Month: September 2025

City News Service

RIVERSIDE, Calif. (KESQ) – The Board of Supervisors today approved amending Riverside County’s campaign finance regulations so the county superintendent of schools is required to comply with the same caps in place for other county elected officials, while also approving new requirements for so-called “intra-candidate transfers” of funds.

In a 4-0 vote without comment — and Supervisor Chuck Washington absent — the board implemented the regulatory changes, which were submitted by the county Executive Office.

“The … amendments provide greater transparency and allow everyone the right to participate and support the candidates of their choice,” according to an EO statement. “The purpose of this ordinance is to ensure that individuals and interest groups continue to have a fair and equal opportunity to participate in electing candidates for county elective office.”  

The changes were the first ones put forward since Ordinance No. 963, which fixes limits on campaign contributions for county candidates, was enacted in the fall of 2020. For unexplained reasons, the revisions did not include the county superintendent of schools.

“It was and remains the intent of the Board of Supervisors to have included the superintendent of schools in the original version of this ordinance,” the EO stated. “This amendment is correcting an oversight.”

Then-Supervisor Kevin Jeffries, joined by Washington, sought adoption of No. 963, which caps all individual contributions to any one candidate for county office at $20,000.

With the board’s approval Tuesday, the ordinance has set contribution parameters for the schools superintendent that are the same for the assessor-clerk recorder, auditor-controller, any county supervisor, district attorney, sheriff and treasurer-tax collector. The limits do not affect state, federal or municipal elections.   

The $20,000 cap applies to all individual contributions in a general, primary, recall or other election cycle. However, exemptions are permitted for candidates who contribute to their own campaign. For instance, the ordinance permits a candidate to self-loan up to $100,000 per election, but in doing so, the loan recipient’s opponent is entitled to accept an equal amount in funding to ensure parity.

The other amendment passed by the board concerned intra-candidate transfers, which will no longer be permitted without the express written consent of individual donors.

“When a donor gives money, they express support for a candidate for a specific office, and that expression is protected by the free speech clauses of the state and federal constitutions,” according to the Office of County Counsel. “But when a candidate then chooses to run for a different office, what becomes of the donor’s speech?”   

The attorneys said a candidate for a certain office cannot expect that just because he or she pursues a different office, the original individual contributors support that new campaign and want the money they previously gave going to the new political endeavor.

“This (amended) ordinance prohibits intra-candidate transfers without the consent of donors to the first campaign,” according to the EO. “All intra-candidate transfers must be transparent and accounted for.”

The ordinance specifies all individual contributions in excess of $1,000 be subject to instant documentation and presentation on the Office of the Registrar of Voters’ portal for transparency, adhering to the California Political Reform Act of 1974.

So-called “independent” expenditures by outside organizations in support of a candidate are not impacted by the ordinance. Political action committees, unions, corporations and similar large organized donor groups generating and paying for their own advertisements and promotions are shielded from contribution limits under the U.S. Supreme Court case Citizens United v FEC, which was decided in 2010 based on free speech arguments.

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Garrett Hottle

UPDATE: The Palm Springs City Council voted 4 to 1 in its meeting on Wednesday to approve the city’s response to a Civil Grand Jury report that found the city failed to properly safeguard taxpayer dollars in its handling of non-profit grants tied to Queer Works.

Mayor Ron deHarte voted “no,” saying he felt the response could have expressed the city’s commitment to accountability more strongly.

Mayor deHarte commented, “I feel we could have maintained that sense of responsibility to the community and the response we gave to the community a little stronger in our response here, in the response to these questions.”

Councilmember Jeffrey Bernstein said, “Mistakes were made and it really is unfortunate but how we have dealt with it, how the City Manager and staff dealt with the response, I think shows that we are committed to never letting this, or preventing this from happening.”

Councilmembers also discussed the city’s disagreement with the Grand Jury finding that not enough “oversight resulted in a loss of over 700 thousand dollars.”

The city stated it was “unable to reconcile a specific amount of loss.”

Several public speakers took issue with that defense, one saying, “The city is unable to reconcile a specific amount of loss, as if that makes it OK. Translation, we lost track of 700 thousand dollars, but since we can’t count it, it doesn’t count. With respect, that is absurd.”

In its response, the city says it’s moving forward with most of the Grand Jury’s ten recommendations – but rejected a recommendation for a forensic audit of all city departments.

Editors Note: Wed. Sep. 10 This article has been updated with corrected information regarding DAP Health. None of the Universal Basic Income funds flowed to DAP Health. All funds went directly to Queer Works.

PALM SPRINGS, Calif. (KESQ) The Palm Springs City Council will address a civil grand jury report Wednesday evening that found the city failed to properly safeguard taxpayer dollars in its handling of nonprofit grants tied to Queer Works.

The report follows the indictment of Queer Works founder Jacob Rostovsky, who faces 53 felony counts of fraud, grand theft, and misappropriation of public funds. Prosecutors allege he defrauded taxpayers at the city, county, and state level out of hundreds of thousands of dollars.

The grand jury’s findings concluded Palm Springs had “no comprehensive guidelines” for processing or monitoring large grants, allowing more than $700,000 in city funds to flow to Queer.

Jurors cited a lack of progress reports, lump-sum disbursements, and no fraud-prevention training for staff.

Community leaders say the damage has been devastating. Thomi Clinton, CEO of the Transgender Health and Wellness Center in Palm Springs, told News Channel 3 the scandal left the very people the program was meant to help –  in crisis.

“It was the transgender community that was severely exploited,” Clinton said. They’re the individuals in need the most and they just want to live and survive and be productive members of society. But society is pretty much against them.”

Clinton said some members of the community are now homeless and turning to survival sex work

“They lost their hom, they are facing homelessness,” she explained. “They’re having to do sex work to pay for hotels right now. Some of them are victims of sexual assault and domestic violence,” Clinton said.

In a statement obtained by News Channel 3 Monday, Palm Springs Mayor Ron De Harte said the city has enacted reforms to ensure accountability and prevent a repeat of the Queer Works scandal. City officials said they will formally approve their response to the grand jury report at Wednesday’s meeting.

The city’s statement reads in full:Mayor deHarte. Here is a statement from him below:

“The City of Palm Springs fully supports the Riverside County District Attorney’s investigation and indictment of Mr. Jacob Rostovsky for allegedly defrauding the taxpayers of our city, our county and state out of hundreds of thousands of dollars. The 53-felony count indictment includes fraud, grand theft, and misappropriation of public funds. While the City recognizes that all criminal defendants are presumed innocent until proven otherwise, we are deeply concerned by these charges, particularly the charged misuse of taxpayer dollars, and continue to cooperate fully with the investigation to ensure accountability.

While the indictment includes allegations involving various government entities, including Riverside County and the State of California, we recognize that six of the felony counts explicitly refer to the City of Palm Springs’ Universal Basic Income Pilot Program. The City is committed to ensuring full accountability for public funds and has already taken significant steps to prevent such incidents from occurring in the future.

The Grand Jury’s report underscores the very shortcomings our team identified and has already fixed. While different figures have been cited regarding the Queer Works matter, what matters is that the City identified weaknesses in its oversight and has since enacted sweeping reforms to ensure taxpayer dollars are never at risk again.

Let me be clear: taxpayers deserve rigorous safeguards—and they now have them. Since 2024, we have overhauled our policies to protect public dollars and ensure measurable performance. We have eliminated lump-sum disbursements for grants above $75,000; require detailed progress reports and invoice documentation before any payment; mandate annual independent audits for larger awards; tightened front-end vetting of all applicants; assigned dedicated staff oversight to each grant; and instituted formal fraud-prevention and financial-controls training for staff. These reforms are in effect today and working.”

The City Council is expected to vote on its formal response Wednesday evening. Stay News Channel Three for further developments in this story. 

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Gavin Nguyen

THERMAL, Calif. (KESQ) – Paving the way for cleaner air quality – that’s the goal of a more than $4.5 million project in the East Valley.

The South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD) announced it will team up with Riverside County’s Transportation Department to pave dirt roads at mobile home parks throughout the eastern Coachella Valley.

In a written response to News Channel 3, the air quality regulator answered some of our questions:

How effective will replacing dirt roads with paved roads be, and is there any research that drove this project?The ECV community prioritized this paving project and set aside $4.57 million in AB 617 CAP Incentive funds to reduce dust from unpaved roads. Paving is one of the most effective ways to lower dust emissions from unpaved roadways, improve local air quality, and enhance community well-being.

How were sites for paving chosen? Are the mobile home parks “problem areas” for air quality?Sites were prioritized based on community input, Riverside County Housing and Workforce Solutions feedback, readiness of the sites for paving, traffic levels, and proximity to sensitive receptors. These sites were identified as locations where paving would provide the greatest benefit in reducing dust exposure for residents.

How is it being funded?The project is funded through AB 617 Community Air Protection (CAP) Incentive funds designated to reduce air pollution in disproportionately impacted communities. The paving project will be implemented in partnership with the Riverside County Transportation Division, and development of a Memorandum of Understanding between South Coast AQMD and the Riverside County Transportation Division is currently in process.

14 mobile home parks in communities like Thermal, Mecca, Oasis, and North Shore will see newly paved roads after the project begins in 2026, including the following:

Sanchez Mobile Home Park, 64975 Harrison Street, Thermal

Mountain Vista Mobile Home Park, 59700 Pierce Street, Thermal

Zakey Mobile Home Park, 88755 58th Avenue, Thermal

Maria y Jose Mobile Home Park, 85701 Middleton Street, Oasis

Seferino Huerta Mobile Home Park, 67959 Lincoln Street, Mecca

Toledo Mobile Home Park, 89171 64th Avenue, Mecca

Campos Wong Mobile Home Park, 52742 Fillmore Street, Thermal

63rd Avenue off Pierce Street near the Whitewater River, Mecca

B Bros Ranch aka Barroso Mobile Home Park, 52255 Fillmore Street, Thermal

Familia Martinez Mobile Home Park, 69780 Grant Street, Mecca

Meza Mobile Home Park, 56850 Desert Cactus, Thermal

Rodriguez, Bolanos, Meza Ranch aka Rancho La Boquilla, 56845 Desert Cactus, Thermal

Velasco Mobile Home Park, 70980 Wheeler Street, Mecca

Rancho del Sol Mobile Home Park, 96751 Highway 111, Mecca (west of North Shore)

Property owners of the Rancho del Sol Mobile Home Park – brothers Mitch and Steve Matthews – showed News Channel 3 crews problem areas within the community.

“A lot of this becomes dirt. We have existing asphalt and some of it looks a little bit newer, but then a few feet, it cracks, it brittles and then it just goes back to the natural dirt,” said Mitch as he walked along the main road through the mobile home park, riddled with potholes.

Mitch estimated roughly half of the community’s 55 households – over 200 residents in total – have made complaints about air quality and the roads in community meetings.

The two brothers recently purchased the property and are actively working to improve safety and quality of life for their residents. In recent months, they have installed a new playground, lighting, and security systems. They say their inclusion in the county road project was a welcome one.

“When we found out we were one of the 14 parks selected in the county, we were ecstatic,” recounted Steve. “It’s a very expensive process. And on a personal note, just with the children and the families that we have in here, they deserve this.”

Adriana Morales lives within the community and has two kids of her own. “We need new streets. The kids, especially. I have a son and a daughter. They would like to, you know, ride on their bikes,” she said.

“There’s a lot of dust, like when the cars go by … the space where I live. There’s a lot of dust when they turn. So once this is done, it will be nice for everybody here,” she hoped.

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