News

Blogger Joe Jervis will serve as national grandmarshal for the 27th annual Greater Palm Springs Pride Parade later this year. Jervis will join community grand marshals Melanie Jones, EllenZimmerman, Mark Jones and Brian Vatcher, and other to-be-announced marshals forthe Nov. 3 parade in downtown Palm Springs. The parade is part of the PalmSprings Pride Celebration

The Riverside County Coroner’s Office today officiallyidentified the remains of an 11-year-old Menifee boy discovered in the backyardof his mother’s house, where his older half-brother allegedly buried him afterkilling him. Sheriff’s Sgt. Lisa McConnell said the cause of Terry Smith Jr.’s deathwas pending — coroner’s officials only said he was the victim of a homicide.

Forty-one pro-immigrant activists were arrested outside the Capitol Thursday after blocking traffic while pushing for passage of comprehensive immigration legislation. Among the activists were leaders from a range of immigration groups and unions including the United Farm Workers and AFL-CIO. After marching by the Capitol, the activists joined hands and sat down on Independence Avenue,

A $60 million research ship funded by a Google executive is setting sail from San Francisco to study a so-called “dead zone” in the Pacific Ocean and other mysteries of the sea. The San Francisco Chronicle reports that the 272-foot vessel called Falkor was scheduled to leave port Thursday. The ship carries an unmanned submarine

California State University students will be able to earn credit this fall by completing online courses offered through any of the system’s 23 campuses. CSU officials announced Wednesday that full-time students are being allowed for the first time to include in their schedules online classes that are not offered by the school where they are

Areas of the San Jacinto Mountains closed because ofthe Mountain Fire will reopen to the public today. National Forest land will open today and Mount Jacinto State Park landwill open Friday. Slated to reopen are all areas of the National Forest north of the statepark — including Marion Mountain, Seven Pines and the Deer Springs

Starting today, some local elementary schoolstudents will head back to class. Eight Palm Springs Unified School District elementary schools will startthe 2013-2014 school year Thursday. They are: — Cahuilla and Cielo Vista Charter in Palm Springs; — Agua Caliente, Cathedral City Elementary, Landau and Sunny Sands inCathedral City; and — Cabot Yerxa and Julius Corsini

Authorities say a Los Angeles County man infected with the West Nile virus has died and health officials are trying to determine whether the illness caused his death. The Long Beach Press-Telegram says the 78-year-old Carson man died Tuesday night. His family says he was hospitalized two weeks earlier with symptoms that included slurred speech,

A Southern California school district has accepted a $1.4 million grant to expand a student yoga program that sparked religious complaints and a lawsuit. U-T San Diego says the grant was accepted Wednesday by trustees of the Encinitas Union School District. The grant is from the same nonprofit foundation that provided earlier funding to place

The Riverside County Coroners Office identified a woman Thursday, believed to have been killed in a Desert Hot Springs house fire. The body of Veronica Reyes, 28, was discovered by firefighters after they were called to a fire on the 66200 block of Acoma Avenue early Tuesday morning. The coroner’s report said Reyes was an

Twenty contestants — including adults, children,pets and professional entertainers — will compete in a Marilyn Monroe look-alike contest at the Monroe statue in Palm Springs today. The free event starts at 7 p.m. at the “Forever Marilyn” statue atTahquitz Canyon Way and Palm Canyon Drive. Categories include pets, under 16,over 16, drag and performers. Seven

A Chinese professor who was seriously injured in the Asiana Airlines crash has filed a $5 million lawsuit against the carrier in San Francisco federal court. Zhengheng Xie, whose lawsuit was filed Monday, is filing under an exemption in an international treaty that limits legal actions by foreigners. The San Jose Mercury News reports the

In the wake of the the Mountain Fire, an Idyllwild resident is spearheading a drive to improve conditions for firefighters working out of the mountain town’s only fire house. Sheila Zacker worked as a volunteer dispatcher for the fire department during the Mountain Fire and says she couldn’t help but notice how the fire station

Un inspector de sanidad de alimentos dijo el mircoles que casi toda, si no toda, la ensalada preenvasada que provoc ciclosporosis en centenares de personas en Iowa y Nebraska no fue cultivada en esos estados. El jefe de la Oficina de Seguridad Alimentaria y del Consumidor de Iowa, Steve Mandernach, dijo que al menos el

Local officials celebrated the start of construction Wednesday, of county public safety projects in Indio, with a groundbreaking ceremony of the new Eastern Riverside County Emergency Operations Center at 82695 Dr. Carreon Blvd. Work on the center started July 7 and should be finished in February, according to Supervisor John Benoit’s office. The Emergency Operations

The Riverside County Sheriff’s Department has released the name, of the second suspect, accused of causing the death of a Rancho Mirage woman and injuring her husband in what police are calling a case of street racing gone bad. The accident happened on June 18th on Highway 111 and Dunes View Road in Rancho Mirage.

Twenty two year desert resident and eight year Elvis Presley estate owner Reno Fontana continues to fight for the property he loves. “Who would ever imagine that a legitimate lender would evict and foreclose on someone and then say I’m going to keep the home and open the business myself? What legitimate lender would ever

Desert Hot Springs City Manager Rick Daniels, in a letter to Mayor Yvonne Parks, states he will be leaving his post at the city in early September. The letter that KESQ obtained was dated July 24th. In the letter, Daniels states that he will pursue other opportunities in either the private or public sector. According

A judge has approved settlement of a lawsuit that blocked a $247 million commuter rail project in Southern California. The Riverside Press-Enterprise says the judge signed off last week on a $3 million deal that will permit construction of a Riverside-to-Perris extension of the Metrolink regional train system. Authorities hope to begin the work in

An autopsy is scheduled for Wednesday on the body of a woman found dead at the scene of a fire at an abandoned Desert Hot Springs residence, authorities said. The blaze was reported about 8:30 a.m. Tuesday at a boarded-up, 800-square-foot home, said Mark Annas of the Riverside County Fire Department. The fire was contained