News

RANCHO MIRAGE – Heavy smoke was visible in Rancho Mirage as three to four large mulch piles were on fire at the property owned by the affluent Blixseth family. Witness calling into the News Channel 3 newsroom reported heavy smoke at the property near Indian Trail and Dunes View Roads just after 4 p.m. Wednesday.

PALM DESERT – College of the Desert is getting some green to turn the valley greener. “We’re very excited,” says Larry McLaughlin, the school’s director of advanced transportation technology and energy. “We have some great plans.” Through the California Clean Energy Workforce Training Program, COD received more than $815,000 to train workers for green jobs.

NORTH SHORE – A 52-year-old man, who lost control of a vehicle that overturned and crashed into a mobile home in North Shore, died Wednesday, but no one in the trailer was hurt. Darrel J. Schaumleffel of North Shore was declared dead at 7:36 p.m. Tuesday on 70th Avenue near Windward Drive, which is near

LA QUINTA – A 64-year-old man who collapsed and died while hiking in the hills near La Quinta was identified today as a local resident. Ken Leroy Clark of La Quinta was with his adult daughter when he collapsed on the Bear Creek Trail shortly after 9 a.m. Monday, according to the Riverside County Coroner’s

INDIO – To know someone, you have to walk a mile in their shoes. That’s what the Riverside County District Attorney’s office aimed to do at Tuesday’s Walk-A-Mile event. People stepped into Terria Smith shoes. She is a domestic violence survivor. “He hit me so hard … He hit me so hard that I remember

RIVERSIDE – Riverside County health officials say the Swine Flu vaccine is on its way. The first batches of vaccine sprays are expected later this week. Doctors and nurses will be among the first to get it. All county workers are recommended to get the swine flu vaccine. Head of Riverside County’s Public Health Department,

Enter for your chance to win a pair of tickets to the Wheels on Reels Film Festival – A Film Festival Where Cars and Bikes are the Stars! Wheels on Reels takes place on October 23-24th at the Mary Pickford Theatre in Cathedral City.

Enter for your chance to win 1 pair of tickets to the Steely Dan concert at Fantasy Springs Spa and Resort on Saturday, October 17th!

RIVERSIDE – Glen Heggstad is a well-respected local businessman. Hefounded Coachella Valley Judo and Jiu-Jitsu in Palm Desert. Now, the California Attorney General’s Office is accusing Heggstad of conspiring to murder Cabazon Indian vice chairman Fred Alvarez. Alvarez was murdered at a Rancho Mirage home on July 1st, 1981. His friend, Ralph Boger, and Alvarez’s

Riverside County Sheriff’s Detectives arrest a man they believe got away with a triple murder for over 28 years. News Channel 3 first told you about the arrest of Jimmy Hughes on KESQ.com Saturday afternoon. On July 1st, 1981, Fred Alvarez, his girlfriend Patty Castro, and friend Ralph Boger were shot to death at 35040

People living off Racquet Club Drive are as happy their homes are safe, but fire investigators are still baffled looking into exactly what caused Friday’s blaze. A Palm Springs fire fighter hikes through the rocky terrain where Friday’s fire sparked. It is believed that it started off Tramway Road. But, if downed power lines were

NORTH SHORE – County officials broke ground on the new North Shore Yacht Club Monday. Renovating the Salton Sea landmark will cost an estimated $3.5 million federal stimulus dollars. But even some North Shore residents say that’s not the best way to spend taxpayer money. Riverside County officials say the project will employ 90 construction

CALEXICO – A moderate earthquake in northern Mexico has shaken towns on the inland border in California. Seismologist Dale Grant of the U.S. Geological Survey says the magnitude-4.9 quake struck just before 4 p.m. It was centered about 25 miles southeast of the city of Calexico and 23 miles northeast of Mexicali, Mexico at a

LA QUINTA -After more than a decade of serving the Coachella Valley, Rooms Express furniture closed its showrooms in La Quinta and Cathedral City. According to Linder’s Furniture, the parent company of Rooms Express, the decision is a result of the tough times and the crisis in the local housing market in the Coachella Valley.

BLUEWATER, Calif. – The quiet community of Bluewater rests on the banks of the Colorado River. Not much happens here, that was, until a German rap group came to town. In a publicity stunt for their new album, the Germans created a website (http://vpk-tv.com/) for a fake TV station. The Baghdad Street Boys posed as

PALM SPRINGS – Hundreds of people gathered Friday morning, remembering a Palm Springs woman, killed on one of the planes that crashed into the World Trade Center towers. Barbara Keating was a volunteer at St. Teresa’s Catholic Church in Palm Springs. The church held a memorial service to honor her memory. Palm Springs Mayor Steve

RIVERSIDE – A new car factory is coming to Riverside County. Factory owners say they’ll soon be hiring hundreds of people. It’s called the “E-Zone.” People get inside two seater car, inspecting the latest import from South Korea. This battery powered all-electric car will soon be built at a factory in Moreno Valley. South Korean

PALM DESERT – Hundreds of Valley residents lined up for the chance at 22 jobs. The Bighorn Golf Club in Palm Desert held a job fair Tuesday in preparation for the new season. The club is looking for positions ranging from bartenders and cooksto greens keepers and fitness trainers. More than 600 people showed up.

NEW YORK – Sept. 11 family members and college professors have unveiled a plan to teach junior and senior high school pupils about the 2001 terrorist attacks. The 9/11 curriculum was announced Tuesday in New York City. It will be taught in pilot programs this year in California, Indiana, New Jersey, Illinois and Kansas. Former

NORTH PALM SPRINGS – A family picture shows murder suspect Travis Cody as they remember him. It’s a different face than his recent mugshot, arrested Friday for murdering 75-year-old Ed Keeley. The former school principal, cowboy, and advocate for the poor and homeless in Desert Hot Springs was murdered just outside his ranch house early