Month: February 2011

A foul odor in Mecca caused students and staff at Saul Martinez Elementary School to faint and vomit in December, and last month, paramedics returned to the school to treat more people sick from the smell. On Tuesday night, the investigating agencies gathered at the school to explain to the community where the smell is

Cafeteria workers at Rio Vista Elementary School want to serve students lettuce and other healthy greens. But, they can’t. “The older kids, especially, ask about the chicken salads that we had because a lot of the girls are weight conscious,” said cook manager Pam Smith. “Even at this age, believe it or not, they like

A Yucca valley father faced criminal charges on Wednesday after a police investigation revealed he may have filed a false police report when he called to report his 5-and-3-year-old children missing on Tuesday. Sgt. Trevis Newport with the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department said Raymond Leon Lain called 911 around 8:50 p.m. on Tuesday reporting

The Riverside County District Attorney’s office is now reviewing all death penalty cases. This comes after the newly sworn in D.A. Paul Zellerbach took the oath of office, promising to run the office more efficiently. After a month and a half in office, Riverside County District Attorney Paul Zellerbach is reviewing each pending death penalty

A witness testified on Monday she saw one of the seven teenage boys accused in a Desert Hot Springs gang-related killing stab the victim during a house party. On the second day of a preliminary hearing for three of the defendants, the 15-year-old girl said she saw Omar Hernandez, 16, attack 23-year-old Jose Alvarez Villalobos

Students at La Quinta High School took to the football field, while investigators took a closer look at a suspicious backpack. “They said to leave with all haste. But, in an orderly fashion,” recalled freshman Hayden Miller. “‘This is not a drill. So, please, leave your classroom now.’” A student reported seeing something suspicious inside

Palm Desert police responded to an armed robbery at the T-Mobile Store on the 34-200 block of Monterey on Tuesday night. Employees told police a Hispanic man wearing a black hoodie and pants entered the store armed with a handgun and demanded money. He stole cash from the register before driving away from the store

Light rain began to fall around Riverside County early today, a sign that an expected large cold trough of low pressure moving into the region from the Gulf of Alaska has arrived. A steadier rain — heavy at times — will occur by this afternoon and continue into this evening, according to the National Weather

A Wednesday morning car crash in Palm Desert created delays on two main roadways, as firefighters quickly worked to free a person trapped inside a mangled car. Firefighters were called to the intersection of Portola and Frank Sinatra at about 5:45 a.m. after witnesses watched a car flip over, said spokeswoman Jodi Hagemann. Two people

A public meeting will be held tonight to discuss two recent instances of people being overwhelmed by a noxious odor at Saul Martinez Elementary School in Mecca. Representatives from the state Environmental Protection Agency, Riverside County Department of Environmental Health and the South Coast Air Quality Management District will be on hand to discuss the

Touted as the nation’s largest group advocating civil rights for gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgender people, the Human Rights Campaign opened what it calls as “pop up” Action Center in downtown Palm Springs, on Wednesday. The new store will offer merchandise and information to help spread the goals and messages of the organization. Retired Marine

City leaders in Palm Desert are thinking about putting security cameras along El Paseo in response to a string of burglaries earlier this month. Bert Bruning is part owner of Palm Desert Tobacco. Last week, someone tried to break into his store. Fortunately, the alarm scared off the would-be intruder. The attempted break-in is part

Three teens have each been ordered to stand trial on a first-degree murder charge in connection with a June 2010 stabbing attack at a Desert Hot Springs house party. Omar Hernandez, David Larios and Steven Ray Arrelano are accused in the death of 23-year-old Jose Alvarez Villalobos. A witness testified on Monday she saw Hernandez

Hundreds of thousands of people visit the valley every year to enjoy the valley weather and big-name events. La Quinta police say that’s not going to stop them from writing traffic tickets. Recently residents and visitors criticized the city’s police department for traffic enforcement during large-scale events like the Bob Hope Classic golf tournament. According

Al parecer, envi a 9 personas al hospital el pasado mes de Enero. Esta tarde, autoridades se reunieron con los residentes de Mecca en la Escuela Sal Martinez para hablar sobre el nocivo olor. Hasta el momento, se cree que una planta de reciclaje es de culparse por el mal olor a gas natural y

San Bernardino County Sheriff’s deputies confirm a 5-year-old boy and his younger sister who went missing on Tuesday night in Yucca Valley have been found 13 miles from where they disappeared. They said 5-year-old Alexander Lain walked away from his home on Onaga Trail in Yucca Valley on Tuesday just before 9 p.m. Several viewers

A Desert Hot Springs man who fatally struck a pedestrian and fled the accident pleaded guilty today to charges of felony hit-and-run and misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter. Ronald Andrew Nelson, 50, whose car fatally struck Roger Mason Pace on Oct. 20, 2010, will be sentenced April 13. Nelson was driving on a suspended license at the

The three teenagers accused of raping a girl in Banning last week will not be tried as adults. Police said the 13-year-old boys attacked the girl who’s also 13 as she walked home through a park. Riverside County prosecutors say state law does not allow them to charge the boys as adults because they are

A Mecca elementary school was locked down for about an hour today, while deputies searched for a reported gunman who reportedly fired shots near the school. Riverside County sheriff’s deputies were acting on “second-hand information” about a person carrying a gun near Saul Martinez Elementary School, 65705 Johnson St., department spokeswoman Herlinda Valenzuela said. “We