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Fire scorched a La Quinta home Saturday, significantly damaging the structure as fire crews prevented flames from spreading to neighboring houses. The blaze was reported at 2:59 a.m. on the 77,800 block of Grey Wolf Trail. One person was injured trying to put out the fire, and three people were displaced due to fire damage,

Traveling for the holidays can be deadly on the roads. Holiday parties on Friday were held across the desert, and authorities said that means a possible increase in people driving drunk. The Coachella Police held a DUI checkpoint that started at 7 p.m. on Friday. “Should you go to parties, kick back and don’t drink,”

Leaders with the Palm Springs International Film Festival announced on Friday a new program highlighting African Cinema, in addition to films selected to compete for the FIPRESCI Award, New Voices/New Visions Award and John Schlesinger Awards. ?Our African films showcase reflects our delight at the discovery of a vital new arena in world filmmaking, with

The Los Angeles County District Attorney dropped its case against the two men accused of stabbing Steve Sanchez, a former State Assembly candidate. Prosecutors said there’s not enough evidence to prove the stabbing wasn’t a case of self-defense. Sanchez was placed in a medically induced coma for almost two days as a result of the

A Coachella Valley Healthcare Summit today at the Fantasy Springs Event Center may draw hundreds of people, including residents, students, service providers, healthcare leaders and stakeholders and representatives of local governments and academics. Also expected for the four-hour event are representatives from area hospitals and clinics, health insurance organizations, foundations and policymakers. The idea is

More Southland residents will make holiday trips this year than last year, according to Automobile Club of Southern California projections announced this morning. About 7.2 million Southland residents are expected to take a trip of 50 miles or more during the Christmas-New Year travel period, according to the Auto Club. That upward tick composes a

Forty of the 65 official submissions to the motion picture academy for Best Foreign Language Film will be screened during the upcoming Palm Springs International Film Festival. Here is the rundown of the foreign language films to be shown during the festival, which runs from Jan. 6-17: — “Carancho” (Argentina), director: Pablo Trapero — “Illegal”

Several days worth of wet and gloomy weather was expected to begin today in Riverside County. According to the National Weather Service, there was a 70 percent chance of rain in both the valley and mountain areas today. Rainy weather remained likely through Sunday, the Weather Service advised, adding that rain was also possible Monday

A Palm Springs mother was reunited with her infant child three hours after the child’s father allegedly kidnapped the child at knifepoint. The incident happened at 11:13 a.m., according to Palm Springs police spokesperson Rhonda Long. She said 50-year-old Joseph Bailon took the child from its mother at knifepoint, and then rode off with the

Fourteen students at Palm Desert High School were arrested on Thursday morning after an undercover investigation conducted by the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department and Palm Desert Police Department. In a media alert sent out Thursday afternoon, detectives said they seized various illegal narcotics during their investigation on campus, including marijuana, cocaine, ecstasy and prescription drugs.

Palm Springs police were looking for a man who reportedly kidnapped his 4-month-old son from his mother’s residence at knifepoint on Friday morning. Police spokesperson Rhonda Long told News Channel 3 the father took the child while threatening the mother with a knife at 11:13 a.m. at the mother’s residence, and told her he was

The upcoming Palm Springs film festival will honor one of a dozen features from international talents marking their feature film debut, with the additional stipulation that the films have no current U.S. distribution. The so-called New Voices/New Visions collection of films includes: — “40” (Turkey), a suspense tale set in Istanbul, about three people on

Despite payroll gains across most sectors of the Inland Empire economy, Riverside County’s unemployment rate was unchanged last month at 14.6 percent, state officials reported today. The county’s non-seasonally-adjusted jobless rate in November, based on preliminary estimates, was the same as October — and the same level recorded a year ago, according to the California

As the first Republican woman to head a House Energy and Commerce subcommittee, Mary Bono Mack already knows where her priorities lie. “I will work with (committee) Chairman (Fred) Upton and my colleagues towards an era of less government and more economic certainty — fostering growth for the American economy,” she said upon receiving the

On Thursday, Cathedral City Police Chief Stan Henry made his last radio broadcast as Chief of Police, ending a stellar 33-year career in law enforcement. The broacast came at 4:37 p.m. when Chief Henry ended his law enforcement career with a final ?10-7,? which is radio code for ?End of Watch.? Listen: Changing Of Chiefs

A Rancho Cucomonga doctor who saw patients in Palm Springs will most likely be going to prison for stealing her clients’ identities to get prescription drugs. Dr. Lisa Barden, 41, pleaded guilty Wednesday to 274 out of 276 counts against her. Barden still faces trial on two charges to which she previously had pleaded not

A 4-month-old baby shot in a gang-related drive-by shooting in Cathedral City’s Dream Homes neighborhood on Nov. 2 will be returned to his family, a Riverside County judge ruled on Wednesday morning. “I’m gonna get my son back,” the excited father shared outside the courtroom. His mother, 16-year-old Yanize Mora, was killed in the shooting,

The Palm Springs city council voted unanimously Wednesday to make a conditional offer to Wessman Development, which has owned the Desert Fashion Plaza and Town and Country Center since 2001, to purchase the properties. In September, the council approved having the properties appraised. Mayor Steve Pougnet announced that the Desert Fashion Plaza appraised for $15.7

A total of twelve people were overcome by some kind of odor at Saul Martinez Elementary School in Mecca on Wednesday, sending two to the hospital. Cal Fire officials told News Channel 3 the two sent to the hospital were adults, but the ten others sickened were a mixture of adults and children. Initial reports