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Gov. Jerry Brown has signed a pair of consumer protection bills that prevent health insurance companies from discriminating against people with pre-existing conditions and limit how much insurers can charge older residents. Brown signed ABx1-2 by Democratic Assemblyman Richard Pan of Sacramento and SBx1-2 by Democratic Sen. Ed Hernandez of Covina on Thursday. The Assembly

Cute as a button baby porcupines, known as porcupettes, were born at The Living Desert on Saturday, May 4th, the offspring of proud porcupine parents Nasura (male) and Skittles (female). The African crested porcupettes are on exhibit with their parents now and will have their well-baby exam soon. Both are doing well and sees) will

Kobe Bryant says in a court filing that he never gave his mother permission to sell mementos from his high school days and early professional basketball career. Bryant is in a court battle over whether hundreds of items can be auctioned off. Pamela Bryant says the NBA star told her the memorabilia was hers. She

A man tried to kidnap a woman as she was joggingin Jurupa Valley today, a sheriff’s sergeant said. The kidnapping attempt was reported shortly after 10:30 a.m. in the 4300block of Camino Real. The suspect, who was driving a dark gray, four-doorsedan with rear tinted windows, followed the jogger “in an attempt to get herinto

A four-acre wildfire that started in a Palm Desert-area canyon was 100 percent contained or surrounded Wednesday, a U.S. ForestService spokesman said. “We’ve pretty much got it,” Forest Service spokesman Lee Beyer saidshortly before 5 p.m. Firefighters will check the burn area over the next few days and expectto declare it fully controlled by Friday.

Cal State San Bernardino’s Palm Desert Campus will host its fourth annual environmental and Sustainability Expo starting Thursday. Robert Phalen, associate professor of health science and human ecologyat Cal State, and Jack Porrelli, legislative analyst at the Coachella ValleyWater District, will speak at 5:30 p.m. at the Indian Wells Theater. The eventcontinues Friday. Phalen will

A Riverside County school district has rejected a claim that an autistic boy arrested for selling marijuana at school was a victim of discrimination. The Riverside Press-Enterprise says the claim was rejected Tuesday by the Temecula Valley Unified School District. A lawsuit could be next. The boy was one of 22 students arrested in December

There were other items on the city councils agenda Wednesday night but, in the eyes of the public there was only one. Cathedral City residents filled the council’s chamber Wednesday night, voicing their varied opinions. Some even yelling at council members, prompting a quick recess so emotions could mellow. Councilman Greg Pettis is accused of

Valley CrimeStoppers has been in the tool box for Coachella Valley law enforcement agencies since the late 1970’s. Anonymous tips from the public have helped solve more than 40 murders and led to more than 300 narcotics arrests and more than 400 burglary arrests. Sometimes, even a small piece of information can help solve crimes,

There may be an answer to that nagging cough that’s been following people in the Coachella Valley around all spring. That’s just one thing local doctors are talking about when looking at “What’s Going Around” the area where you live. A nasty viral infection that’s going around Palm Springs seems to be sticking around. Dr.

As he hauls his blue bin to the curb, Palm Springs resident Barry Noble knows the recycle bin divers will be back soon. “They’re in vans, old pickup trucks. We have a couple here that frequents this tract,” said Noble. He adds the scavengers leaf through everything leaving little of value for the authorized pick

Almost one year after Zia Hoyos’s death, police finally arrested two suspects, but that means nothing to Zia’s mom, Senta Flores. “I’m just outraged at our judicial system,” Flores said. Thirty-year-old Heather Marie Brents and her father, 69-year old Russell Ted Stienecker, both of Desert Hot Springs, turned themselves in then posted $5000 bail. “It’s

A man was arrested Wednesday after yelling at an officer and leading him on a short pursuit through La Quinta, according to police. Just after 1 p.m. Wednesday, a Dodge Challenger pulled alongside a patrol car at a stop sign at the intersection of Calle Tampico and Avenida Mendoza and began yellingobscenitiesand derogatory comments at

The state’s Transportation Commission approvedfunding today for 114 projects statewide, including two in the CoachellaValley. The funding included more than $476 million from Proposition 1B, atransportation bond approved by voters in 2006, Caltrans spokeswoman TerriKasinga said. The local projects are: — Interstate10/Monterey Avenue interchange ramp modifications in PalmDesert, funded by $2.8 million in Proposition 1B

Former Palm Desert resident Jodi Arias has been convicted of first-degree murder in the brutal stabbing and shooting death of her one-time boyfriend in Arizona. Arias was charged in the June 2008 killing of Travis Alexander in his suburban Phoenix home. Authorities say she planned the attack in a jealous rage. Arias initially denied involvement,

A woman accused in a hit-and-run crash in Palm Springsthat killed a Desert Hot Springs teenager nearly a year ago allegedly drank somuch that night that she blacked out and did not notice the damage to hervehicle until the next morning, according to a court document obtained today. Heather Marie Brents, 30, is free on

El fuego que inici ayer a las 10:20 a.m. en el rea conocida como Cat Creek a dos millas al oeste del Hwy 74 en Palm Desert est contenido slo en un 15% segn inform el vocero del Servicio Forestal de la Nacin. Hasta el momento ha sido imposible entrar por tierra al lugar que

Authorities said Wednesday they have broken up an immigration fraud ring that led to the arrests of four federal law enforcement officers accused of accepting bribes to help foreigners enter the country. An 18-count indictment laid out a detailed account of alleged corruption where tens of thousands of dollars, a flat-screen TV and airline tickets

A wildfire in a Palm Desert-area canyon was 15percent contained and holding at three or four acres today, a U.S. ForestService spokesman said. A Forest Service employee reported the fire about two miles west ofHighway 74 in the Cat Creek drainage area in the Santa Rosa and San JacintoMountains National Monument about 10:20 a.m. Tuesday,

Disney Enterprises has dropped an effort to trademark “Dia de los Muertos,” the name of the traditional “Day of the Dead” holiday celebrated by millions in Mexico and the U.S. The Orange County Register says the company announced Tuesday it’s abandoning the effort just a week after submitting its request to U.S. officials. The request