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A Riverside County man pleaded guilty to a nearly 20-year Ponzi scheme that scammed more than $24 million from at least 200 investors, the Justice Department announced Tuesday. Paul Horton Smith Sr., 59, of Moreno Valley, pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud. He faces a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in federal
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Ryan Starr from Saul Martinez Elementary School in Mecca is the latest winner of the One Class at a Time award for his contributions to education. His career in the desert spans more than two decades at schools in both Desert Sands Unified School District and Coachella Valley Unified School District. Mr. Starr nominated himself
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The Board of Supervisors today signed off on Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco’s request to spend over $2 million for an evaluation of how best to proceed with modernizing the Ben Clark Public Safety Training Center, though one supervisor expressed concerns about the potential for untenable cost overruns. “This is an elephant that we
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Firefighters were able to quickly contain a shed fire in a Coachella home, however, one person was taken to the hospital with injuries. The fire was reported at approximately 11:00 AM on the 85100 block Bagdad Avenue. Firefighters arrived and reported an exterior shed fully involved with fire. The fire was quickly contained to the
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The National Weather Service called a Frost Advisory for the Coachella Valley due to last night’s frigid temperatures which dipped into the low to mid 30s. Frost, or a thin layer of ice crystals that develop from water vapor, forms when temperatures reach below 36°. Frost is especially harmful to outdoor vegetation and agriculture; the
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In October of 2022, the City of Palm Springs launched its organic waste collection services program, in accordance with Senate Bill 1383 (SB 1383). Since then, all residents and businesses have been required to separate food waste and yard waste into green bins, which allows Palm Springs Disposal Services (PSDS) to process the waste into compost
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American Legion Post 739 in Indio celebrated the latest completed enhancements to the building. Supervisor V. Manuel Perez provided county funding to help the American Legion Post repair its roof and put up a new wrought iron fence. The post received a grant of $63,000 for the projects through the Fourth District Community Improvement Designation
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In the wake of Friday’s magnitude 4.2 earthquake at the convergence of the San Andreas and San Jacinto fault zones, there are concerns that could have been a foreshock for a much bigger quake. Some geophysicists are warning about the possibility of a major seismic event along the San Andreas Fault, which runs through our
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A sanity trial got underway today for a 37-year-old man who, in the midst of his trial, pleaded guilty to fatally shooting his octogenarian grandparents inside a gated community in Palm Desert more than four years ago. Frank Scott Castro III pleaded guilty Dec. 4, 2024, to two counts of murder, along with a special
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The Riverside County Fair and National Date Festival will return for its 76th year, starting on Friday, February 16, and running through Sunday, February 25, at the Riverside County Fairgrounds in Indio. Continuing its legacy of supporting entertainment throughout Greater Palm Springs, Fantasy Springs Resort Casino has agreed to support the annual Riverside County Fair
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Local farmers and the Palm Springs Unified School District are working together to educate students about locally-grown produce through a grant program. Teresa Mattura is a farmer from Redlands who puts on presentations to educate students about local produce that is raised right here in California. “I work to sell my fruits and vegetables to local school districts,”
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Authorities are asking for the public’s help in identifying the driver in a deadly hit-and-run crash over the weekend in Twentynine Palms. The crash happened on Friday, Jan. 5 at approximately 8:41 p.m. on the 75000 block of Amboy Road. Deputies from the Morongo Basin Sheriff’s Station responded to the area following a report of
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A 24-year-old man suspected of shooting a 25-year-old man multiple times in a Coachella parking lot must stand trial on an attempted murder charge, a judge ruled today. Issac Vargas additionally faces sentence-enhancing allegations of committing a crime while on bail, causing great bodily injury, and discharging a firearm causing great bodily injury, according to
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The Riverside County District Attorney’s office today sought help from the public in identifying a woman who was murdered by the “Happy Face” serial killer 31 years ago. “Our goal is to identify this victim and provide closure to her family, wherever they may be,” Riverside County District Attorney Mike Hestrin said in a statement.
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A 34-year-old man who slipped into an inebriated woman’s room at the Palm Springs hotel where he worked and sexually assaulted her as she lay unconscious had his sentencing date pushed from today to late January. A Banning jury in November deliberated less than a day before finding Alejandro “Alex” Adan of Desert Hot Springs
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A 34-year-old man suspected of stabbing three of his family members, one fatally, following a dispute in Indio re-entered not guilty pleas today to felony charges. Anthony William Piña-German of Indio is charged with one felony count of murder and two felony counts of attempted murder, according to court records. He also faces sentence-enhancing allegations
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Local hospitals are joining the efforts to increase the blood supply in the Coachella Valley. LifeStream is in urgent need of type O blood donors. A Director of Donor Recruitment shares with a valley hospital that multiple special patients at local hospitals are in desperate need of O-negative blood specifically. This does not mean if
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Construction for a new transit hub in Coachella will begin this week. The transit hub will be located on 4th Street and Cesar Chavez Street. The project will take an estimated six months to complete. The Sunline Transit Agency is building the hub, and the city is overseeing the project. The $1.8 million investment comes
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There were some familiar faces at Sunday night’s Golden Globes. On Thursday several Hollywood heavy hitters kicked off award season here in Palm Springs to celebrate this past year’s best cinema. Fast forward to Sunday, many of those stars took over the red carpet at the Beverly Hilton for this year’s Golden Globes. To no
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The Palm Springs International Film Festival is returning to the Coachella Valley Thursday, January 4. Well into its third decade, the festival continues to be a force in the world of film. In honor of its 35th anniversary we spoke with Turner Classic Movies host, Dave Karger who will be presenting some films that debuted the
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