Month: November 2025

Kendall Flynn

CATHEDRAL CITY, Calif. (KESQ) – The Cathedral City Police Department announced Monday they received a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety for $55,000 to continue enforcement and education programs to increase safety in the city. The department said in a release the grant is to specifically help “reduce the number of serious injuries and deaths on our roads.” 

The grant will provide additional programs including: 

DUI checkpoints and patrols focused on stopping suspected impaired drivers

High-visibility distracted driving enforcement operations targeting drivers in violation of California’s hands-free cell phone law

Enforcement operations focused on the most dangerous driver behaviors that put the safety of people biking or walking at risk

Enforcement operations focused on top violations that cause crashes: speeding, failure to yield, stop sign and/or red-light running, and improper turning or lane changes

Collaborative enforcement efforts with neighboring agencies

Officer training and/or recertification: Standard Field Sobriety Test (SFST), Advanced Roadside Impaired Driving Enforcement (ARIDE) and Drug Recognition Expert (DRE)

The grant program will last through September 2026.

Stay with News Channel 3 to hear from officials on why this grant is necessary in Cathedral City and what safety concerns they have prompting the application. 

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Gavin Nguyen

CATHEDRAL CITY, Calif. (KESQ) – With more rain on the way this week, officials are keeping a close eye on areas with mudslide risk, especially with the ground already wet from last weekend’s storm.

A mudslide along Varner Road at the northern end of Cathedral City stranded dozens of cars over the weekend. Cathedral City Public Works cleared the roadway on Sunday.

A College of the Desert associate professor in geology, Edith Rojas, said the risk comes with the environment we live in. As a floodplain, the Coachella Valley often sees flooding during torrential rainfall. Mix that with the loose, fine sediment and sand that valley residents see in the air each time there’s a wind storm, and you get increased risk of mudslides in spots like Varner Road.

Rojas said there are several cost-effective options for infrastructure projects that could be made to redirect the debris flow away from homes and roadways, potentially saving lives.

We asked Cathedral City – will improvements like those happen in the future?

According to John Corella, the Director of Public Works, the city and Riverside County Flood Control have worked in tandem over the past five years. He said they allocated funding for several crossings underneath the roadway for water and mud to drain in three spots along Varner.

Beyond that, Corella hinted at future improvement projects – namely, one that would expand Varner to a four- or six-lane road.

“We’re looking at is state and federal funding to assist us in funding this. Essentially, we’ve already done preliminary estimates, depending how long we take this corridor,” Corella said. “It’s a $20 to $30 million minimum project to improve this section of roadway. This roadway should have a minimum of three lanes in each direction or a six lane roadway.”

“What’s taking so long with all these improvements?” News Channel 3 reporter Gavin Nguyen asked Corella.

“Government moves slow the and it’s an expensive project,” he replied. “Roadways are not cheap. So the beauty of government work in slow is that we have time to analyze and once we do, the project is going to be done right.”

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Athena Jreij

PALM SPRINGS, Calif. (KESQ) – This week marks six months since a Twentynine Palms man bombed the American Reproductive Centers fertility clinic off North Indian Canyon in Palm Springs.

The clinic has since moved into a temporary location across the street at El Mirador Plaza and taken on an ambitious reconstruction, hoping to rebuild and resume their work in the original location one year from the date. 

Earlier this year, News Channel 3 followed up with clinic director Dr. Maher Abdallah on their goal to fully rebuild and move back into the clinic location one year to the day.

In a follow-up interview, Dr. Abdallah says they now expect to open Fall 2026, after just submitting construction permits to the city.

“We’re hoping that construction will start early next year, meaning January. The actual construction will take eight months. So the way things are looking, we’re looking at a probably September grand opening,” Dr. Abdallah says.

The new $20 million building will consist of one structure with two floors and increased security on premises.

“It’s 20,000 square foot, 10,000 on the first floor and 10,000 on the second floor, surgery center and then IVF lab and procedure room and our own clinic … We agreed on seven foot high walls all around the complex. Besides the the guard at the entrance, there will be more security inside the building. So, two armed guards on the premises.”

While in their temporary location, ARC has cut back on some work, but nevertheless Dr. Abdallah says they’ve produced a promising year.

“Embryos that survived the bombing are giving us a phenomenal pregnancy rate, the highest I’ve seen in 26 years. Just like we did today with the two transfers, both were frozen from before the bombing. Both look perfect, and my gut feeling says both will get pregnant,” he said.

Dr. Abdallah says they’re still completing about 15 embryo transfers a month on schedule. Since the bombing, they’ve increased their clinical pregnancy rate from 74% before the bombing, to 81% now.

The results are something Dr. Abdallah calls simply a miracle, and one that allows him to focus on the future rather than the past.

“It’s going to be a good year. We will probably have around 80 live births.”

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