novia. El presunto rapto ocurri cerca de las 9:25pm del Martes sobre la Avenida La Vista. Eduardo Vallejo de 23 aos fue arrestado en conexin con este caso. Ahora, enfrentar cargos de secuestro y agresin.

Una anciana desat una persecucin policiaca esta maana sobre las calles de Indio. Una mujer de 84 aos conduca de forma errtica sobre el Bulevar Indio cuando al parecer choc un vehculo, pero continu al volante. Los agentes la siguieron hasta que termin impactndose contra una banqueta, fue cuando descubrieron que estaba sufriendo de un

The last time the annual Perseid meteor shower happened during a run of good moonless nights was in 2007. It turns out that every three years, the same phase of the Moon returns to roughly the same date each month (2.2 days earlier, on average). So in 2010 we’re on for moonless Perseids again! The

A 3.4 magnitude earthquake shook an area near Borrego Springs on Wednesday afternoon, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. The quake’s picenter was 9 miles north northwest of Borrego Springs, 32 miles south of Palm Springs, and hit at 1:47 p.m. There were no reports of injuries. This is the same area that experienced the