Author: KESQ

Timothy Foster

PALM DESERT, Calif. (KESQ) — As triple-digit temperatures return to the Coachella Valley, many families are looking for ways to stay cool while enjoying summer break. The Palm Desert Aquatic Center is proving to be a popular destination for both local residents and visitors.

Guests at the water park said the facility offers a fun way to escape the desert heat while spending time with family and friends. Many shared that swimming and enjoying the attractions make summer more enjoyable, especially during the hottest days of the year.

Visitors also highlighted the importance of practicing heat safety. They recommended staying hydrated, wearing lightweight clothing, taking breaks from the sun, and limiting time outdoors during peak heat.

For active children and athletes, drinking plenty of water and avoiding overexertion are especially important as temperatures continue to climb.

Families from across Southern California said the Palm Desert Aquatic Center’s pools, water slides, obstacle course, and shaded areas make it an appealing place to cool off during the summer months.

Health experts recommend drinking water regularly, seeking shade or air-conditioned spaces, and checking on vulnerable family members during periods of extreme heat.

As the Coachella Valley heads into another long, hot summer, the Palm Desert Aquatic Center is offering families a safe and refreshing way to beat the heat and enjoy the season.

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Timothy Foster

INDIO, Calif. (KESQ) — The City of Indio marked a milestone Friday night with its first-ever Pride celebration, bringing live music, community resources, and families together in the heart of downtown.

The free, all-ages event took over Center Stage from 6:00 p.m. to 9:30 p.m., featuring performances from Julian and the Band, Giselle Woo & The Night Owls, and Mariachi Arcoíris. Food vendors and community booths were also set up throughout the space, creating a festival-like atmosphere in downtown Indio.

Organizers said the goal of the event was to create a welcoming environment that celebrated and supported the LGBTQ+ community while encouraging broader community connection across the Coachella Valley.

The Center Coachella was on site, offering outreach and resources for attendees and helping connect community members with local support services.

Indio Mayor Elaine Holmes said the celebration reflected the city’s values of inclusion and diversity, saying Indio embraces everyone and embraces diversity and culture, and that the community is welcome in the city.

City leaders and organizers said they hope the inaugural event will grow in the coming years and become an annual tradition in downtown Indio.

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Timothy Foster

INDIO, Calif. (KESQ) — More than 100 students from across the Coachella Valley are one step closer to achieving their educational goals after receiving scholarships from the Dr. Carreón Foundation.

The nonprofit organization celebrated its annual scholarship awards ceremony Sunday at Shadow Hills High School, recognizing the Class of 2026 and students continuing their higher education. This year, the foundation awarded 120 scholarships totaling more than $360,000.

Foundation Executive Director Ricardo Loretta said the event brings together students, families, educators, donors, and community leaders to celebrate the recipients’ hard work and dedication while encouraging them as they continue their educational journeys.

The foundation also marked another milestone, celebrating its selection as the 2026 Outstanding Philanthropic Organization by the Association of Fundraising Professionals.

For scholarship recipient Emely Chavez, a fourth-semester nursing student, the financial assistance comes at a critical time.

Chavez said the scholarship will help cover the growing costs of college as she enters her final year of studies. As a first-generation college student, she said community support like this helps students pursue careers that may not have been possible otherwise.

She hopes to become an emergency room nurse and remain in the Coachella Valley, serving patients in her hometown.

Local leaders say the scholarships have a lasting impact beyond helping students pay for tuition.

Indio City Councilmember Glenn Miller, who has helped review scholarship applications for the foundation, said rising costs for tuition, housing, transportation, and other expenses make financial assistance more important than ever. He noted that many recipients go on to attend universities across the country before returning to the Coachella Valley to give back to their communities.

La Quinta City Councilmember Steve Sanchez said education should not be limited by financial barriers. He added that scholarships help students focus on their studies and invest in their futures, ultimately benefiting the entire region.

The Dr. Carreón Foundation was established in 1991 by the late Dr. Reynaldo J. Carreón to promote educational opportunities. In 2023, the scholarship program expanded to support students from all minority ethnic backgrounds.

With this year’s awards, the foundation has provided nearly $3 million in scholarships to almost 1,420 students since its founding. Recipients have gone on to attend schools both locally and nationwide, including College of the Desert, CSUSB Palm Desert, UCLA, USC, MIT, and Harvard University.

Foundation leaders say the continued growth of the scholarship program has been made possible through community partnerships, individual donors, local Rotary clubs, OneFuture Coachella Valley, Desert Healthcare District & Foundation, and other supporters.

Funds raised through the annual scholarship luncheon will help support next year’s scholarship recipients.

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Athena Jreij

PALM SPRINGS, Calif. (KESQ) – Three hikers were rescued Saturday evening near the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway, according to Cal Fire and Riverside County Sheriff’s.

Cal Fire conducted a remote area rescue on Willow Creek Trail in the Mount San Jacinto wilderness area, around 9 p.m. Saturday.

A Riverside Sheriff’s helicopter was contacted during the rescue and made multiple attempts to help, but was unable to due to high winds.

Officials say crews were able to access the hikers around 10:18 p.m., when all were hiked out on foot by the Riverside County Sheriff Mountain Rescue Team.

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Athena Jreij

CABAZON, Calif. (KESQ) – A mobile home fire on Esperanza Avenue and Elm Street was contained by crews around 2:40 p.m. Sunday.

CalFire reports the fire broke out at 12:27 p.m., burning about half an acre of vegetation in the area. The flames destroyed a residential mobile home and outbuilding, before being fully contained by air and ground resources.

No injuries were reported and crews will remain on scene to mop up the area.

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Gavin Nguyen

CALIPATRIA, Calif. (KESQ) – An earthquake was reported on the southeastern tip of the Salton Sea Sunday night.

According to the United States Geological Survey, the quake registered at a magnitude 3.2 at 8:26 p.m. on Sunday. The epicenter was about 10 kilometers northwest of Calipatria.

There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries from the shaking.

Stay with us for the latest. We’ll continue monitoring for any other earthquake activity in the area.

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Timothy Foster

PALM SPRINGS, Calif. (KESQ) — After entertaining audiences for more than two decades, Dancing with the Stars is giving fans a new way to celebrate the hit ABC competition series.

The first-ever Dancing with the Stars Con is coming to Palm Springs later this summer, bringing together professional dancers, celebrity contestants and fans for a three-day event filled with live entertainment and interactive experiences.

I spoke with pros Emma Slater and Alan Bersten, who say the convention is designed for everyone, from longtime viewers who have followed the show since its early seasons to newer fans discovering the ballroom competition.

“It’s going to be a weekend of fun,” Slater said. “Whether you’ve been watching since season one or you’re a brand-new fan, you get to celebrate the journey of Dancing with the Stars.”

The convention will feature a different lineup of activities each day. Friday will kick off with “Glitter Games,” an interactive game-show style event featuring pros, celebrities and fans. Saturday will showcase live dance performances, including special reunions between professional dancers and some of their former celebrity partners. Sunday’s events will put fans in the spotlight, giving selected attendees the opportunity to rehearse with the pros, get the full ballroom experience and perform in front of an audience.

Throughout the weekend, attendees can also take dance classes, attend panel discussions and participate in interactive activities. Organizers also plan to showcase iconic costumes and memorabilia from the series, along with recreated ballroom spaces inspired by the show.

Bersten said the convention offers something fans have never experienced before.

“We’ve toured around the country, but we’re usually only in one place for a day. This gives fans a chance to spend an entire weekend with us and really experience what Dancing with the Stars is all about,” he said.

The event will also reunite several professional dancers with former celebrity partners for special performances, with some of the show’s most memorable dances returning to the stage.

For Slater, one of the biggest highlights is giving fans the chance to be part of the action.

“It’s not just about watching. Fans can dance with us, play games with us and even become part of the show,” she said.

Slater and Bersten said Palm Springs was a natural fit to host the inaugural event, adding that the Coachella Valley’s energy and enthusiastic fan base make it the perfect setting.

As Dancing with the Stars prepares for its milestone 35th season, the convention aims to bring together longtime viewers and new fans alike for a one-of-a-kind celebration of the beloved series.

Dancing with the Stars Con is scheduled for July 31 – August 2nd, 2026, in Palm Springs. For tickets, event schedules and additional information, visit https://dwtscon.com.

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Isaiah Mora

COACHELLA, Calif. (KESQ) — The Riverside County Sheriff’s Department is searching for a suspect after a pursuit ended in a crash in Coachella Sunday night.

Around 9:30 p.m. Sunday, deputies attempted a traffic stop for a vehicle code violation near the area of Tripoli Way and Bagdad Avenue. Deputies say the driver failed to stop, and a pursuit was initiated.

The pursuit traveled through the area and ended near Calle Avila, where the vehicle crashed with an unoccupied parked vehicle. Deputies say the suspect got out of his vehicle and fled the scene.

With assistance from a California Highway Patrol helicopter, a search was conducted in the area. However officials were not able to locate the driver.

This is an ongoing investigation, and no further details are available at this time. Stay with News Channel 3 for any updates.

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City News Service

INDIO (CNS) – Passes for next year’s Stagecoach Country Music Festival at the Empire Polo Club in Indio will be available for purchase Thursday.Passes will be available beginning at 11 a.m. Thursday at stagecoachfestival.com/passes/.General admission will start at $549 for a single three-day pass.Several VIP packages, RV sites, camping sites and parking will also be available for purchase.The three-day festival will take place from April 23-25, 2027, at 81-800 51st Ave.Organizers have not officially announced the 2027 lineup.

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Garrett Hottle

A retired teacher says her cluster mailbox was pried open in broad daylight and a postal supervisor told her hers was one of hundreds of communities hit.

Lisa Lenes said she had never seen anything like it. Her family has lived in Saddlerock Estates, a gated Palm Springs community, for more than 40 years.

In all that time, she says, her mother never once encountered their mailbox being broken into.

Then came last Wednesday.

Lenes, a retired teacher, said she walked out to the bank of cluster mailboxes in the middle of her street around 3:30 in the afternoon and found the whole unit broken open.

A note was taped to the front telling residents to go collect their mail at the post office. Her box was empty.

“Everything was open,” she said. “Everything was open.”

She said she called police, then drove to the main post office in Palm Springs to find out what had happened and when it would be fixed.

Lenes said the supervisor told her her community was one of more than 200 hit by mailbox break-ins across the area, and with only one person cutting replacement keys, repairs could take anywhere from a couple of weeks to a year.

News Channel 3 has not independently confirmed those figures.

The timing of the break-in, she believes, wasn’t luck. The boxes were fine the day before.

On the day they were hit, landscapers were out mowing, she says enough noise to cover the sound of a lock being forced. Her community sits behind a gated arm that lifts for residents, but she figures someone could have slipped in during the day, worked fast and kept a getaway car waiting on a side street.

For the people who live around her, Lenes says, this lands harder than a missed delivery. She estimates more than 85 percent of her neighbors are seniors, many of them snowbirds who winter in the desert and spend the rest of the year in Canada, Oregon and elsewhere.

“A lot of them don’t drive. They take cabs to run errands, or walk in the heat,” she explained. “That’s their Social Security checks. That’s their bills.”

Many of her neighbors, she added, aren’t mobile enough to chase down missing mail.

“It’s horrific. It’s horrifying.”

She says she isn’t alone. While she was at the post office, a couple in line behind her told her their community had been hit the week before.

Lenes later said she had to track down her mail carrier’s truck near Saddle Rock and show her ID just to recover a few days worth of held mail.

News Channel 3 has reached out to the U.S. Postal Service and the Palm Springs Police Department for more information, including how many communities have been affected and whether the thefts are part of a broader pattern.

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