Andrea Turisk
YUMA, Ariz. (KYMA) – Yuma Rotary Club is hosting the 67th Annual Walt Kammann Sausage Fry later this week.
The Sausage Fry is taking place Friday, December 5, at the Yuma Civic Center from 4:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.
Attendees can purchase tickets online for $18, and the money goes to fund local scholarships.
For more information, click here.
Celeste Springer
PUEBLO, Colo. (KRDO) — The City of Pueblo has announced that it has received more than $15.6 million from a federal grant to replace the city’s diesel buses with hybrid buses.
According to the city, the money came from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Buses & Bus Facilities Program. The grant program for low or no-emission buses is dispersing about $2 billion to programs nationwide, a city spokesperson said.
“We received 96% of our ask which is significant. We are incredibly grateful to the [Federal Transit Administration] FTA to receive this grant which will not only changes the face of our fleet but lowers emission in our city which benefits our residents in multiple ways,” said Director of Transit Ben Valdez in a release.
Pueblo Transit will also receive about $3.9 million in planning funds from the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT), a spokesperson said.
“This grant award is huge opportunity for Pueblo Transit to transform their fleet and makes me incredibly proud to see the City receive one of the largest grants in recent history,” said Mayor of Pueblo Heather Graham.
According to the City of Pueblo, they currently have 16 buses, and will keep only five, which have “useful life which do not need replacement.” They plan to buy 15 new hybrid buses.
KTVZ
BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) — Beginning on Friday, Bend Fire & Rescue’s Santa Express will visit neighborhoods around Bend to collect donations of food, clothing and toys to support The Salvation Army this holiday season.
This year’s Santa Express will visit three parts of town and roll through the neighborhoods:
Friday, Dec. 5: Southeast Bend – Foxborough, Larkspur and Sun Meadow neighborhoods
Saturday, Dec. 6: Northwest Bend – Three Pines, Westside Meadows and Shevlin Ridge neighborhoods
Monday, Dec. 8: Southwest Bend – Pine Ridge, River Canyon and Aspen Rim neighborhoods
Route details are available at bendoregon.gov/santa-express.
Santa and Bend Fire crews will begin at 6 p.m. each night, slowly walking the neighborhood routes and gathering donations. Community members are encouraged to meet Santa along the way with donations of non-perishable foods, new toys or gently used clothing. The Salvation Army has expressed an increased need for gifts for teenagers this year.
Those needing assistance with food or presents can call The Salvation Army at 541-389-8888.
Can’t catch Santa Express this year?
Bend Fire is also hosting a season-long food drive for NeighborImpact. Donations of non-perishable food – such as canned fruits, vegetables, soups and peanut butter – can be dropped off at any Bend Fire station through Friday, Dec. 12. Items will be distributed to local pantries, meal sites and shelters.
Fire station locations:
West – 1212 SW Simpson Ave., Bend
East – 62420 Hamby Road, Bend
North – 63377 Jamison St., Bend
South – 61080 Country Club Drive, Bend
Tumalo – 64725 Cook Ave., Tumalo
Pilot Butte – 425 NE 15th St., Bend
Jesus Reyes
PALM SPRINGS, Calif. (KESQ) – The Desert Healthcare District & Foundation board will conduct interviews next month to appoint a replacement for Director Arthur Shorr.
Shorr announced his resignation earlier this month, but it officially went into effect on Sunday. The Board has 60 days — until Jan. 29, 2026 — to appoint or call a special election to fill the vacant seat.
Directors voted at their monthly meeting on Nov. 25 in support of the appointee option. They will have a special public Board meeting at 4 p.m. Jan. 8 to conduct interviews and appoint a new Director. The meeting will take place at the Desert Healthcare District & Foundation offices at 1140 N. Indian Canyon Drive in Palm Springs.
The new Director must be a resident of the Healthcare District’s zone five, according to California Health & Safety Code Section 32100.
Click here to see zone five’s boundaries, or call the Riverside County Registrar of Voters at 951-486-7200 to determine if you reside within zone 5
Interested residents will have until 5 p.m. Jan. 5 to submit a cover letter and résumé to Desert Healthcare District & Foundation CEO Chris Christensen to be considered for the Board seat. Applications may be submitted by email to info@dhcd.org.
The new Board Director who is appointed in January will serve about 10 months.
On Nov. 3, 2026, the appointee or someone else who decides to run will be elected to serve the remaining two years of Shorr’s four-year term. When the full term is completed in November 2028, a regular election will be held to fill the Board seat for a standard four-year term.
Read the Notice of Vacancy for full details.
Shorr first joined the Board as an appointee in May 2019, replacing Director Jennifer Wortham who resigned. Coachella Valley voters then elected him to serve in 2020 and again in 2024.
Arthur Shorr
“Serving alongside a dedicated staff and elected representatives has been both an honor and privilege,” Shorr said in his resignation letter. “The level of commitment and dedication to the ideal of maximizing the quality of life has been the guiding light that has manifested itself in a wide variety of positive impacts supported by district funding.”
Officials said Shorr’s many contributions to the Board, including terms as Board treasurer, were buoyed by 40+ years of professional experience in the healthcare industry. He served in executive management positions in acute care teaching hospitals, founded and managed an international healthcare consulting firm, and served on hospital governing boards.
“Director Shorr will be missed,” CEO Chris Christensen said. “The District benefited tremendously from the business acumen, pragmatic outlook, and humor he brought to the Board and committees during six years of service. We wish him all the best in his next endeavor.”
John Palminteri
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (KEYT) – Whether it’s perception or reality, the number of traffic-related collisions and injuries on Santa Barbara streets could be going up.
One of the more common crashes this year has been a city street rollover – that involves a car hitting another vehicle, in the back left or right side and then ending up on it’s side or roof.
In the last few weeks, there have been rollovers on State St. at Pueblo, La Cumbre near Foothill, Mission St. at the underpass and De la Guerra Street near De la Vina.
A survey called “Safe Streets for All” lists several locations with traffic collision information on each page along with street data.
The “Safe Streets” survey aims to identify and address high-collision areas and inform the city’s safety action plan.
You are asked to fill out the: City-Identified Priority Street Input Survey by December 12, 2025.
You don’t need to respond to every area, but for the routes you travel you are asked in English and Spanish for participation.
The questions are : “Do you support the city designing a concept plan for this street?”
and “What personal challenges have you had when driving, biking or walking along this street?”
The city will get quite a bit of information from the public from the survey but the public will see at every intersection on every page they go through some data about the number of accidents at each location.
Here are the ten areas in the focused survey:
1. Bath Street | Alamar Avenue to Mission Street2. Canon Perdido Street | State Street to East Street3. Calle Real | Hitchcock Way to Pueblo Street4. Castillo Street | Mission to Micheltorena Streets5. Chapala Street |Alamar Avenue to Mission Street6. De La Vina Street | Mission to Micheltorena Streets7. Las Positas Road | State Street to Calle Real8. Nopal Street | Cota to Quinientos Streets9. Olive Street | Micheltorena to Carrillo Streets 10. State Street | Highway 154 to Mission Street
Even if your street isn’t listed, your input is still valuable.
Sam Korkis is the owner of the Illusion Smoke Shop on State Street near Mission St. “This corner I have seen like ten accidents, bicycle, car, one day motorcycle. I see them all.”
TRACK ONE
Katie-Grace Gibson is a downtown worker nearby, and says she sees it is not just a driver issue or a bicyclist issue. “I think it’s both. I think it is sharing the road. Understanding that everybody is trying to get where they are trying to be.”
Another worker, Ellie Moore says, “as a driver in Santa Barbara I think that the bikes aren’t really an issue watch them watch out for them.”
An ongoing concern is about the speed of e-bike riders and how drivers are having a harder time judging the speed.
Moore says, “they go so fast and a lot of kids don’t know how to navigate, signal if you are going to turn and keep your distance.”
Korkis says he agrees with efforts to make the roads safer and has helped a victim in the past.
“I helped one guy, like a year ago.The ambulance take him to the hospital,” he said.
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Seth Ratliff
IDAHO FALLS, Idaho (KIFI) — The crucial Idaho Falls Mayoral Run-Off election will coincide with District 91 students heading to class on Tuesday, December 2. District 91 will be holding school as usual on Tuesday.
The decision comes as Superintendent Karla LaOrange addresses several questions from concerned parents regarding student safety and potential disruption from increased voter traffic at polling locations in local schools.
In an email distributed to D91 families this morning, LaOrange acknowledged the heightened anxiety. “Anytime the district welcomes the public into D91 buildings, families want to be confident their children are safe,” the superintendent wrote.
Superintendent LaOrange says the November 2024 elections were the first time District 91 scheduled staff development days for “high-turnout elections,” allowing teachers to deepen their instructional skills without taking time away from the students.
That was also the case for the November 2 city elections. The mayoral run-off resulting from that election, of course, was not planned.
“Unfortunately, our calendar does not include enough instructional hours to make the May election or tomorrow’s special runoff election non-school days as well,” said Superintendent LaOrange.
Superintendent LaOrange went on to say D91 has continued to build staff development days into the school calendar to coincide with election days, and D91 is emphasizing its proactive safety measures to ensure a secure environment for students tomorrow.
“To my knowledge, Idaho Falls School District has never experienced an incident related to hosting elections at our schools,” states LaOrange. “We are mindful that elections bring additional traffic into our buildings and will continue our longstanding practice of working closely with the Idaho Falls Police Department, our school resource officers, and the Bonneville County Elections Office to maintain a safe environment and reduce disruptions.”
Matthew Sanders
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
A 15-year-old boy was charged as an adult Monday in a March shooting in Mexico, Missouri.
Evander L. Clark of Mexico was charged Monday with conspiracy to commit first-degree assault, unlawful use of a weapon, armed criminal action, third-degree assault and felony resisting arrest. Police say Clark was part of a plan to shoot up a residence on North Missouri Street in March.
A probable cause statement says another suspect, Casey Minter Jr., told officers that Clark had issues with people inside the home where the shooting occurred. The home was occupied by three people at the time of the shooting, and police found fired rounds inside, the statement says.
Police pulled Minter over the following month and found a Glock 9mm pistol that matched the casings and bullets found at the scene, according to the statement. A witness reportedly told police that Minter had bragged up shooting the house, even though he denied taking part in the shooting under interrogation.
Another witness said she was with Minter and Clark during the shooting, and that Clark fired the shots after Minter gave him the gun, according to the statement.
Minter was charged with conspiracy to commit a felony, unlawful use of a weapon, armed criminal action, endangering the welfare of a child and second-degree property damage, a misdemeanor.
Clark is being held without bond.
Jesus Reyes
TWENTYNINE PALMS, Calif. (KESQ) – The west entrance of Joshua Tree National Park, including the restrooms, will close to inbound and outbound traffic from 6 a.m., Dec. 3 through 6 p.m., Dec. 5, park officials announced.
Park Boulevard will also be closed to vehicle traffic for six miles from the west entrance to Quail Springs Picnic Area. The closure includes the Maze Loop and Bigfoot trailhead parking areas.
Visitors may not drive to or park at these trailheads during the closure. All other park roads are expected to remain open.
Exiting vehicles will be able to turn around at Quail Springs Picnic Area. Entering vehicles will be able to turn around at the current west entrance station, but it is not advised due to an expected backup of traffic.
Visitors may enter or exit the park using the north entrance station in Twentynine Palms or the Cottonwood entrance at the park’s south boundary.
The north entrance station is most accessible for visitors traveling on Highway 62. It is 25 miles east of the west entrance station and adds less than 20 minutes of driving time.
“I’m happy to share that the west entrance project is in its final phase,” said Joshua Tree National Park Superintendent Jane Rodgers. “We appreciate the patience of our neighbors and visitors during construction and look forward to welcoming visitors at the new entrance booths soon.”
Visitors can access construction updates at https://www.nps.gov/jotr/learn/management/2025-west-entrance-construction.htm
Park rangers encourage visitors to recreate responsibly in their vehicles by observing posted speed limits and driving only on designated roads. Visitors can prepare for their visit by:
Purchasing an entrance pass ahead of time at https://www.recreation.gov/sitepass/74286 and being prepared to show their pass at the entrance station
Downloading the NPS App for trip planning and park alerts at https://www.nps.gov/subjects/digital/nps-apps.htm
Checking the park website for current conditions, restrictions, closures, and more at http://www.nps.gov/jotr/planyourvisit/conditions.htm
Patricia Martellotti
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (KEYT) – Food assistance demand is surging in Santa Barbara as SNAP benefits resume and government services reopen.
The Organic Soup Kitchen faces a growing crisis with a waitlist climbing fast in Santa Barbara.
SNAP benefits are back, but low-income seniors and those with chronic illnesses still battle food insecurity.
Through its Medically Tailored Meals Program, the agency partners with CenCal Health to deliver weekly nutrient-rich SoupMeals.
The Nutrition and Food Security Program serves other low-income residents — but both now have waitlists.
Volunteers and staff are working tirelessly, preparing health-focused meals weekly.
Eligible clients can switch providers to secure continuous meals through the Organic Soup Kitchen’s CenCal partnership.
The Organic Soup Kitchen team hopes community support will help them feed every neighbor in need.
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Jarrod Zinn
GUADALUPE, Calif. (KEYT) – The long anticipated restoration project at Guadalupe’s Royal Theater broke ground Monday.
The theater has been unused for nearly four decades.
It’s been closed and unused since 1989 and in 2022, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places.
Originally built and opened in 1940 by Japanese American Arthur Fukuda, the Royal Theater gained initial popularity with locals and soldiers from Camp Cooke—which is now Vandenberg Space Force Base.
Fukuda was forced to sell the theater before he was sent to an internment camp during World War II.
“It really allows us to understand that the history of our buildings that are existing are really important,” says Andrew Goodwin, the project’s architect and designer. “They’re not only the most sustainable way to design, but they’re also the most equitable when it comes to culture and identifying the culture that exists today and hopefully will exist till tomorrow and the future.”
The City of Guadalupe has owned the property since 2000 and multiple previous attempts at reopening or revitalizing have not quite gotten this far.
“This is actually a unreinforced masonry building, so there’s a lot of engineering that has to go into it to reinforce it and make it exist again,” says Goodwin. “But the inside of the building is actually the original brick walls. The existing stage is going to be preserved in some ways. When you go inside and you see the lobby and you see the art deco or 1940s architecture and design, you’ll really appreciate that we kept it instead of getting rid of the history.”
A capital campaign effort funded by the federal Economic Development Administration, the California Art Commission and the City of Guadalupe broke ground Monday afternoon.
“This is a project that has been long in the making,” says Monique Limon, Senate President Pro Tempore. “So many attempts to try to find the funding, so many community members and efforts to really make it get some momentum.”
PreCon Industries of Santa Maria will give the theater a “royal” makeover, courtesy of Andrew Goodwin Designs of San Luis Obispo.
Construction will go into high gear next month and is expected to be completed in March.
The theater is expected to open its doors in 2027.
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