Author: KESQ

Cynthia White

RIVERSIDE, Calif. (KESQ) – Ever wondered where your tax dollars go or how the County of Riverside funds the services that keep the communities running?

County officials are offering a new guide, “Budget 101: The County Budget Explained,” to break down the county’s budget in a way that is relatable to everyday life.

Officials say whether it’s housing, healthcare, roads, or emergency support, these services are funded by tax dollars that make up the county’s annual budget. But understanding how that budget is created, where the revenue comes from, and where that money goes can be confusing.

“We created the Budget 101 guide to make our budget process easier to understand and more inclusive,” said Riverside County Executive Officer Jeff Van Wagenen. “When residents are informed, they’re empowered to participate—and that leads to better policy decisions and stronger communities.”

The Budget 101 guide is being released alongside a series of community budget workshops taking place throughout Riverside County. These workshops are an opportunity for residents to learn more about the county’s budget process, ask questions and share their priorities directly with county leaders. The guide will be used as a resource during these sessions.

The workshop for District 4 will be on Tuesday, April 29 from 5:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m., hosted by Supervisor V. Manuel Perez at the Classic Club, 75-200 Classic Club Boulevard in Palm Desert.

For more information, a copy of “Budget 101: The County Budget Explained,” or to find other upcoming community budget workshops, see www.RivCo.org/budget.

Shay Lawson

INDIO, Calif. (KESQ)  – Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival weekend one was filled with its signature energy, but it didn’t come without its share of frustrations and surprises.

On Thursday, festival campers faced “Carmageddon” arriving to miles of backed-up traffic with many waiting hours to access their camping sites.

Some campers told News Channel 3 they’d been stuck in the heat without access to water or bathrooms, making the festival’s opening day a struggle for many.

Despite the rough start, the festival kicked off with a bang.

Headliners Lady Gaga, Green Day and Post Malone, set the stage for an unforgettable weekend.

American politician Bernie Sanders made an unexpected appearance at the festival, drawing crowds and sparking political conversation amid the music.

The weekend also saw its share of security concerns.

A man was arrested after allegedly threatening to bomb the festival.

Authorities responded quickly, ensuring safety for all attendees.

Several festival-goers reported missing belongings from their hotel rooms at La Quinta Resort and Club while they were at the festival, raising concerns about hotel security.

Attendees leaving the festival grounds backed up traffic on Monday for hours, as tens of thousands made their way home.

Looking ahead, law enforcement is urging attendees to be prepared for the second weekend.

Joel Osmond from the Indio Police Department is advising attendees to remain patient, emphasizing that law enforcement is working closely with Goldenvoice, the festival’s organizer, to ensure everyone’s safety.

Stay with News Channel 3 for continuing updates as the second weekend of Coachella approaches.

Cynthia White

PALM DESERT, Calif. (KESQ) – The Ranch Recovery Centers hosted its 20th Annual Luncheon Monday at the Palm Desert Resorter Country Club, drawing a crowd of about 250 supporters for a day of fashion and fundraising.

News Channel 3’s Patrick Evans was the auctioneer for one very special item – an exclusive cocktail party at the Vault at Big Horn.

Themed “Runway to Recovery,” the event featured a fashion show highlighting designs by Grayseful and exclusive pieces by Maria Lopez. Some “opportunity drawing” items were also part of the fundraising efforts.

Sponsors included Sean and Leslie McGrath and the Beneto Foundation. All proceeds benefit The Ranch Recovery Centers’ residential alcohol and drug treatment programs, which have supported individuals and families for over five decades.

A former client, Trevor Nelson, shared his story about how The Ranch helped him reach sobriety 25 years ago.

For more information, visit www.ranchrecovery.org or call (760) 329-2924.

Garrett Hottle

PALM SPRINGS, Calif. (KESQ) — A man who allegedly told security guards he would be “responsible for a bombing” at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival was tracked down and arrested with the help of license plate recognition technology, police said.

Palm Springs Police Chief Andrew Mills describes the Flock ALPR camera system that was utilized to track and arrest a man who allegedly threatened to bomb the Coachella music festival. (KESQ)

Security guards at the Agua Caliente Casino in Cathedral City caught wind of Davis Darvish, 40, of Santa Monica saying he intended to bomb the nearby festival. Guards quickly alerted police.

Officers began searching for Darvish’s Tesla within minutes, using Flock ALPR – a system of surveillance cameras capable of reading and tracing license plates in real time. Investigators accessed DMV records to confirm the vehicle’s owner, then followed its movements through the Coachella Valley.

The car was found in Palm Springs, police said. Darvish intially drove away from police, and attempted to walk away from his vehicle, but was ultimately taken into custody without resistance. A search of the vehicle turned up no explosives, weapons, or materials related to bomb-making, according to police.

Though police said there was no immediate threat to festivalgoers or the public, law enforcement at Coachella was informed of the situation as a precaution during the investigation.

Darvish is facing charges of making a false bomb report, and remains in custody on $1 million bail, according to booking records. He’s slated to be arraigned on Wednesday.

Stay with News Channel 3 for any updates on this developing story.

Gavin Nguyen

PALM SPRINGS, Calif. (KESQ) – Tax Day is nearly upon Americans. 

In recent weeks, local tax preparers have expressed their concern surrounding fewer clients filing early and have predicted that more taxpayers could request extensions this year.

With higher prices and economic uncertainty in the minds of Americans, taxpayers are feeling the pinch.

Some recently retired taxpayers, like local resident Jennifer Nelson, say they wish they didn’t have to pay taxes with their limited income.

“They need to give [retirees] a break. You know, yes, people are retired. We can’t afford to pay taxes,” she says.

Meanwhile, other taxpayers, like Brian Sloan, a Palm Springs resident, say they’re hoping for change when it comes to the current state of the economy. Although these economic woes are putting a strain on his finances, Sloan says “We have to pay our taxes. So with everything is going on, we really don’t have no control over it. Congress got to try to fix that.”

Ahead of the deadline, you can view new changes for tax year 2024 on the IRS website, found here. Also, information about filing for an extension can be found here. It’s free to file for an extension, which will give you until October 15th to file without penalties – but it must be submitted by April 15th.

News Channel Three is speaking with Coachella Valley taxpayers and tax experts about their experience and concerns with filing taxes this year. Stay with us for the latest.

Kendall Flynn

PALM SPRINGS, Calif. (KESQ) – With Coachella Weekend One in the books, Palm Springs businesses could see an increase in foot traffic as festival goers leave the Valley on Monday, but many said the foot traffic never came.

“Oftentimes we do get some business,” Willie Rhine, owner of Eight4Nine Restaurant and Lounge said. “People don’t want to travel on the Monday, so we looked for that this weekend also, and unfortunately that isn’t really happening this year.”

April begins the decrease in Valley visitors and the end of the peak-season for tourists. As the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival is held in Indio, Palm Springs does not see as much traffic as it could during the event itself.

But local businesses said this is to be expected with Coachella each year.

“Overall, the Coachella weekends for us are quieter than what people kind of think is the going standard, that it’s really crazy downtown,” Jeff Witthuhn, owner of Peepa’s said. “This year we’ve had a pretty good weekend.”

A “good weekend” during Coachella means a lot for local businesses, especially as the crowds are hard to predict.

“Foot traffic was kind of heavy Thursday and then Friday morning,” Witthuhn said. “And then Saturday and Sunday seemed to be more just regular folks that were here visiting and not so much the Coachella group.”

This Coachella group is in downtown Palm Springs, they just aren’t visiting store like other tourists. News Channel 3 spoke with festival visitors downtown, and they said they were mainly looking for food and a peaceful time to walk around after the festival.

While solutions are scarce, Rhine said he only has one that could possibly help them from an extended lull. With Coachella in April, Rhine and Witthuhn prepare earlier for the summer with reduced labor expenses and product inventory.

But businesses expect the summer to be a low economic time, meaning bringing the festival to those months could help them.

“If I had one wish or my dream would be for them to move Coachella into a different month,” Rhine said. “April is still the height of the season for local restaurants. It would be wonderful if they thought about doing Coachella in June…bringing that influx of Coachella attendees that might actually help us in those months.”

Stay with News Channel 3 for more from downtown Palm Springs businesses and Coachella visitors.

Luis Avila

THOUSAND PALMS, Calif. (KESQ) – A 5.2 Magnitude earthquake struck the greater San Diego area at 10:08 a.m. Monday with shaking reported around much of Southern California and into Arizona.

There were no immediate reports of any damage or injury from the quake centered two miles south of Julian, according to the US Geological Survey.

The USGS “Did You Feel It” webpage showed people reporting shakin from Santa Maria and Bakersfield south to San Diego, and east to Las Vegas and Yuma, Arizona.

At least seven aftershocks were reported by the USGS in the 2.0 to 3.0 Magnitude range.

Shaking was felt across the Coachella Valley with people phoning in their experiences with what was often described as a rolling feeling.

Stay with KESQ for complete coverage and reactions on News Channel 3 at Noon and throughout the day.

Tori King

THERMAL, Calif. (KESQ)– NYLON House made its long-awaited return to the Coachella Valley for a star-studded night of music and culture.

The event, now in it’s seventh year has become one of the most coveted Coachella after parties of the season. This year, the massive event kicked off on April 11th, at Maraza, in Thermal. After arriving, thousands of guests were led along an illuminated pathway that turned into the ultimate beauty experience. This year’s theme: Deep Dive.

Ulta Beauty partnered up with NYLON House as 2025’s title sponsor and exclusive beauty retail partner to create the under-the-sea experience, complete with Ulta Beauty Collection samples and a hair and makeup bar run by professional stylists.

News Channel Three’s Tori King spoke with Lauren McCarthy, the Editor in Chief at Nylon Magazine, who says it takes months of planning, and hundreds of dedicated employees to pull off an event of this proportion.

“I love seeing all these activations come to life,” said McCarthy. “Our events team works on this event all year, truly. They will start working on next year’s tomorrow morning, if they haven’t already.”

When asked about what NYLON meant to her, McCarthy said NYLON is all about forward-thinking, and discovery.

“For me, its all about the intersection of culture and music and fashion,” said McCarthy. “NYLON is also about what’s up and coming. I think where NYLON stands apart is we’re really championing new talent, new designers, new musicians. So we were really always excited about discovery.”

Guests also got to let loose at the oceanic beauty experience with exclusive giveaways and a photoshoot opportunity with Plan B. Partygoers were even treated with free festival statement pieces from Marshalls’ Good Stuff Style House, and received makeup touch-ups at COVERGIRL’s desert-inspired pop-up. Sally Hansen was there to give everyone festival-ready manicures, and thousands of people stepped up to get free piercings by Banter throughout the night. Adidas was there to sample its newest Vibes fragrance collection and new mood-boosting uni-sex scents.

Austin Millz

Perris Howard

Dove Cameron

This year’s event featured a stacked DJ lineup, including sets by James Hype and Austin Millz. The night ended with a special performance by award-winning, multi-platinum singer/songwriter Dove Cameron, who performed her song “Too Much” ahead of her forthcoming album.

Dove Cameron

The evening also celebrated the release of NYLON’s latest broadsheet, featuring global icon Tyla as the cover star.

Several celebrity guests made appearances, including Brooklyn Beckham, Maria Georgas, Susie Evans, Cheyanne King, Shaun Ross, Tara Yummy, Lance Bass, Mark Tuan, Fannita Leggett, the Montana Boyz, Nicola Peltz Beckham, Olivia Holt, Tayme Thapthimthong, Karreuche Tran, Gavin Casalegno, Chris Colfer, Blake Gray, Dale Moss, Tinx, Ariana Madix, Ava Max and more.

Timothy Foster

INDIO, Calif. (KESQ) —As music lovers leave town following weekend one of the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival the Indio Police Department is already looking ahead toward weekend two preparations and a second group of fans to descend upon the desert.

Last Thursday, eager festival-goers packed into the city, with campers flooding roadways and waiting up to eight hours just to park their vehicles. It was a hectic kickoff, but authorities are working to improve the experience for those returning this weekend.

Joel Osmond from the Indio Police Department is advising attendees to remain patient, emphasizing that law enforcement is working closely with Goldenvoice, the festival’s organizer, to ensure everyone’s safety.

Social media posts from Weekend One showed a variety of safety protocols in action. These included car searches upon entry into the campgrounds, detection dogs checking for illegal substances and weapons, and multiple security checkpoints spread throughout the grounds.

Traffic congestion was another major issue, made worse by limited open lanes and road closures around residential neighborhoods.

Despite the long wait times, many Weekend One attendees expressed gratitude toward local law enforcement for keeping the event safe. As preparations continue, police are urging those heading to Weekend Two to arrive early, stay alert, and come prepared.

Their final reminder? Stay hydrated and report anything that seems suspicious.