Reviewing the biggest stories in the Coachella Valley in 2016

2016 was a banner year for headlines in the Coachella Valley, for big local stories, ranging from tragic to triumphant, and everything in between.

CBS Local 2s Tom Tucker has a look back at the year that was.

In chronological order, the desert’s biggest stories for 2016, began back in February, with President Obama paying a visit to the Coachella Valley for the sixth time.

During his stay at the Annenberg estate in Rancho Mirage. He hosted world leaders from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations for a two day summit focused on a range of issues including trade and security.

In March, a little girl who captured the hearts of people around the valley during her two year battle with Neuroblastoma, lost her battle with the rare form of cancer.

Desi Cechin and her family received overwhelming support, emotional and financial, during Desi’s brave and well-documented fight.

“Everyone is coming out to honor me and other kids fighting cancer too, I can’t wait to see you there,” said Desi, during one of her fund raising events.

In late May, presidential candidate, Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders made a campaign stop in Cathedral City, where a big crowd turned out at “Field of Dreams” to show their support.

Sanders was the only major presidential hopeful to make a campaign swing through the valley.

“Cathedral City, are you ready for a revolution?” asked Sanders while speaking to the crowd.

In mid-June, Robert Pape and Cristin Smith were re-arrested and charged once again in the Pinyon Pines triple murder case.

The arrests came after the Riverside County District Attorney’s office reported it uncovered new evidence in the murders of Becky Friedli, her mother Vicky Friedli, and Vicky’s boyfriend Jon Hayward.

The two men are awaiting trial and remain in custody.

Another court case made headlines August 11th,. when a jury in Indio found Patricia Brown guilty of second degree murder in the death of her husband’s two-year-old son Deetrick.

The child’s father, Derrick Brown, blamed the child’s death on medical issues and “previous abuse” at the hands of his biological mother.

“This is a total injustice. There is no justice here. We are black and we did not get a fair shake,” said Brown while speaking to reporters after the verdict against his wife was announced.

Also in August, two wildfires made headlines.

The “Blue Cut” fire broke out on the 16th along intestate 15 in the Cajon Pass.

Fueled by gusty winds, the fire destroyed 105 homes and 216 outbuildings, and scorched more than 36,000 acres.

The cause is still under investigation.

The much smaller “Bogart Fire” sparked August 30th, burning about 15 acres in Cherry Valley.

Investigators say it was “human caused”.

September 1st marked the one year anniversary of the FBI raid at City Hall in Palm Springs, part of a corruption probe involving former Mayor Steve Pougnet.

“The did subpoena, and receive, I believe 28,000 pages of documents,” said Palm Springs Mayor Robert Moon while talking about the ongoing investigation.

Also in Palm Springs, another day that will be remembered among the darkest in the city’s history will be October 8th.

That’s when two police officers were gun downed in broad daylight while responding to a domestic disturbance.

The sound of gunfire was captured by a nearby home surveillance camera.

The officers who died were veteran Gil Vega, who was weeks from retirement, and Lesley Zerebny. who had just returned to patrol duties after taking time off to give birth to her daughter Cora.

The shootings caused waves of shock and grief to sweep across the valley, and support for the officer’s families and the department poured in from around the nation.

The man accused of killing the officers is 26-year-old John Felix, who was arrested after a lengthy standoff, and awaits trial.

On the same day the officers where shot, across the valley in Indio, was a celebration of classic rock music, with the first night of “Desert Trip”.

The two weekend concert event featured performances by big names like The Rolling Stones and Paul McCartney.

It was an horrific scene on Interstate 10 near Palm Springs, the morning of October 25th, after a tour bus crashed into the back of a big rig, killing 13 people on board the bus, including the driver.

“Our mission is to determine not only what happened, but why it happened, and make safety recommendations to avoid having it happen again,” said NTSB Board Member Earl Weener, while commenting on the investigation during the week following the accident.

Passengers were on the way back home to the Los Angeles area, after a visit to a casino in the east valley.

December began with the one year anniversary of the terror attack in San Bernardino.

This past monday, we learned about the death of Riverside County Supervisor John Benoit, who lost his fight with pancreatic cancer.

“CBS Local 2 Stands for You”, and we did that several times over the past year.

We warned parents how some teens are using secret apps to hide drug use, underage drinking and sexual activity.

We organized a blood drive to support victims of the Orlando night club shooting.

Finally, we helped lead the rally for Riley Rose Sherman, a five-year-old La Quinta girl who is also battling Neuroblastoma.

That is your look at back at 2016.