Author: KESQ

Peter Daut

COACHELLA VALLEY, Calif. (KESQ) – Sexual abuse is a difficult subject to talk about, but it’s important to address to prevent traumatic situations from progressing or even happening in the first place.

An upcoming annual conference in our valley, called “It Happens to Boys” will explore the trauma from sexual abuse. The conference takes place on Feb. 27, click here for tickets and more information.

News Channel 3’s Peter Daut spoke with the founder and licensed marriage and family therapist, Carol Teitelbaum.

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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., Jan. 12 through 7 a.m., Jan. 17, the National Park Service announced Thursday.

Park Boulevard will also be closed to vehicle traffic for six miles from the west entrance to Quail Springs Picnic Area. It also includes the Maze Loop and Bigfoot Trailhead parking areas.

Visitors will not be able to drive to or park at these trailheads during the closure. All other park roads are expected to remain open.

NPS officials said visitors can enter or exit the park using the north entrance station in Twentynine Palms or the Cottonwood entrance at the park’s south boundary. Exiting vehicles may turn around at Quail Springs Picnic Area.

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. 

“Our rangers are super excited to start 2026 with a new west entrance that will better serve visitors, our community, and employee safety,” said Joshua Tree National Park Superintendent Jane Rodgers. “I’m so grateful to the incredible team effort in planning and construction. After this closure, the west entrance construction project will be complete and we look forward to decades of improved service.”

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, ranger programs, and more at http://www.nps.gov/jotr/planyourvisit/conditions.htm

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City News Service

PALM SPRINGS, Calif. (KESQ) – A colorful collection of vintage and modern Pez dispensers was on display today at the Welwood Murray Memorial Library in Palm Springs, giving visitors a free look at the quirky candy’s history and pop culture appeal.

The display can be seen during library hours from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Sunday at 100 S. Palm Canyon Drive, with extended hours on Thursdays until 8 p.m.

It will be available for about six weeks and features a curated collection of Pez dispensers from a part-time Palm Springs resident. Don Yager has collected the dispensers for roughly a decade.

Pez started in Austria in 1927 as a peppermint breath mint for adults and was marketed as an anti-smoking tool using simple, lighter-shaped dispensers, library officials said.  

It was transformed in the United States in the 1950s into a popular children’s candy and collector’s item.

The Welwood Murray Library is a branch of the Palm Springs Public Library.   

More information can be found by calling the Palm Springs Library at 760-322-7323.

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City News Service

MURRIETA, Calif. (KESQ) – After deliberating barely one day, jurors tasked with assessing the mental competency of a man accused of ambushing and killing a 30-year-old Riverside County sheriff’s deputy returned with a verdict of competence, paving the way for a capital murder trial.

The Murrieta jury assigned to the case of Jesse Ceazar Navarro, 45, of Lake Elsinore decided on Wednesday that the defendant is not psychologically impaired.

Riverside County Superior Court Judge F. Paul Dickerson accepted the unanimous finding and set a status hearing for Navarro on Feb. 27 at the Southwest Justice Center in Murrieta. Trial proceedings may still bea year or more away.

The defendant is charged with first-degree murder of a peace officer, attempted murder of a peace officer, special circumstance allegations of killing a law enforcement official and lying in wait, as well as sentence-enhancing gun and great bodily injury allegations, for the January 2023 death of Deputy Darnell Calhoun.   

The District Attorney’s Office will seek the death penalty for Navarro.   

Testimony in his competency trial began in mid-December but was interrupted by a two-week hiatus surrounding Christmas and New Year’s Day. The prosecution and defense rested Monday and returned to the Murrieta courthouse Tuesday to complete closing statements, after which Dickerson sent jurors behind closed doors to weigh evidence from the trial, which they did for a short while Tuesday, then for part of the day Wednesday.   

Navarro is being held without bail at the Robert Presley Detention Center.   

“The defendant is trying to manipulate the justice system,” Deputy District Attorney Marcus Garrett said at the outset of trial.   

Navarro’s attorney, Lori Myers, argued her client had a mental deficiency validated medically, possibly stemming from “bullet fragments” still in his head.

Garrett said Navarro had schemed with loved ones to give the appearance of a mental deficiency. In a recorded jailhouse conversation with his wife, Yvette Navarro, the defendant told her, “Everything is going according to our plan,” the prosecutor told jurors.   

“Mr. Navarro is able to multi task and retain information,” Garrett said.   

Garrett quoted one of the forensic psychologists delegated to examine the defendant, Dr. Stacey Waring, who imparted, “In my professional opinion, he’s presently competent” to stand trial.

In another instance, Garrett referenced a brain scan conducted at UC Irvine Medical Center, after which Dr. Mark Tran issued a finding that there are “no significant areas of decreased activity in the cerebrum.”

Myers sought a mental competency trial based on submissions to the court, and it was granted.  

According to a sheriff’s arrest warrant affidavit filed with the criminal complaint, Calhoun went to a residence in the 18500 block of Hilldale Lane, near Grand Avenue, about 4:30 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 13, 2023, after 911 dispatchers received a call indicating a domestic altercation at the location.

Calhoun arrived alone and “contacted several individuals in the driveway of the residence,” according to the affidavit.   

“Navarro partially concealed himself behind an open door of his (pickup) truck, holding a handgun out of sight of Deputy Calhoun,” the document stated. “Within 17 seconds of Deputy Calhoun arriving on scene, Navarro began shooting at him.   

“Navarro fired multiple rounds at Deputy Calhoun, (who) fled on foot. Navarro then entered his truck, drove in the direction that Calhoun had fled and continued to fire at him from the truck.”

The affidavit revealed Calhoun returned fire, but “none of the rounds appeared to injure” Navarro.   

The lawman was hit several times and collapsed in the street. He was taken to Inland Valley Medical Center in Wildomar, where he was pronounced dead on arrival.

A backup deputy engaged Navarro in a gunfight a couple minutes after Calhoun’s “deputy under fire” call, wounding the defendant. The responding deputy wasn’t injured.  

Calhoun is survived by his wife, Vanessa, and young sons Russell, Troy and Malcolm.

The defendant has no documented prior felony convictions in Riverside County.

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Gavin Nguyen

PALM SPRINGS, Calif. (KESQ) – PS Air Bar, a popular aviation-themed lounge in Palm Springs, is closing after more than six years. The bar was located inside Bouschet, a specialty marketplace for fine wines, which is also closing.

In a statement posted to the PS Air Bar website, the owners explained their decision to close:

The past year has been one of multiple challenges and unforseen [sic] obstacles for both Bouschet and PSAir, which we have been unable to surmount. After exhausting all avenues for a sale, financial support or a lifeline to no avail, we have made the heartbreaking decision to close the business. 

The bar is already closed to the general public, but members of the bar’s Fine Wine Society will still be able to pick up their last products this Friday and Saturday (January 9th and 10th), according to the online statement.

News Channel 3 reached out to the owners of Bouschet/PS Air, who declined our requests for comment.

Other businesses in the area said the closure of the Palm Springs staple was a bad sign, especially amid a slower-than-usual winter.

The owner of an antique store next door pointed to fewer Canadians in the valley than usual.

Stay with KESQ as we hear more reaction from local business owners and their concern as sustaining business becomes tougher.

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Garrett Hottle

COACHELLA, Calif. (KESQ) The City of Coachella has canceled its regularly scheduled City Council meeting set for January 14, citing a lack of agenda items following the city’s holiday closure.

According to a statement from the city’s public information officer, there were no actionable staff items ready to present, prompting the decision to cancel the meeting. City officials emphasized the move was logistical, not political.

The cancellation also affects meetings for several related agencies, including the Coachella Sanitary District, Fire Protection District, Water Authority, and other city-affiliated boards.

The next regular Coachella City Council meeting is now scheduled for January 28.

The canceled meeting comes as the city continues to navigate leadership uncertainty following the arrest of Mayor Steven Hernandez. 

Hernandez has pleaded not guilty to charges that include alleged perjury and conflict-of-interest violations.

City officials have not indicated whether any special meetings will be called before the next regularly scheduled session.

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Kendall Flynn

PALM SPRINGS, Calif. (KESQ) – “It Would Be Night in Caracas” was filmed in Mexico, but is set in Venezuela during the 2027 protests. It is being screened during the Palm Springs International Film Festival where it is describes as a “gripping thriller [that] follows a woman trapped in a city consumed by chaos.”

Hebe Tabachnik, a senior programmer of the Palm Springs International Film Festival said she believes films like “It Would Be Night In Caracas” help people understand more of what is going on in the world. This comes after President Donald Trump announced the US will “run” Venezuela, after capturing President Nicolás Maduro and his wife in a large-scale military operation.

“I think it will enlighten people in terms of some of the context.” Tabachnik said. “It’s not dealing directly with, of course, what’s going on right now, but I think festivals and movies and stories in general, help people understand a little bit more what it’s going on in the world.”

Stay with News Channel 3 to hear from people attending the film and more from Tabachnik.

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Athena Jreij

PALM SPRINGS, Calif. (KESQ) – There have been questions raised about outdoor dining patio safety after a suspected drunk driver crashed into the front dining patio of Casa Blanca in Downtown Palm Springs.

On Saturday, January 3, Palm Springs Police responded to reports of a vehicle that drove into the front patio of Casa Blanca and fled the scene shortly after 1 a.m. The department says the crash caused extensive damage to the restaurant and vehicle.

Street cameras found the driver was also driving opposite traffic on South Palm Canyon.

While the parklet has now been rebuilt by restaurant owners, some patrons say the crash has given them doubts about outdoor dining.

“There’s so many distractions nowadays. They’re going to be drinking. Besides that, there’s distractions with cell phones, with texting. I understand during the Covid time it was kind of a necessity kept people in business, but I don’t know, I just I would just be nervous,” Billy Mottola, the owner of Broken Yolk Cafe says he has resisted installing parklets at his restaurants.

Urs Wyler, the owner of the Thirsty Palms restaurant next to Casa Blanca, says he’s spent more than $20,000 building the parklet and he hopes the crash won’t impact his own business.

“Such a crash is never ever good for business. People think it’s unsafe, but the driver hit the thing from the side, not the driving side,” Wyler said referencing the driver going the wrong way.

News Channel 3 looked into city parklet regulations that order all railing be at least 3 feet high, and built out of steel, iron, aluminum, treated wood or wall grass. The city also says businesses must have concrete barriers that go up to the sidewalks and wheel stops.

At the Palm Springs Police Department, Capt. Gustavo Araiza says accidents like this are rare, but could’ve been much deadlier had it been during the day.

“Normally when the restaurants are operational, and they’re having their patrons sit out on the parklet, there’s a lot of traffic downtown, so it doesn’t permit the speed at which this individual did this. If the business in this case decided they want to stay open late night, we might have been looking at a different scenario,” he said.

The city says they currently have 9 parklets registered that are authorized through December 2028.

News Channel 3 spoke with the owner of Casa Blanca on the phone, who said he estimates the rebuild will cost nearly $20,000, but they are hopeful a crash like that won’t happen again.

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Luis Avila

PALM SPRINGS, Calif. (KESQ) – New safety concerns after a recent stabbing along the CV Link.

Officials say they responded to the incident on December, 31, between Cathedral Canyon Drive and Golf Club Drive. The victim, an adult male, says the suspect put on a ski mask, approached him yelling profanities, attacked him, and stabbed him before fleeing on foot. The victim was taken to a local hospital where he is being treated for his injuries.

The suspect is described as a thin white male in his 40s, last seen wearing a dark blue long-sleeve shirt, and his motive is unknown.

As concerns grow among people using the trail, News Channel 3 is seeking answers about safety.

When asked about enforcement, Capt. Gustavo Araiza of the Palm Springs Police Department explains, “Right now, we believe based on this incident that it was just a single occurrence. Granted, we’re going to be mindful of what’s going on.”

Araiza says they work closely with the Coachella Valley Association of Governments (CVAG) to improve conditions on the CV Link. He adds local law enforcement is responsible for maintaining safety.

“We’re not setting up patrols right now unless we’re getting information from the community so that’s where the partnership comes in, right. We ask the community if something suspicious is going on, let us know… But if you’re talking about routine patrols, I don’t know if we’re there yet,” says Araiza.

Officials say people can take extra steps to stay safe, including bringing a phone, letting someone know where they are, and avoiding going alone.

Anyone with information is encouraged to contact Detective Gilberto Alcaraz at 760-323-8123 or via email at gilberto.alcaraz@palmspringsca.gov.

News Channel 3 reached out to CVAG but has not received a response.

Stay with News Channel 3 for more.

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Shay Lawson

CATHEDRAL CITY, Calif. (KESQ)  – After interviews and deliberation councilmembers selected Christina Gordon to fill the District 3 seat, left vacant after the death of long time councilmember Mark Carnevale.

For more than 20 years, Gordon has served as a nonprofit executive, and currently serves on the board of directors for the Boys and Girls Club of Cathedral City.

Gordon said she plans to step down from the nonprofit’s board to focus on her new role.

“As much as I love the Boys and Girls Club, it would be a disservice to continue to be on that board and not be able to serve it fully,” Gordon said.

The council interviewed 11 candidates after Joe Camareno withdrew at the start of the meeting.

The applicants stood before the council detailing their qualifications, availability and vision for the city in 3 minute speeches.

The final choice came down to 2 finalists — Christina Gordon and Colby Gregory — who answered a few final questions before the council cast their votes.

Mayor Raymond Gregory praised both finalists, saying the council made a thoughtful decision for the city.

“Christina Gordon, with her public service here and her involvement in the community and the great number of people that know her and could speak to that directly, really did put her over the top,” Gregory said.

Gordon said she’s honored to be selected and laid out her plans for the future.

“Hiring the new city manager is chief of importance,” Gordon said. “The other is really looking at good fiscal stewardship and making sure that the tax dollars that our citizens entrust us with are well spent and provide them with the services that they need and they want.”

Gordon will serve the remainder of councilmember Carnevale’s term which lasts until November 2026.

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