Month: December 2025

Kade Atwood

Cathedral City, Calif. — Cathedral City police say a man was arrested Tuesday night following a violent confrontation that began as a verbal argument and escalated into a hit-and-run and shooting attempt.

Cathedral City Police Dispatch received a call at approximately 1:09 p.m. on December 30, 2025, reporting a male in a vehicle shooting at a man riding a bicycle near the intersection of Porter Road and Rodeo Road.

When officers arrived, they learned the incident stemmed from a verbal dispute between two men. Police say the driver drove his vehicle into the bicyclist, striking him. Then allegedly turned his vehicle around, stopped near the victim, and pointed a firearm out of the window, firing one shot. The shot missed the victim.

Officials say the suspect fled the scene before officers arrived.

The Cathedral City Fire Department responded and treated the victim at the scene for complaints of pain. The victim was not transported to a hospital.

Later that evening, the Riverside County Gang Impact Team assisted Cathedral City police with the investigation and identified a possible location for the suspect in Rancho Mirage where he was located and arrested on felony charges.

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Gavin Nguyen

COACHELLA VALLEY, Calif. (KESQ) – Driving around the Coachella Valley, you may have noticed some extra greenery growing recently. Recent rain has spurred early growth of brush, weeds, and other plant life along center medians, local hillsides, and the open desert.

Landscapers have noticed the change, too, and say the growth is coming earlier than normal. According to those experts, this growth isn’t typically seen until February.

“It hasn’t got as cool as other years throughout this time. It kind of feels like it’s kind of spring,” said David Macias, one of the managers at Macias Nursery in Thousand Palms.

Among the growth: annual grasses, pesky weeds, but also, native plants indicative of a healthy ecosystem.

“You get like a growth of, like smoke trees. You get creosote bushes growing, you get verbena growing, you know, like the native stuff,” Macias listed.

It’s a treat to look at – and could be indicative of a bigger bloom in the springtime. But with more plant life comes more fuel for brush and wildland fires.

Captain Brian Steiger, of Riverside County Fire Department Station 35 in Thousand Palms, explained, “Ignition, obviously is easier with the finer grasses and the finer fuels. People that are mowing their lawns later in the afternoon, you get a rock strikes, get a spark, and you end up with, you know, a fire that starts.”

“I would say it would be more of a convenience for the person that’s having to pull the weeds. If you start now, it’s going to make it a little bit easier as you go into the spring because it is it is starting earlier,” he said, encouraging homeowners to start sooner rather than later before it all piles up.

Ahead of the dry season, firefighters with CAL FIRE/Riverside County Fire Department want to remind homeowners about resources available online about weed abatement, clearing brush, and how to prepare and evacuate from wildland fires. That information is available at readyforwildfire.org.

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Luis Avila

COACHELLA VALLEY, Calif. (KESQ) – As New Year’s Eve celebrations get underway, safety advocates are once again urging people to plan ahead before drinking and driving. While free rideshare programs are available to help keep impaired drivers off the road, organizers say participation remains lower than expected—despite New Year’s Eve being one of the most dangerous nights for traffic fatalities.

Rideshare driver Suzanne Golas says she’s preparing for what she expects will be a busy night, with many people heading out to celebrate the new year.

“We’re expecting that, that goes without saying. Just be mindful of your surroundings, be accountable for yourself, check the license plate of the car before you get in.”

Suzanne Golas, Rideshare Driver

Golas says she regularly helps people get home safely after they’ve had too much to drink and believes many in the Coachella Valley are aware of the dangers of drinking and driving.

However, attorney Walter Clark of the Walter Clark Legal Group says awareness isn’t always translating into action. His firm is offering a free rideshare program on New Year’s Eve to prevent impaired driving, but Clark says usage has typically been lower than anticipated.

“We’re just disappointed because the fact that we make it available and hope that by making it available we’re bringing attention to a problem which is really really serious.”

Walter Clark, Walter Clark Legal Group Attorney

Clark believes many people underestimate how impaired their judgment becomes after drinking, leading them to think it’s safe to drive.

Officials warn that drinking and driving can result in serious consequences, including crashes, injuries, arrests, fines, and license suspension. Despite these risks, Clark says the message still isn’t fully getting through.

“If we are taxing and benefiting from people serving alcohol at restaurants and bars and shocked when people go home – we’re encouraging the problem. We’re also looking the other way when we realize that the alcohol beverage industry spends 7 billion dollars a year encouraging people to drink, at every event.”

Walter Clark, Walter Clark Legal Group Attorney

As advocates continue calling for change, rideshare drivers say they’re ready to help keep roads safe.

Stay with News Channel 3 for more.

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Daniella Lake

PALM DESERT, Calif. (KESQ) – Local healthcare nonprofits, such as Elder Love USA in Palm Desert, are bracing for the expiration of Affordable Care Act subsides, which will affect how clients access their services.

“Because they can’t afford the premiums now, they are going to lose access to all the things we’re helping them with. So imagine your father, mother, grandfather, grandmother, no longer being able to bathe themselves, cook a meal, get to the doctor…” says Shannon Shea, director of Elder Love USA.

She says that without clients, their staff won’t have jobs.

Nonprofit leaders say that 2025 brought a lot of uncertainty for the sector. A report from the National Survey of Nonprofit Trends and Impacts found that one in three nonprofits reported experiencing government funding disruptions.

Stephanie Minor, director of development for the Regional Access Point Foundation, advises nonprofits to diversify their portfolios. “You need to have individual donors, you need to have corporate sponsorship, you need to have funding from foundations,” Minor says.

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