Mosquitoes collected in Indian Wells tested positive for West Nile virus for the first time this year, prompting increased efforts to reduce transmission, officials said today. The virus-positive samples were collected near the intersection of Fred Waring Drive and El Dorado Drive, according to a statement from the Coachella Valley Mosquito and Vector Control District.
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Felony charges were filed against a 59-year-old man wanted in connection with two Palm Desert bank robberies. Anaheim resident Reese Westenberger was charged with one count of robbery, for which he pled not guilty Friday at the Larson Justice Center in Indio. Westenberger is only charged with one of the two bank robberies, the
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Coachella Valley native and tennis player Desirae Krawczyk learned her first-round opponents today in women’s doubles at the upcoming Olympic Games in Paris. A Palm Desert resident and the current world No. 12 in doubles, Krawczyk is representing Team USA along with doubles partner Danielle Collins. The fourth-seeded duo will face Greece’s Maria Sakkari and
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A 32-year-old Palm Springs man has pleaded guilty to a felony charge for his role in a 2023 operation that started in Rancho Mirage in which a person was lured into a vehicle, driven away and robbed. Nicholas Tyler Young, accused of being the driver in the robbery, entered the guilty plea on Tuesday to
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A coalition of over 225 businesses, 175 within the Coachella Valley and Inland Empire areas, have joined tribal leaders, advocates and elected officials in pledging support to an initiative urging President Biden to establish a new Chuckwalla National Monument, as of today. Groups in favor of the proposal asserted the proposed protection status as
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A woman escaped injury today when the car she was driving became “fully engulfed” in flames on Interstate 10, authorities said. The woman was the lone occupant of a light blue Lexus that was traveling westbound near State Route 62 at 12:02 p.m. when it pulled over to the right shoulder, already on fire, according
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Actor Vince Vaughn has acquired a majority ownership stake in the National Pickleball League’s Coachella Valley Scorpions, it was announced today. View this post on Instagram A post shared by National Pickleball League (@nationalpbleague) The Scorpions were established in May, one of 12 teams in the 50-and-over professional league that launched in 2022. Team
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A boost in California National Guard troops at the southern border, including in San Diego County, helped authorities seize more than 1 million fentanyl pills and over 400 pounds of fentanyl powder last month, Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office said today. In June, the California National Guard Counterdrug Task Force seized 1,068,219 pills and 423 pounds
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A 41-year-old former dump truck driver who caused a deadly 1,000-acre blaze in Calimesa by intentionally dropping flaming debris from his rig in the middle of a Santa Ana windstorm was on probation today after admitting felony charges. Antonio Ornelas Velazquez of Desert Hot Springs pleaded guilty on Tuesday to two counts of involuntary manslaughter
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The Chargers and Rams will open their training camps today at different sites than recent years, while two other NFL teams will open camps in Orange County. After training at the Jack Hammett Sports Complex in Costa Mesa from 2017-23, the Chargers will start their inaugural training camp at their new El Segundo facility, The
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Three unions representing about 14,000 Disneyland employees and Disney have reached a tentative labor agreement today and avoided a strike, according to officials. “Cast members have fought hard for the past four months and this tentative agreement would not have been possible without the strength we all showed throughout this process and the unwavering support
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A September trial date was set today for a 39-year-old man suspected of driving under the influence and causing a traffic collision in the Thermal area that left one man dead and another person seriously injured. Along with murder, Coachella resident Antonio Tellez Leon is also charged with one felony count each of driving under
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A convicted felon who killed a Desert Hot Springs man while vandalizing his property in a feud connected to a business transaction was sentenced today to 50 years to life in state prison. A Banning jury in May convicted James John Angle, 48, of Indio of first-degree murder for the 2018 death of Joseph Gimino.
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Despite gains in some sectors of the regional economy, Riverside County’s unemployment rate rose back above 5% last month, according to figures released today by the California Employment Development Department. The countywide jobless rate in June, based on preliminary EDD estimates, was 5.4%, compared to 4.4% in May. According to data, the June
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Visitors to the San Diego Zoo can mark a date on their calendar today to see the two giant pandas recently flown to Southern California from China — Aug. 8. That’s the day Yun Chuan (pronounced yoon chu-an) and Xin Bao (pronounced sing bow) — the first pandas to enter the United States in 21
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An ambulance was requested today after a vehicle rolled over multiple times, ejecting and killing the lone occupant. The incident occurred at approximately 10 a.m. Friday on the westbound I-10 freeway near Box Canyon Road, according to California Highway Patrol records. One reporting party, an emergency nurse, was looking for the vehicle as officers
Continue Reading The Coachella Valley Mosquito and Vector Control District announced today it will conduct weekly spraying operations beginning Saturday to control the mosquito population in Indio and Coachella and reduce the risk of transmission for mosquito-borne viruses. The truck-mounted mosquito control spraying operations will start Saturday and continue on a weekly basis through Sept. 21, between
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A Colton man pleaded guilty Wednesday to his involvement in a Palm Desert jewelry store robbery more than two years ago and was immediately sentenced to three years in prison. Demetrius Thornton, 25, entered the guilty plea to a felony robbery charge at the Larson Justice Center in Indio. A related charge of assault
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A former Navy sailor who drove drunk and the wrong way on Interstate 8 in Point Loma, crashing head-on into another vehicle and killing its driver, was sentenced today to 10 years in state prison. Eric Ramos Cortez, 27, was convicted of gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated for the Dec. 20, 2021, crash that killed
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A convicted felon who gunned down a Riverside motel guest after the victim punched him was convicted today of first-degree murder. A Riverside jury deliberated less than a day before finding Robert Donald Intong, 48, of Desert Hot Springs guilty of the 2021 slaying of 31-year-old Cole William Birchard of Riverside. Along with the murder
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