News

A federal appeals court is set to consider the case of three students who were sent home from a Northern California high school for refusing to remove shirts emblazoned with the American flag on Cinco de Mayo. On Thursday the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco will hear oral arguments after a

Making Riverside County the“most veteran friendly location in the nation” is one of the goals of a discount program that businesses countywide are being asked to consider ahead of Veterans Day. The Veteran Assistance Leadership of Riverside County — VALOR — committee is seeking the voluntary participation of store owners, corporations and other private sector

A former Indian Wells elementary school teacher accused of molesting eight children was ordered Wednesday to stand trial. Riverside County Superior Court Judge Richard A. Erwood found that there was enough evidence for Robert Keith Bryan to stand trial on 17 criminal counts following a preliminary hearing at Indio’s Larson Justice Center. Bryan, 60, is

An Indio man is in custody tonight accused of trying to steal copper from air conditioning units at the Village Market in Indio around 5:30 a.m. Wednesday. Police say witnesses saw 33-year old Daniel Medina taking parts and storing them nearby. When officers got to the market, they saw Medina running from the scene. After

The end to the government shutdown means national parks can begin to reopen including Joshua Tree National Park. That’s welcome news to communities in the high desert who rely on the park for revenue from tourism. But, some say the losses are too great to fix. More than 120 people gathered at a rally in

The pristine property at the west end of Frank Sinatra Drive will once again be home to the Ritz-Carlton Rancho Mirage. “When the Ritz closed it did change things a little bit on this end of Rancho,” said Wendy Price, manager of the Crab Pot restaurant on Highway 111. The hotel changed hands several times

In the ashes of a burned down home at the Oasis Mobile Home Park in Thermal, we found a charred “Nuevo Comienzo,” or “New Beginning” magazine on motherhood. Flames broke out Sunday and tore through two homes at the park. One of them was abandoned and was where neighbors said Esmeralda Martinez, 34, went for

It’s the world’s largest earthquake drill. At 10:17 am on the second Thursday of October, millions of people around California will drop, cover and hold on. “Every year most local governments and fire departments activate basically their disaster plan for the great shakeout and we have a big check list that we run through,” said

Merretta Trimmer drove from Illinois to visit family and experience the Joshua Tree National Park Tuesday, but the government shutdown shut her out. “I didn’t even put two-and-two together that the government shutdown was going to affect my vacation,” she said. The park, which sees about 1.25 million visitors each year, remains closed and like

Breast cancer took a lot away from VJ Sleight. “What I lost was a lot of friendships because not everyone there can handle it,” Sleight said. She got a part of herself back, though. “The first time I got cancer I didn’t feel like a woman. I didn’t feel like a whole person. But when

Ayer a la 1:16 a.m. la polica recibi una llamada que reportaba que un vehculo arda en llamas en el rea de Portola Ave y Gerald Ford Drive en Palm Desert. Cuando los agentes llegaron al lugar se encontraron con el auto obstruyendo uno de los carriles de Gerald Ford Drive. Al interrogar al conductor,

The average price of a gallon of self-serve regular gasoline in the Inland Empire dropped to its lowest amount since Jan. 30 Wednesday, falling 1 cent to $3.773. The average price in Riverside and San Bernardino counties has decreased for 28 consecutive days and is 5.1 cents less than one week ago, 23.5 cents lower

Five California mayors have submitted a proposed ballot initiative that they say could fix the skyrocketing cost of public employees’ retirement plans. The measure, called the Pension Reform Act of 2014, would amend the state constitution to give government agencies authority to negotiate changes to benefits. The mayors say it would protect retirement benefits that

A wind advisory was in effect Wednesday in the Inland Empire, where gusts of up to 45 miles per hour were possible below passes and canyons, meteorologists said. An upper-level trough of low pressure moving through the Southern Rockies, and surface high pressure over the Great Basin will bring gusty northeast to east winds through

A 34-year-old Cathedral City man was arrested Tuesday for allegedly driving drunk and causing a fiery Palm Desert crash that injured his passenger. Michael John Moore was arrested at the scene of the crash, which was reported around 1:15 a.m. at Portola Avenue and Gerald Ford Drive. The car was burning when deputies arrived, and

The state’s monthly unemployment report, which includes data for Riverside County and the entire inland region, will not be released as planned this week because of the partial government shutdown, said officials. The California Employment Development Department was scheduled to post unemployment figures for September on Friday, but with analysts at the U.S. Bureau of

A jury deadlocked today in the retrial of a Coachella man accused in a gang-related drive-by attack that killed a 19-year-old woman. Daniel Cardona Torres, 27, was charged with murder and two counts of attempted murder in the Aug. 12, 2005, shooting death of Vanessa Torres, who died in the driveway of her boyfriend’s home

The new $80 million project designed to connect the valley is drawing both support and criticism. The Coachella Valley Association of Governments (CVAG) says CV Link will connect the Coachella Valley with a continuous pathway along or near the existing Whitewater River for pedestrians, bicyclists and low-speed electric vehicles. “We live in Indio and would

Police need your help in finding a suspect wanted in a series of robberies mostly in the city of Coachella. The Riverside County Sheriff’s Department released surveillance video of a man they believed is responsible for many armed robberies. According to a news release, the robberies took place between August 30th and October 14th of

An autopsy is expected to be performed Wednesday on a newborn baby found dead on a playground in a Mecca park. Police arrested Esmeralda Martinez, the baby’s mother. The Thermal woman faces charges of voluntary manslaughter and willful harm to a child. She is scheduled to be arraigned on Thursday. While it’s not clear what