COD expands tuition-free college to every Coachella Valley resident

KESQ on November 1, 2025

Jesus Reyes

PALM DESERT, Calif. (KESQ) – College of the Desert will provide free education to every Coachella Valley resident, regardless of age, income, or educational background, COD Superintendent/President Val Martinez Garcia announced.

During the State of the College address Thursday, Martinez Garcia announced a major expansion of the College’s tuition-free program, unveiling a phased roll-out of plEDGE for All to provide free college education to every Coachella Valley resident, regardless of age, income, or educational background.

“This next phase of plEDGE for All removes barriers and opens doors,” said Superintendent/President Martinez Garcia. “Education is a right that belongs to every member of our community. Whether you are beginning college, returning to finish your degree, or building new skills for your career, College of the Desert will support your success through access and opportunity.”

The program is set to launch in Fall 2026.

COD officials said the initiative builds on nearly a decade of impact from the original plEDGE, which has served more than 10,000 local students since 2017.

COD Board of Trustees Chair Dr. Joel L. Kinnamon, who introduced the original plEDGE while serving as College President, reflected on the milestone.

“When we began this program, the goal was to create a pathway to opportunity,” Dr. Kinnamon said. “The award-winning plEDGE program is nationally recognized as a best practice. This expansion continues that vision and aligns with the goal to ensure that every resident of the Coachella Valley can learn, grow, and thrive close to home.”

The expansion is expected to strengthen the region’s workforce pipeline in key industries, including healthcare, sustainability, hospitality, digital media, and advanced technology. It also aligns with the Board of Trustees visions and goals and supports COD’s Vision 2030 goal of increasing access and achievement across all communities

Click here for more on the plEDGE program.

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Arenas District hosts Halloween block party

KESQ on November 1, 2025

Kendall Flynn

PALM SPRINGS, Calif. (KESQ) – Downtown Palm Springs is gearing up for a night of Halloween parties, including in the Arenas District.

The Executive Producer of Halloween Palm Springs, Jeff Hocker, said this is the 10th year events like the Arenas block party have been hosted in the city. Hocker said it is a “labor of love” to make each element of the Halloween weekend unique compared to past years, but the inclusivity of the Arenas block party remains the same.

“It’s not just for the LGBT community. It’s really for everybody to come and enjoy,” Hocker said.

Arenas is hosting the free block party from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m. The party includes musical performances, costume contests and more. The theme for the Halloween night party is “Dance Party” with DJ’s set to host the night, including DEV, Meaty Beats by Juan. DJ MODGIRL and DJ Jeffree.

For locals, they said it’s a great night to show case their costumes, dance to the music and come together as a community. Many said the Coachella Valley and Palm Springs feel like a small community, and they want events like this to continue each year.

Stay with News Channel 3 to hear from attendees about the Halloween party.

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Suspect arrested in connection with theft of mobile detailing trailer in Rancho Mirage

KESQ on November 1, 2025

Cynthia White

PALM DESERT, Calif. (KESQ) – A 45-year-old Yucca Valley man is facing charges of vehicle theft, along with multiple firearm-related offenses after an investigation of the theft of a mobile detailing trailer in Rancho Mirage.

Deputies from the Riverside County Sheriff’s Office Palm Desert Station received a report on October 17th of the trailer, valued around $12,000, being stolen sometime on the previous day from the 39000 block of Vista del Sol in Rancho Mirage.

Investigators identified a suspect in the theft and say the suspect also allegedly sold the trailer to an unsuspecting buyer.

Investigators served a search warrant at the suspect’s residence in the 7000 block of Murray Lane in Yucca Valley on October 31, where they found an unregistered gun and ammunition. The suspect was arrested and booked on the charges of vehicle theft and firearm-related offenses.

Deputies were able to locate the stolen trailer and return it to the owner. They add that a separate investigation into the fraudulent sale of the trailer is ongoing, and additional charges will be filed at a later time.

The Palm Desert Sheriff’s Station is asking anyone with information related to this ongoing case to contact Deputy Marco Castaneda at (760) 836-1600.

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How Old-Timey Basements Evolved from Practical to Creepy

KIFI on November 1, 2025

Stephanie Lucas

IDAHO FALLS, Idaho (KIFI)—It was always a mystery to me how my World War II–era grandparents could walk into a dark basement and not bat an eye, whether it was the West Virginia farmhouse with a coal stove or a dirt-floor cellar somewhere in the South.  

After a couple of history degrees, I realized that until recently, it was function over form for the majority of American homes. So I started to wonder—did earlier generations even think basements were creepy? 

“I don’t think basements were ever designed to be creepy,” says Kristina Frandson, Curator at the Museum of Idaho.

She and her fellow Museum of Idaho anthropologist Camille Thomas met me at ‘Spook Central’, the 1915 home of historian Melissa Danielson-Zaladonis in the Idaho Falls Historic District, to figure out what makes a basement weird.  

“It is, like a cool and dark space that could have been used, depending on what era we’re talking about, for storing food because it’s cool and dry,” said Frandson. “Eventually, people put boilers down there—all sorts of different things.”

As those modern conveniences came along, so did the postwar onslaught of factory line, mass-produced “stuff.”

“Basements often, you know, people and our country especially—we collect things,” says Camille Thompson. “We store things in the basement, and so there’s also this element of—there’s old things.”

And in the case of Melissa’s 110 year old home, shoes. 

 “We found these in the dirt crawl space,” says Melissa. “We learned that it’s something of folklore or legend to bury shoes in your foundation of the house for good luck, so something is not always that scary, just folklore, how it evolves.”

Armed with that logic, our crew descended on the creepiest basement in town, being careful of steep stairs, wires, and an old iron boiler that greeted us almost head-on.

Kristina noted there are quite a few original boilers in downtown Idaho Falls buildings.

“Whatever heating unit they had is just left in the basement because it’s too hard to pull apart and take up,” she says.

If this heavy, rusted boiler were shiny, polished, and brand new, however, would it still be considered creepy?

If this were shiny and new—stainless steel, polished metal—would it be creepy?  

A resounding “no!” is the general consensus – “I think honestly, it would have been a flex,” said one member of our group.

Just a few feet to the left is the coal chute, made of a material that no creepy East Idaho basement could be without—lava rock.

“The lava rock is a good foundation, first of all, because it’s like it’s everywhere out here, obviously,” Kristina says. “And if you’re making a way for a house, you’re going to be moving that lava rock. And so it makes sense to use it in whatever capacity you can. Otherwise you have to cart it off somewhere. “

It’s about this point the outdated technology factor begins to track for this creepy basement.

For example, if you’ve never seen sheet rock, which wasn’t common until the 1950s, lava rock walls wouldn’t look creepy. However, to post-war eyes used to smooth drywall, that stone could feel almost otherworldly—like the knob-and-tube wiring we came across.

“When you go into an old basement,” says Camille.  “Maybe you’ll find black mold or shoddy wiring, old wiring that also adds to the scariness. Even though it’s a real-world problem, something is also scary. Yeah. Again, it’s just like all that unknown, you know?”

Delving even further into the unknown, we finally got a look at the crawlspace where Melissa’s husband found the shoes.

“I posted the shoes online,” Melissa says, “And everyone said, ‘You need to move… or put them back!’ ”  

Melissa isn’t putting them back—because she’s a historian, and historians know: when you misunderstand the past—whether it’s old shoes, lava rock, or a rusty boiler—it’s easy to think of them as creepy.

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Aging Best steps up its help during government shutdown

KMIZ on November 1, 2025

Alison Patton

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Military veteran Joseph Gray was approved to receive disability pension, but that — and his Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits — were put on pause once the federal government shut down.

Now, he’s struggling to eat a meal every day.

“Usually, I eat OK and have never needed any help before, but I’ve never been in this position either, where the government took away everything they promised me,” Gray said.

He got his first set of seven meals on Friday from Aging Best, a nonprofit that provides homebound seniors with free, frozen meals.

Gov. Mike Kehoe announced Wednesday that $10.6 million is being transferred from the Senior Services Growth and Development Fund to Missouri Area Agencies on Aging. Columbia’s Aging Best will receive a little more than $1.2 million.

“It’s all going towards programming and feeding people,” said Patty Wickham, a spokesperson from Aging Best.

Wickham said the funds Aging Best is receiving are an increase in funding from previous years, but the nonprofit would have gotten the funding later. Kehoe simply made that money available earlier.

Wickham said that since the government shutdown, more people who have lost their SNAP benefits have been calling and trying to receive free meals. However, only home-bound seniors are eligible for the program.

“We’ve had to turn some people away, and direct them more towards their local food pantries and food banks,” she said. “There’s definitely been a strain that you can feel through the panicked voices on the calls.”

If you or someone you know is facing food insecurity as a home-bound senior, you can visit the Aging Best website. You can also visit the Food Bank for Central and Northeast Missouri’s “food finder” website.

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Local soccer team raising funds to play in tournament in Madrid, Spain

KESQ on November 1, 2025

Jesus Reyes

COACHELLA VALLEY, Calif. (KESQ) – A local soccer team has its sights set on Spain.

“Natives FA”  is a team made up of high school seniors who live in different parts of the Coachella Valley.

The teams have been invited to play in a tournament in Madrid, Spain, called the Met Cup next summer.

The team has set up a GoFundMe me, hoping to raise the funds for this trip of a lifetime.

“We have players from all of the Coachella Valley, from Coachella to Palm Springs. We are looking to make this dream come true for the boys,” said coach Alexis Gutierrez.

The team is hoping to raise $60,000.

The tournament is set for June 15 through June 25.

Click here if you would like to help

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Yuma Rotary hosts 24th annual USA-Mexico friendship conference and global grants exchange

KYMA on November 1, 2025

Joaquin Hight

YUMA, Ariz. (KYMA, KECY) – The conference was held at the Four Points Sheraton and featured plenty of projects from all around the states and Mexico.

The projects were carefully observed to be selected for a grant to fund the project.

The conference is described as the perfect way for a club to get involved in the Rotary Foundation Global Grant and is open to all Rotary clubs and districts.

The conference continues Saturday for a Day of the Dead celebration, and Sunday, when selections for the grant will be revealed.

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Migrant advocates in Juárez open new medical clinic to assist migrants

KVIA on November 1, 2025

Heriberto Perez Lara

JUÁREZ, Chihuahua (KVIA) — ‘San Columbanos’ church and migrant advocacy group in Juárez recently opened a new medical clinic aimed at helping migrants settling south of the border.

Dr. Leticia Chavarría, the clinic’s coordinator, explains they handle cases ranging from someone hit by a car to someone who was assaulted after leaving their home country.

The clinic is located at the Juárez Cathedral, where a food pantry was also opened about three years ago by coordinator Cristina Coronado.

“Es para personas que tenían muchos problemas para atenderse, nosotros les damos a parte de la consulta, les damos medicamentos, pagamos estudios de laboratorio, entre otras cosas,” dijo la Dra. Chavarría.

“la cuestión de salud, pues no es nada más dar una consulta, no es nada más consultar a la persona y y decirle vaya este lado, no, nosotros los acompañamos porque ellos son personas que no tienen manera de moverse,” la dra chavarría agregó.

Both coordinators said they want to continue providing comprehensive support to migrants, including mental health assistance and aid.

Coordinator Coronado says that if anyone is interested in helping, collaborating, or donating to the food bank or the medical clinic for migrants in Juárez, they can go to the Juárez Cathedral between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. and ask for her.

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Oregon appeals court overturns Ian Cranston’s manslaughter conviction in Bend shooting death of Barry Washington Jr.

KTVZ on November 1, 2025

Barney Lerten

(Update: Adding video)

BEND, Ore. KTVZ) — The Oregon Court of Appeals has reversed and remanded the manslaughter conviction of Ian Cranston in the September 2021 shooting death of Barry Washington Jr. in downtown Bend, due to a special instruction related to self-defense that was not given to the jury.

Cranston was sentenced to 10 years in prison after the jury reached its verdict in the fall of 2022.

He is currently incarcerated at the Snake River Correctional Institution in Ontario, his defense attorney, Kevin Sali of Portland, told KTVZ News.

The key issue in the court’s 11-page ruling filed Wednesday on Cranston’s appeal was a special jury instruction that his defense attorneys had sought, but which was not given to the jury by Deschutes County Circuit Judge Beth Bagley.

“Defendant argues that the trial court erred when it refused to use his special jury instruction regarding the absence of a duty to retreat under Oregon self-defense law. We agree with defendant that, on this record, the trial court erred by not instructing the jury to that effect. Because the error was not harmless, we reverse and remand” the case to Deschutes County.

The court said the instruction “reads: ‘Oregon law does not impose a duty to retreat before a person can use deadly force in self-defense or in defense of another person.’ That is an accurate statement of the law. … There are no ‘additional requirement[s],’ such as a duty to retreat, before using deadly force in self-defense or defense of others; there are only the requirements imposed by the plain text of the self-defense statutes.”

“In the end, we look to the state’s arguments, evidence, and jury instructions as a whole—in the light most favorable to defendant—and conclude that the special instruction was required as a matter of law,” the court said.

Defense attorney Sali provided this statement to KTVZ News Friday, in reaction to the court ruling:

“We have always believed that a jury given correct instructions about the law of self-defense would find that Ian’s actions were fully lawful and justified. We are grateful to the Court of Appeals for recognizing that the jury in the first trial was not instructed properly, and we expect that in the second trial there will be no doubt about Ian’s innocence.”

District Attorney Steve Gunnels also spoke with us about where things stand and what happens from here.

“Currently, the Oregon Department of Justice is considering whether to petition the Oregon Supreme Court to review the Court of Appeals decision,” Gunnels said. “We should know that within the next month.”

 After a two-week trial and more than six hours of deliberation, a jury acquitted Cranston on a second-degree murder charge, but found him guilty of first- and second-degree manslaughter for firing the fatal shot — an act he testified was in self-defense, after being punched by Washington. He chose not to speak at his sentencing.

The Court of Appeals ruling came just days after a permanent memorial was unveiled in Washington’s honor on the downtown Bend street where the fatal shooting occurred.

Oregon Court of Appeals rulingDownload

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Supporters gear up for upcoming Ramsingh immigration hearing

KMIZ on November 1, 2025

Matthew Sanders

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Supporters of Columbia resident Owen Ramsingh, a citizen of the Netherlands who is being held in an El Paso, Texas, immigration detention center, rallied Friday night ahead of his detention hearing next week.

Ramsingh was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement at Chicago O’Hare Airport in September as he returned from a visit to his native country. He is a legal permanent resident of the United States, where he has lived since childhood, but the federal government has cited past drug possession charges for detaining him.

“A green card is a privilege, not a right, and under our nation’s laws, our government has the authority to revoke a green card if our laws are broken and abused,” the Department of Homeland Security said in a statement about the case.

People rallied for Ramsingh’s cause at the Columbia Elks lodge Friday night ahead of his Nov. 6 hearing. It’s one of nine fundraisers family and friends have held to help Ramsingh’s family and pay legal bills.

“I’m pretty sure the judge is going to grant him release, and it’s just, I hope ICE doesn’t hold him for a full 30 days,” said Robert Olsen, Ramsingh’s best friend and the man who went with him on his latest trip. “You know, we can get him back before Thanksgiving.” 

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