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Coachella Mayor Steven Hernandez pleads not guilty to felony charges, county places him on paid administrative leave

COACHELLA, Calif. (KESQ) – Coachella Mayor Steven Hernandez was arraigned Thursday morning on perjury and conflict of interest charges for alleged illicit acts connected to his decisions on projects in the city, along with other matters. A grand jury indicted Hernandez, 42, on nine criminal counts. He pleaded not guilty to all charges and is

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Steve Sanchez, La Quinta Councilmember, to run for 4th District RivCo Board of Supervisors seat

LA QUINTA, Calif. (KESQ) — La Quinta City Councilman Steve Sanchez is running to represent the Fourth District of the Riverside County Board of Supervisors. Sanchez made the campaign announcement first with News Channel 3’s Athena Jreij, announcing he plans to unseat Supervisor V. Manuel Perez, who was elected Supervisor in 2018. The fourth district

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Palm Springs City Councilmember Jeffrey Bernstein announces reelection bid

Palm Springs, Calif. (KESQ) – Palm Springs Councilmember Jeffrey Bernstein announced his reelection bid for his District 2 seat in November 2026. Bernstein is a small business owner who was first elected to the council in 2022. He has already received several endorsements, including from the Palm Springs police officers and firefighters associations. If re-elected,

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Prop 50: The Stakes in California

COACHELLA VALLEY, Calif. (KESQ) – California voters will be deciding the fate of Proposition 50 in a state-wide special election on November 4th in a little over four weeks.  And the decision could have major implications in the battle for control of Congress in next year’s mid-term elections.  It would redraw the state’s congressional districts, giving democrats

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Board approves amendments to county campaign finance regulations

RIVERSIDE, Calif. (KESQ) – The Board of Supervisors today approved amending Riverside County’s campaign finance regulations so the county superintendent of schools is required to comply with the same caps in place for other county elected officials, while also approving new requirements for so-called “intra-candidate transfers” of funds. In a 4-0 vote without comment —

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Local assemblymembers speak out against California redistricting after passage

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (KESQ) — The California State Assembly and Senate have greenlit Governor Gavin Newsom’s redistricting plan. On Thursday, the majority-Democrat Assembly approved the plan 57-20, sending it to the Senate where it then passed 30-8. Among the no votes were District 36 Assemblyman Jeff Gonzalez, District 47 Assemblyman Greg Wallis and District 19 Senator

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Rep. Calvert calls Newsom’s redistricting plan a ‘power grab,’ expects his seat to be a prime target

COACHELLA VALLEY, Calif. (KESQ) – We’re hearing from local Republican Congressman Ken Calvert in the wake of Governor Gavin Newsom’s announcement that California will move forward with putting proposed new congressional maps on the ballot in a November special election. Check Out: First draft of California’s redrawn congressional district maps released Newsom has framed the

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Joint Legislative Audit Committee approves Assemblyman Jeff Gonzalez’s request to consider audit of CVUSD

INDIO, Calif. (KESQ) – Local Republican State Assemblyman Jeff Gonzalez announced Wednesday the Joint Legislative Audit Committee has approved his request to consider an audit of the Coachella Valley Unified School District. “This has to do with right and wrong. And wrong is taking place and we want answers!” Gonzalez said. The announcement comes in

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