Author: KESQ

Jesus Reyes

PALM SPRINGS, Calif. (KESQ) – The Palm Springs Police Department released surveillance video of thieves in action over the weekend at a home.

Thieves were seen on camera stealing a Dolphin Nautalis Pool Vacuum, which is valued at a little over $1,000, police said. One thief climbs over the fence to grab the equipment. A second person can be seen helping get the object over the fence.

Police said the theft happened in the early morning hours on Friday on the 2600 block of Lawrence Crossley Road.

Palm Springs Police is asking the community for help in identifying the thieves.

If you recognize the individuals in the video, contact Detective Doherty at 760 323-8142 or Alexander.Doherty@palmspringsca.gov.

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City News Service

NORTH SHORE, Calif. (KESQ) – A power outage left more than 1,100 Imperial Irrigation District customers without electricity today in the North Shore community.

The outage was reported about 8:53 a.m. in areas from 68th Avenue to Sea Breeze Drive in North Shore and Mecca, according to IID.   

By 11 a.m., power had been restored to 757 customers, while 353 others remained without service. Those customers were expected to be without electricity for at least a few more hours, IID spokesman Bob Schettler said.   

A number of stretch lines were down, and the sudden weather changes caused the outage, Schettler said.

The North Shore Yacht Club will be open until 8 p.m. to serve as a cooling center for those affected, Supervisor Manuel Perez said.

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Kendall Flynn

THOUSAND PALMS, Calif. (KESQ) – Charlie Cooper is a wheelchair tennis professional from La Quinta who was born with spina bifida, which affects his spine and motion. He has quickly become a known name in the junior wheelchair tennis world, and with his success he’s now hitting the major main-draw stage.

In 2024 Cooper won the US Open Junior Wheelchair Championships for boy’s singles and he swept the boy’s singles and doubles at the 2025 Australian Open. His standout junior play at Melbourne Park gave him the wild card chance to play men’s singles.

Even though he’s set to play on a bigger stage, Cooper said he’s trusting his game play.

“I’m keeping everything the same right now,” Cooper said. “Just more tactics for sure It’s all about the technique and how long I could last with the big dogs and never really really getting to see that to test out here.”

US Open men’s singles play begins 11 a.m. EST in Queens, NY. His former local trainer Phillip Blake will be traveling from his gym in Palm Desert to help train him before his matches.

“It’s going to be on tournament grounds so it’s mostly going to be making sure like elbows and shoulders, wrists are warm and ready,” Blake said. “Historically he’s has a little bit of an elbow issue that’s popped up during tournaments, and so I’m going to be bringing a bunch of rehab gear…so he can play at his peak the whole time.”

Cooper and Blake have been working together for over three years, and they both say this is a special experience for both of them as Blake hasn’t seen Cooper play at a tournament of this level.

“Sometimes I work a little too hard or I push my body too much, but you know he’ll tell me when I need to ease off, especially before a tournament,” Cooper said. “He’s older than me, but he’s he’s like my best friend.”

“Being able to travel to New York to help him compete agains the best in the world, for me, personally it’s an absolute honor,” Blake said. “I just don’t have enough good things to say.”

Cooper also started men’s doubles play on Tuesday in the quarterfinals with Conner Stroud. But the pair fell short 6-0, 6-1 against Alfie Hewett and Gordon Reid representing the United Kingdom.

Stay with News Channel 3 to hear from Cooper about his tournament preparations and from his local trainer on what it means to reach this level of play for a junior athlete. 

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Gavin Nguyen

DESERT HOT SPRINGS, Calif. (KESQ) – Thunderstorms and rain brought some flooding to portions of the desert Tuesday morning.

Some residents in Desert Hot Springs told our newsroom they encountered some flooding while dropping off their kids at school.

Some pools and backyards were also flooded.

Tyshon Jones, a lifelong Desert Hot Springs resident, said he encountered some flooded roads on his morning walks. He enjoyed the rainfall, but was irked by some of the storms’ other impacts: “A good surprise. I think I was more surprised at that the power was out. I couldn’t use my cell phone… that was a little bothersome.”

Two power lines went down in Desert Hot Springs, affecting several thousand residents. Utility crews were spotted working to fix the lines. Fire crews were even called to one downed line after a power pole caught fire.

News Channel 3 crews found several intersections flooded throughout Palm Springs and Desert Hot Springs early Tuesday.

And in Thousand Palms, strong winds from the storm knocked tree branches down. One resident, Ava Rachelle Wilkerson-Krehan, told News Channel 3 about her morning.f

“The winds were incredible today. I thought, ‘Are we having a hurricane?'” she recalled. “And then I’m like, I just need to go back to sleep. And then I heard the downpour. But then I looked outside.”

“I’m opening the curtains and I’m like, ‘Oh my G.’ There’s a tree out in the middle — our tree.”

Some students in Desert Hot Springs were also pulled out of school early by their parents thanks to the weather.

Khaylah Vasquez, a middle schooler who lives in the city, and her siblings were taken home by their mom. Vasquez said, “Yeah, it was really bad. And I feel like if there was flooding and power outages, it would make it worse for her driving, and lightning this morning makes her scared to drive.”

While this second round of rain has brought some relief from the desert heat, most valley residents aren’t yet ready to give up summer.

“More sunshine. I’m dressed for summer still!” Vasquez said with a smile.

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Jesus Reyes

COACHELLA, Calif. (KESQ) – Two people were hospitalized after a rollover crash in an off-road vehicle Monday afternoon in Coachella.

The crash was reported just after 4:45 p.m. near Avenue 58 and Tyler Street.

According to CAL FIRE, one patient sustained major injuries and was transported by air ambulance to a trauma center.

A second patient sustained minor injuries and was transported by ground ambulance.

There were no details available on what led to the crash.

Stay with News Channel 3 for any updates.

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Shay Lawson

PALM SPRINGS, Calif. (KESQ)  – Public officials across the Coachella Valley are continuing work to reduce homelessness and provide affordable housing options for those in need.

On Friday, Governor Gavin Newsom’s office announcing California’s State Action for Facilitation on Encampments (SAFE) Task Force.

Within the next 30 days, Newsom’s office said the goal is to “aggressively prioritize and deploy California’s comprehensive network of services to quickly remove encampments on state rights-of-way and help connect people with wrap-around supportive services and shelter.”

The Governor’s office provided numbers from some of California’s largest communities reporting reduced homelessness, with Riverside County CoC seeing -19% unsheltered homelessness.

Palm Springs Mayor Ron deHarte said the highly anticipated Aloe Palm Canyon, located at 1479 N. Palm Canyon Drive, will offer affordable housing options for adults 55 and older with incomes ranging from 0% to 80% Area Median Income (AMI).

“This is one more property that brings housing to 71 different families,” deHarte said. “It’s been a concentrated effort by the city of Palm Springs to create these opportunities to create affordable housing.”

The housing project is set to open in September.

“This project broke ground in October 2023,” deHarte said. “In less than 2 years, this projects doors are going to open in just a couple of weeks.”

The Cathedral City Police Department’s Homeless Liaison Program is also continuing to take steps toward homeless outreach.

The city said Officer Mark Novy and Officer Phillip Garcia have redefined what it means to serve and protect citing that the program successfully helped 14 individuals transition from homelessness to permanent housing, last month alone.

Stay with News Channel 3 for continuing coverage.

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City News Service

RIVERSIDE, Calif. (KESQ) – The average price of a gallon of self-serve regular gasoline in Riverside County was at its lowest amount for Labor Day since 2020 today, $4.476, despite rising 11 of the past 12 days.

Check Out Our Gas Gauge Section For Coachella Valley Gas Deals

The average price has increased 15.8 cents over the past 12 days, including a half-cent Monday, according to figures from the AAA and the Oil Price Information Service. The average price rose nine consecutive days, dropped one-tenth of a cent Saturday, then rose one-tenth of a cent Sunday.

The average price is 6.6 cents more than one week ago, 16.8 cents higher than one month ago and three-tenths of a cent above what it was one year ago. It has dropped $1.897 since rising to a record $6.373 on Oct. 5, 2022.   

The national average price rose two-tenths of a cent to $3.19, after three consecutive decreases totaling 2.2 cents, including four-tenths of a cent Sunday. A nine-day streak of increases totaling 8 cents ended Friday when the average price dropped nine-tenths of a cent.

The national average price is 2.9 cents more than one week ago and 3.9 cents higher than one month ago but 14.2 cents less than one year ago. It has dropped $1.826 since rising to a record $5.016 on June 14, 2022.

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Gavin Nguyen

THOUSAND PALMS, Calif. (KESQ) – Valley residents faced another busy travel day on Monday as the Labor Day weekend came to a close.

The American Automobile Association (AAA) predicted Palm Springs would be another very popular travel destination for folks bound from Los Angeles and San Diego ahead of the holiday. Valley residents felt the push, with big crowds in places like Downtown Palm Springs all weekend long.

The I-10 headed westbound began bunching up as early as 10:00 a.m. Monday morning. On its website, AAA stated 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. are typically the worst hours to drive for the holiday. Traffic began thinning out in Whitewater by 5:00 p.m., though some delays further west near Cabazon remained through that hour.

Some travelers, like Marilyn McAlister, were fortunate enough to take the road less traveled. McAlister and her husband, from El Centro, were visiting their daughter in Buena Park to celebrate her baby shower.

“We’ve been going against the traffic. We haven’t had any problems. No major accidents. So, yeah, our traveling has been relatively smooth,” recounted as the couple filled up at an Arco in Cathedral City.

Others who came into Palm Springs from Orange County, like Nathan Shackelford, said, “I got here on Friday evening. The traffic wasn’t really that bad. There [were] little pockets … I’m going to take I-10 back and try and beat some traffic.”

Stay with KESQ for the latest on traffic conditions as travelers make their last trips of the summer.

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City News Service

UPDATE 9/2/2025 – California Highway Patrol authorities are reporting that the two women on horseback involved in the crash were riding with a group of people along eastbound State Route 371 at Contreras Road.

They say one of the horses was spooked and went into the roadway. Monique Morton, who was killed in the crash, had followed the horse and rider into the road to assist with getting it back to the group.

At the same time, the driver of the car traveling westbound on 371 collided with the horses and riders. Officers say the driver did not see the horses or their riders in the roadway, and both riders were ejected onto the roadway. Officers add that both horses are deceased as a result of the crash, but no details were given on whether or not it was necessary to euthanized the horses.

The second rider received major injuries and was airlifted to Desert Regional Medical Center.

CHP says at this time, alcohol or drugs do not appear to have played a factor in the crash, which remains under investigation.

They ask anyone with information on the crash to contact the California Highway Patrol San Gorgonio Pass Area office at 951-846-5300.

ANZA, Calif. (KESQ) – A rider and two horses were killed when a vehicle plowed into them along Highway 371 in Anza, authorities said today.   

The fatalities occurred just after 9 p.m. Sunday on the westbound 371, near Bailiff Road, according to the California Highway Patrol and Riverside County Fire Department.

Authorities said a 70-year-old driver traveling at an unconfirmed speed ran into the equines and rider, identified as 48-year-old Monique Morton of Anza.   

She was pronounced dead at the scene by county fire paramedics 20 minutes later. It was unclear whether the horses died from the impact or were humanely euthanized due to their injuries.

A second rider, identified as a 34-year-old woman from Temecula, was airlifted to the hospital with major injuries.

No other details were immediately available, including the condition of the motorist and whether the CHP believes alcohol or drugs played a part in the crash.

The two-lane highway was partially shut down until the predawn hours Monday while a preliminary investigation was conducted.   

Anyone with information relevant to the investigation was asked to contact the Indio CHP office at 760-772-8938.

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