News

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

Full body scanners are now in operation at Ontario International Airport and soon they’ll be coming to Palm Springs International Airport. Installation is underway and if there are no hang-ups passengers flying out of Palm Springs could be scanned as early as next week, just in time for the Christmas rush. If someone is randomly

Construction crews announced on Thursday they will delay the scheduled shutdown of Interstate 10 at Indian Avenue. The closure is needed as part of a massive project to build new overpasses. The closure of I-10 at Indian Avenue is now scheduled for Monday Dec. 20 and Tuesday, Dec. 21. Workers will use the time to

In a reversal of position, Rep. Mary Bono Mack (R-Palm Springs) voted in favor of a measure in Washington on Wednesday favoring to repeal of the so-called “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy. That policy bars gays and lesbians from serving openly in the U.S. military. In a statement released to the media after the vote,

A Desert Hot Springs man is being held today on suspicion of attempted murder for a shooting inside an apartment that left the mother of his child wounded, police said. Officers were sent to 13355 Verbena Drive at about 4:30 a.m. on Wednesday in response to a report of a woman screaming, Sgt. Dan Bressler

Memorial services were pending today for veteran director Blake Edwards, who helmed films such as “Breakfast at Tiffany’s,” “10” and the “Pink Panther” series. Edwards, 88, died around 10:30 p.m. Wednesday at St. John’s Hospital in Santa Monica, according to publicist Gene Schwam. He had been hospitalized for almost two weeks, and his wife of

An ex-con accused in the ambush-slaying of a Riverside police officer pleaded not guilty today to murder and other charges. Earl Ellis Green, 44, could face the death penalty if convicted of killing Officer Ryan Patrick Bonaminio near Fairmount Park on Nov. 7. Green appeared with his attorneys before Riverside County Superior Court Judge Roger

Palm Springs International Airport will receive its first body scanning security devices starting next week, according to the Transportation Security Administration. The devices reveal passengers’ bodies to security staff. Those who decline face personal touch pat-downs by TSA employees. Body scanners are now in operation at Ontario International Airport. Transportation Security Administration spokesman Nico Melendez

Fourteen Palm Springs police officers, including Chief David Dominguez have been served with subpoenas, surrounding the Warm Sands Sex Sting conducted in the summer of 2009, according to Roger Tansey, a deputy public defender for Riverside County, representing six of the 19 men arrested in the case. Palm Springs City Manager David Ready and Council

An accident near the corner of Jefferson and Avenue 54 killed a bicyclist, according to the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department. The accident was reported around 3:00 p.m. and forced deputies to shut down several roads in the area to look for the driver who had sped off after the accident. She was found a short

Already in 3.2 million homes and businesses around the country, Wednesday Verizon will begin offering its FiOS TV service to 55,000 homes and businesses in La Quinta, Indio, Palm Desert, Bermuda Dunes, Coachella and Indian Wells. As you might expect Verizon is touting FiOS which is delivered over its fiber-optic network as a step up

Water department crews today repaired a broken main in Cathedral City. The break occurred at Da Vall Drive, between Gerald Ford Drive and Sunny Lane, Deputy City Clerk Lynn T. Mallotto said. Northbound lanes were detoured to the southbound side of the street, leaving a single lane in each direction, for a time. Crews from

The Palm Springs Police Department needs the public’s help finding a missing parolee who cut off his GPS tracking device. Police have been actively looking for Raymond Ramos, 25, since October, but he has eluded them. Ramos is described as a Hispanic male adult, 5 feet 9 inches tall, 180 pounds, short dark hair. Ramos