Month: June 2013

The median price of a home in Riverside County rose 32.5 percent in May, compared to the same month a year ago, reflecting a statewide jump that gave California the biggest year-over-year price increase in 33 years, according to figures released today by the California Association of Realtors. The median price of a Riverside County

Two adults and two children were displaced today when afire destroyed their mobile home in Indio, a county fire department spokeswomansaid. The fire was reported about 5:55 a.m. at Pueblo Del Sol mobile home parkin the 81300 block of Avenue 46. The single-wide home was destroyed, two vehicles sustained minor damageand another mobile home had

A 13-year-old boy was separated from his familyduring a hike up San Jacinto Peak and was later found, a state park ranger saidSunday. Park officials were alerted at 6 p.m. Saturday about the boy when hisfamily reported him missing. He was found about an hour later in good health bya park aide, Mount San Jacinto

Bob Meistrell, who co-founded the Body Glove clothing company and helped develop the first neoprene wetsuit, has died in Southern California. He was 84. Body Glove International LLC President Russ Lesser tells the Torrance Daily Breezethat Meistrell suffered a heart attack on his boat Sunday while returning from Catalina Island and couldn’t be revived. In

Labor unions and political foes of Prime Minister Recep Erdogan rallied by the thousands across Turkey Monday, hoping to capitalize on weeks of initially small-scale protest to register broader discontent. Two major unions urged their members to hold a one-day strike and join demonstrations in response to a police crackdown against activists who led a

The fire burning in the San Gorgonio Wilderness east ofBanning was 63 percent contained today, having consumed 3,807 acres since itbroke out more than a week ago. Firefighters have improved containment lines and continued building newones, clearing brush and other fuel, in the unsecured northeast corner of thefire, fire officials said. Although smoke is visible

A suspected drunk driver caused a chain reactioncrash in Palm Desert that left a 2-month-old child and four adults hurt, theaccording to the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department. Dispatchers received a call at 9:18 p.m. Friday about the crash atCountry Club Drive and Cook Street. The driver of a silver 2005 Mercedes, later identified as Austin

Residents of nearly half of the homes in an Indio mobile home park found themselves displaced this morning in the aftermath of a fire in a laundry room electrical panel, the Riverside County Fire Department reported. The fire in the laundry room of the Towne Mobile Home Park at 46350 Towne St. was reported at

As a volunteer for Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Desert, Nan Lanrose wants to show her “littles” the good in the world. “When Savannah was born, she was only one pound. She was premature. She has turned out to be just so intelligent and amazing,” Nan said. Nan’s other “little”, Violet, is in foster

Kids aren’t the only ones making a splash this summer. For the sixth year in a row, Kaiser Permanente donated $50,000 to the Desert Recreation District. “Because we believe in safety in the water, this will help in getting dozen lifeguards trained,” Richard Rajaratnam of Kaiser Permanente said. It will also let the Desert Recreation

“Race, religion and sexual orientation barriers are breaking down,” said Jesse Rhodes of Rancho Mirage. One of the largest and most detailed surveys ever conducted among lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Americans agrees. The Pew Research Center discovered more gay and transgender adults reported feel more accepted. Rhodes, a former NASCAR racer, said the results

A fire burned the attic of a house in Coachella today, a county fire department spokeswoman said. Firefighters were worried the fire might cause a nearby propane tank to explode, but the flames never reached the tank, according to authorities at the scene. The fire was reported at 11:15 a.m. in the 1200 block of

Luego de aos de estancamiento, podra haber llegado la hora de que el Congreso finalmente haga algo sobre los millones de inmigrantes que viven ilegalmente en Estados Unidos. Toda la atencin est concentrada en estos momentos en el proyecto de ley de ms de mil pginas que analiza el Senado, bajo el ttulo de “Ley

The first AMFM Fest, including art, music andfilm, continues in Cathedral City today and runs through Sunday. A schedule of the events can be found here. The festival, organized by Film 4 Change, is being held at the UltraStarMary Pickford Theater and Desert IMAX theater in Cathedral City, theCathedral City Town Square and other locations.

A brush fire broke out today near Highgrove, scorchingaround 10 acres of open land as fire crews attempted to get a line around it. The wildfire was reported around 1:45 p.m. along Pigeon Pass Road, nearHighgrove Pass Road, roughly a mile south of the Riverside-San BernardinoCounty line. Riverside County fire crews, with the support of

A Palm Springs man testified today that two men who rentedhis house to vacationers wrote him checks that consistently bounced and toldrenters to wire funds to their accounts, then canceled their reservations. The testimony came at a preliminary hearing for Palm Springs residentsMichael Maloney, 52, and Matthew Wehling, 47, who are accused of scamming atleast

A first date turned into a nightmare for a Wildomarwoman when her male companion allegedly held her against her will and thenrobbed her before finally dumping her on a sidewalk several blocks from homeearly today, authorities said. Terry Michael Fine, 55, of Murrieta was arrested on suspicion ofkidnapping, robbery and false imprisonment following a night

California’s insurance commissioner wants to exclude Anthem Blue Cross from the state’s new health exchange for small businesses, saying it’s made excessive rate hikes. Dave Jones says three increases this year – including one of nearly 18 percent – were unreasonable. However, under state law he couldn’t block them. The state-run exchange stems from the

The state Senate has passed a $96.3 billion Democratic spending plan amid sharp party divisions over whether it will lead to future problems for California’s budget. The Legislature has until midnight Saturday to send the governor a balanced budget, but the plan was expected to get majority votes in both houses on Friday. It passed

Homeless people in Indio received much needed supplies Friday, thanks to the Coachella Valley Rescue Mission’s “90 days of Summer Relief Campaign.” Workers handed out water, shirts, hats, shoes and sunscreen out on the streets.As volunteer Fransisca Ochoa told us, it’s an effort to encourage homeless people to visit the mission and get the help