Author: KESQ

Peter Daut

PALM SPRINGS, Calif. (KESQ) – Palm Springs International Airport set records in 2025, with nearly all months showing year-over-year growth.

The busiest month ever was March, recording nearly half a million passengers.

PSP officials say the increase in domestic travel has more than compensated for the small drop in Canadian flights.

And with just a few weeks left to go, 2025 is expected to be the airport’s busiest year.

PSP Spokesperson Jake Ingrassia says, “Palm Springs remains a very highly desirable destination, and the airlines are responding to that demand. PSP has no actual say, believe it or not, if flights come here; that is all up to the airlines. The only thing that we can do here is accommodate that growth and make sure that we’re able to provide a great guest experience for the over three million passengers that we’re seeing every year here at PSP.”

News Channel 3’s Peter Daut spoke with Ingrassia about the record-setting 2025, and what’s ahead for 2026 at Palm Springs International.

Right now, the airport has more than 30 active projects, including 80 new EV chargers in the parking lot. It’s also adding several new concessions.

For more information on Palm Springs International Airport’s plans for the future, visit flypsp.com/progress.

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Luis Avila

PALM SPRINGS, Calif. (KESQ) — The Transgender Health and Wellness Center has filed a complaint with California’s Civil Rights Department, alleging that Riverside County’s Housing and Workforce Solutions Department inserted discriminatory language into a contract that could affect transgender, gender-nonconforming, and intersex residents.

According to the organization, the county altered the terms of a contract that provides funding for emergency housing and support services. CEO and founder Thomi Clinton said the new language reflects policies tied to President Trump’s executive order that bars reimbursement to groups “promoting gender ideology.”

“Unfortunately, our name is gender ideology. So they are demanding I sign that contract, which then I risk not getting my 132-thousand dollars back, that I’m out, and they’re refusing to give me my reimbursements for the organization that we have paid out in good faith until we sign that new agreement.”

Thomi Clinton, Transgender Health & Wellness Center CEO & Founder

Clinton said she attempted to work with the county before filing the complaint, but claims she faced retaliation instead.

“They said there was no other contract and then we have this contract that we have in email correspondence where we have it and we sent it and they awarded it to us.”

Thomi Clinton, Transgender Health & Wellness Center CEO & Founder

The center noted that other cities have resisted similar federal directives and continued to support LGBTQ+ services.

Without the funding, Clinton warned that critical housing and safety programs for LGBTQ+ residents could be jeopardized—services that thousands in the county rely on.

“The county has not been that supportive of LGBQ people, in general… Instead they took the opportunity to carry out what they did and kiss the ring of the king and move forward with it.”

Response From Riverside County:

“The County of Riverside and the Continuum of Care have partnered with the Transgender Health & Wellness Center for several years. The most recent HUD-funded agreement ended after the County identified areas where contractual requirements were not fully met. The County has not been made aware of the concerns raised, however will fully cooperate with any review requested. The provisions in question were mandated by HUD and incorporated exactly as required into our grant agreements. As an administrative entity, the County must ensure compliance with all federal grant conditions while ensuring services remain accessible and responsive to community needs.”

With the complaint now filed, the state will begin an investigation into the matter.

Stay with News Channel 3 for more.

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City News Service

PALM SPRINGS, Calif. (KESQ) – Palm Springs City Councilmember Naomi Soto was officially sworn in as the city’s new mayor on Wednesday.  

Soto was sworn in during Wednesday’s City Council meeting.

Soto, a health-care executive, was elected in November 2024 to represent District 4. She will serve for one term in the rotating position, with Councilman David Ready serving as mayor pro tem, officials said.

Now former-mayor Ron deHarte delivered his final remarks as mayor and will continue to serve as council member for District 3.   

Councilmember David Ready was also be sworn in as Mayor Pro Tem. He is set to serve as the city’s mayor after Soto.

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Garrett Hottle

CABAZON, Calif. (KESQ) A memorial dedicated to Baby Emmanuel Haro has been removed from the Cabazon property that has been a focal point in the investigation into his disappearance.

News Channel 3 visited the home Tuesday and confirmed that candles, stuffed animals and other memorial items that had been outside the house in recent weeks are now gone.

Several TikTok livestreamers who gathered at the scene said people they identified as family members removed the memorial and talked about plans to rent out the property. News Channel 3 has not independently confirmed their relationship to the Haro family or any rental arrangements for the home.

The change at the Cabazon property comes as the criminal cases connected to Baby Emmanuel move forward in Riverside County.

According to the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office, Jake Mitchell Haro pleaded guilty on October 16, 2025, to second degree murder in the death of his 7-month-old son, along with charges of child endangerment and filing a false police report. He was sentenced on November 3 to 25 years to life in state prison, plus additional time for prior child abuse convictions.

The Riverside County Sheriff’s Office confirmed last month that on November 19 Haro was released from county custody and transferred to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to begin serving his sentence.

Emmanuel’s mother, Rebecca Haro of Cabazon, has pleaded not guilty to murder and related charges and remains in custody on $1 million bail.Court records show she is due back in court on January 21 for a felony settlement hearing in the case.

To date, prosecutors say they believe Emmanuel died as a result of ongoing abuse, but his remains have not been recovered.

Investigators have previously said they served multiple search warrants at the Cabazon home and carried out extensive searches in both Yucaipa and Cabazon, as well as in other areas of Riverside and San Bernardino counties.

News Channel 3 has reached out to the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office for any new information on the status of the case. The office has not responded.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

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City News Service

RIVERSIDE, Calif. (KESQ) – Prosecution testimony got underway today in the trial of two convicted felons and another man accused of gunning down a 24-year-old Riverside resident after carjacking him and his girlfriend.   

Trezell Lamone Heckard, 30, of Vallejo, Anthony Antoine Wright, 33, of Indio, and Qevon Xavier Harvey, 27, of Desert Hot Springs are accused in the 2022 slaying of Benjamin Chanes.

The trio are all charged with first-degree murder, two counts each of carjacking and kidnapping and one count of burglary, along with special circumstance allegations of killing in the course of a robbery, killing in the course of a kidnapping and killing in the course of a burglary.

Wright is additionally charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm and sentence-enhancing gun and great bodily injury allegations.   

The prosecution and defense presented opening statements Monday after Riverside County Superior Court Judge Charles Koosed seated a jury. The District Attorney’s Office summoned its first witnesses Tuesday morning at the Riverside Hall of Justice.

According to an arrest warrant declaration filed by the Riverside Police Department, on the afternoon of March 6, 2022, Chanes and his girlfriend, identified in documents only as “N.D.,” were returning to Riverside from Los Angeles in her vehicle, with the victim at the wheel, when they came to a stop in an unfamiliar area after exiting the freeway and were immediately approached by one of the defendants, allegedly wielding a handgun.   

The man approached the driver’s side and ordered Benjamin out at gunpoint, the affidavit stated. Chanes complied, at which point an additional three men “told N.D. to get out of the car, and they took her to another waiting vehicle and told her to keep her head down. She did what she was told.”  

The woman later told Robbery-Homicide Unit detectives that Chanes was seated in her car, while she was forced to drive with several of the defendants in their vehicle, a 2011 Chevrolet Impala. The trip lasted 15 minutes, after which both vehicles were parked outside the Boulder Creek Apartment Complex on Iowa Avenue, according to the declaration.  

Police alleged the defendants then hustled Chanes and N.D. into the victim’s apartment, pushing the woman into a closet, then demanding to know from Chanes “where the money was” kept. For about 10 minutes, the defendants ransacked the apartment, with N.D. in the closet, unable to see where her boyfriend was being held, the affidavit alleged.

Chanes abruptly bolted from the apartment when the men were distracted, but they immediately gave chase, according to police. While he was attempting to run away, Wright allegedly opened fire on the victim, inflicting multiple gunshots to his back, causing Chanes to collapse on the sidewalk, according to the affidavit.   

The young man died a short time later at Riverside Community Hospital.   

The defendants fled in the woman’s vehicle, leaving behind their own Chevy sedan, police alleged. N.D. emerged from the closet and called 911 moments after the gunfire. She was not injured.

Detectives gathered fingerprint and other evidence from the Chevy, leading them to one of the defendants’ social media accounts, during which revelations about the shooting ultimately came to light, according to the affidavit.

The men were arrested at different times over an 18-month span.   

Their co-defendant, Kahlin Cynque Erwin, 30, of Pittsburg, Calif., pleaded guilty last year to kidnapping and is due for sentencing in January. He’s free on a $55,000 bond and may testify for the prosecution.

Harvey and Wright are each being held without bail at the Robert Presley Jail, while Heckard is being held without bail at the Smith Correctional Facility.  

Details regarding his and Wright’s prior convictions were unavailable.

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Jesus Reyes

LA QUINTA, Calif. (KESQ) – The American Express golf tournament is less than a month away and officials shared the latest on the 2026 edition Tuesday during Media and Sponsor Appreciation Day.

Media Day for the 2026 @theamexgolf! We are 44 days away from tournament week here in @LaQuintaCA! pic.twitter.com/JvUxWu3ylG

— Blake Arthur (@BlakeArthur24) December 9, 2025

As part of the ceremonies, Pat McCabe, Tournament Director for The American Express®, announced that the 2026 edition has received commitments from six world-class players, which include major champions Wyndham Clark and Brian Harman, as well as Ben Griffin, who is currently ranked ninth in the Official World Golf Rankings after a stellar 2025 campaign.

“The 2026 American Express® is officially on the horizon and we could not be more excited to once again host some of the best players in the world,” said McCabe.

Check Out Our AMEX Section For More Coverage

Joining Clark, Harman, and Griffin in this year’s tournament is Rickie Fowler, who hails from Southern California, as well as Akshay Bhatia and defending champion Sepp Straka.

Notable commits, as of now, in the 156-player field for 2026 @theamexgolf. $8.8M purse this year.

– Harris English- Ben Griffin- Akshay Bhatia- Wyndham Clark- Brian Harman- Fan favorite and So Cal native Rickie Fowler@KESQ @PGATOUR

— Blake Arthur (@BlakeArthur24) December 9, 2025

“I could not be more excited to return to The American Express, a tournament that now means a great deal to me,” Straka said. “Everything about this event is special, from the world class hospitality to the remarkable golf courses. Winning this historic tournament was one of the highlights of my career and I am thrilled to return to the Coachella Valley to defend my title.”

Straka posted a trio of sub-65 rounds over the first three days and ultimately shot 25-under par to win the 2025 title by two over Justin Thomas. The Austrian went on to have a stellar season, which included a Signature Event victory at the Philadelphia Cricket Club in May. He then went on to help Europe win the Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black, where the European Team became the first road team to emerge victorious in the competition since 2012.

Bhatia, meanwhile, has two PGA TOUR victories to his name but has never made the 54-hole cut at The American Express®. He hopes to change that in 2026.

Fowler, who won THE PLAYERS Championship in 2015, quickly became one of the most popular players in the world after he joined the PGA TOUR in 2010. Since then, the former Oklahoma State Cowboy has amassed six TOUR victories and competed in five Ryder Cups and three Presidents Cups for Team USA.

Clark and Harman became household names in the sporting world thanks to their career-defining victories during the summer of 2023. At the Los Angeles Country Club, which hosted the U.S. Open for the first time, Clark held off numerous top players to win by a stroke. He also has two other PGA TOUR victories and hopes to regain his 2023 form at The American Express® this upcoming January. As for Harman, he hoisted the Claret Jug at Royal Liverpool a month after Clark’s victory, dominating the English links to win The Open Championship by six. Harman has won three other times on the PGA TOUR, most recently doing so in April 2025. 

Last but certainly not least, Griffin will arrive in the Coachella Valley as one of the game’s brightest stars following a 2025 season that saw him win three times. He also made his first U.S. Ryder Cup team. Griffin’s T-7 finish at the 2025 The American Express® served as a harbinger of things to come for the former North Carolina Tar Heel. 

More player commitments are expected to follow in the coming weeks. 

The 67th edition of The American Express® will take place January 19-25, 2026, at PGA WEST’s Pete Dye Stadium Course (host course) and Nicklaus Tournament Course, as well as La Quinta Country Club.

Once again, this tournament will have 156 amateurs competing alongside 156 professionals over the first three rounds, with each player having the opportunity to play one round on each course. Then, after 54-holes, the top 65-professionals and ties make the cut as the final round will commence on PGA WEST’s Pete Dye Stadium Course.  

In addition to seeing world class players compete, fans who buy tickets for Friday and Saturday’s rounds will be given the opportunity to attend the 2026 Concert Series. After the second round, country music sensation Old Dominion will take the stage on Friday, January 23rd and renowned pop rock band OneRepublic is set to perform on Saturday, January 24th following the third round.  

All ticket holders – regardless of which day they attend – will have access to the Michelob Ultra Beers Fore Birdies, which is located on the famous par-3 17th on the Pete Dye Stadium Course known as ‘Alcatraz.’

Other activations include local business concessions, The Turn located between the 1st tee and 9th green of the Stadium Course, Bushmills Irish Whiskey Lounge, Corona Premier Par-Tee Lounge, and the Patriots Outpost presented by SoFi. A premier merchandise tent, which includes unique collaborations such as the one between Malbon and American Express, is also a highlight for every fan who attends. 

Tickets are now on sale at the tournament’s official website, www.theamexgolf.com. American Express Card Members can get 20% off the ticket price for General Admission, Clubhouse, and Champion Club tickets when they pay with their American Express Card. Terms and exclusions apply. 

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City News Service

RIVERSIDE, Calif. (KESQ) – Riverside County supervisors today approved a funding agreement for a new power substation slated for construction in Thousand Palms, benefiting several communities served by the Imperial Irrigation District.

“When there are blackouts in the summer, there’s no air conditioning. It’s hot,” board Chairman Manuel Perez said ahead of the 5-0 vote in favor of the Cook Street Substation Project. “It makes things tough. Advancing a new substation in the Thousand Palms area is important.”

The board voted to support the project with a promised $5.6 million investment via the newly established Coachella Valley Power Fund. The county committed an initial $250,000 Tuesday, drawn from the Unincorporated Communities Initiative account, which was established five years ago specifically to provide money for projects intended to uplift underserved or economically challenged areas.

Further appropriations will be added to the power fund as the project matures. Its total cost was estimated to be $42.62 million.   

In addition to the county, the cities of Palm Desert and Rancho Mirage, as well as IID and the nonprofit Berger Foundation, are parties to the funding compact.  

The project will be situated in the immediate vicinity of Cook Street and Chase School Road, just north of Interstate 10 and less than a mile northwest of Acrisure Arena. The property is owned by the Berger Foundation, which will be involved in the planning stages of the substation, according to documents posted to the board’s agenda.

No groundbreaking date has been set yet, and a timeline for construction wasn’t published.

IID officials said the station will house one 28 mega volt-amperes transformer and one 50 mega volt-amperes transformer, with space for a third 28 MVA transformer in the future. Substations serve as power flow regulators, distributing electrical current to homes and businesses via the grid with safeguards. The stations don’t generate electricity independently.   

“Our team has been able to draft a regional solution to the infrastructure needs of the eastern Coachella Valley,” IID spokesman Antonio Ortega told the board. “It took a lot of work, effort and diligence to get us to this point. Here we are today. But this is just the start.”

The county Transportation & Land Management Agency and other entities are also working toward the future establishment of a substation on Avenue 58 in La Quinta. That remains in the conceptualization phase.   

The Cook Street Substation will fall under the purview of the Coachella Valley Power Agency, a joint powers authority set up in May to provide a forum for government and private interests to work in concert toward expanding and improving power grid infrastructure throughout the region.

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Daniella Lake

PALM SPRINGS, Calif. (KESQ) – As the holidays roll around and more people travel in and out of the Palm Springs International Airport, rideshare drivers are sharing some of their concerns.

Some drivers don’t have Lyft or Uber stickers displayed on their cars, which other drivers think can be potentially dangerous.

“How does that rider know that they’re being picked up by an actual Lyft and Uber driver?,” says Todd Wheelan, a rideshare driver.

News Channel 3 asked the airport what they do to ensure drivers identify their vehicles, they shared that their curbside operations staff issues warnings and citations to violators.

“We’re working hard to ensure that drivers are properly displaying their Uber or Lyft decals so passengers can easily and confidently identify their ride, and we are actively bringing vehicles into compliance,” Palm Springs International Airport said in a statement to News Channel 3.

Some drivers also say that passengers have trouble finding the rideshare pick up location. The Palm Springs International Airport has bright yellow signage to help passengers find they way.

“Our curbside staff and volunteer Navigators are available throughout the day to assist guests and provide directions,” they said in a statement to News Channel 3.

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Shay Lawson

PALM DESERT, Calif. (KESQ)  – Riverside County Sheriff’s Deputies say too many drivers are failing to follow the state’s “Move Over” law, putting first responders and tow truck operators at serious risk.

“We’ve been noticing a lot of vehicles just drive the speed limit right past you, within a foot of us, as we’re doing a traffic stop,”  Deputy Sheriff Paul Abrego with the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department said.

The Move Over law requires drivers to change lanes or slow down when approaching stopped emergency or utility vehicles with flashing emergency or hazard lights, to protect personnel.

“For example, if it’s a 40-mile-per-hour zone, the good practice would be to cut your speed down to 20 miles per hour as you’re passing. If you’re unable to change lanes,” Abrego said.

He said the law applies to law enforcement, fire crews, ambulances, tow truck drivers, and Caltrans workers.

“It’s not only on the highways,” Abrego said. “This is also required on city roads.”

Abrego said ignoring the law puts lives at risk.

“It could cause a fatal accident. It could cause serious injury,” he said. “All these roadside workers have loved ones at home… It’s courtesy as well as the law.”

Starting soon, Abrego said the Riverside County Sheriff’s Office (RSO) will launch enforcement operations.

“We are going to be heavily enforcing. Especially out here in the desert,” Abrego said. “Here at the Palm Desert station, we are going to be doing operations to try to protect these roadside workers and make it safe.”

Riverside County drivers who fail to move over or slow down face a $234 traffic fine.

“If something major happens, someone gets seriously injured, or a fatal accident happens, you can be charged criminally for the incident,” Abrego said.

Stay with News Channel 3 for the full report at 6 p.m.

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Tauli Anderson

COACHELLA VALLEY, Calif. (KESQ) – As the holiday rush ramps up, post offices across the Valley are already seeing a surge in customers hoping to get gifts in the mail before Christmas. USPS Postmaster Andrea White says foot traffic has jumped by at least 20 percent.

Postal officials are urging people to mail packages as early as possible to avoid delays. They’ve released this year’s shipping deadlines.

Recommending First-Class Mail and USPS Ground Advantage to get those packages into the mail system by December 17th. Priority Mail, by December 18. If you’re one of those really, really procrastinators, December 20 for Priority Mail Express.

USPS recommends using the self-service kiosks available in many lobbies. Customers can buy postage, print labels, and drop packages directly into the outgoing slot — often in a fraction of the time.

With deadlines quickly approaching and lines already forming, USPS officials say the best strategy is simple: ship early. Dropping gifts in the mail sooner rather than later is the most reliable way to make sure they arrive before Christmas.

 

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