Author: KESQ

Shay Lawson

PALM SPRINGS, Calif. (KESQ) – Passengers going through airport security in the United States will no longer have to take their shoes off, after nearly two decades.

At the Palm Springs International Airport, Dante Biale a passenger, said he supports the move.

“If it’s not a security threat, then I like the idea,” Biale said. “It saves me time in the line.”

Kristi Noem, the Secretary of Homeland Security, announced Tuesday the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) will be eliminating the security requirement “effective immediately.”

Cody Hanawalt said he’s very excited about the switch.

“That’s going to be very convenient,” Hanawalt said.

Stay with News Channel 3 for more reaction at 10 and 11 p.m.

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City News Service

DESERT HOT SPRINGS, Calif. (KESQ) – An opening ceremony will be held tomorrow for the Desert Community Animal Center in Desert Hot Springs.   

“This center is more than a clinic — it’s a promise to our residents that every family deserves access to compassionate and affordable pet care,” DHS Mayor Scott Matas said. “We’re proud to see it rooted right here in our city.”

The ribbon-cutting ceremony will be held at 8:30 a.m. Wednesday at 13700 Palm Drive. An open house will be held from 9 a.m. until noon.   

Among those expected to attend are Matas; Dan Rossi, executive director of Animal Allies; a representative from the office of Rep. Ken Calvert, R-Norco; a representative of Supervisor V. Manuel Perez’s office; and a representative for Assemblyman Jeff Gonzalez, R-Indio.

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Peter Daut

DIAMOND BAR, Calif. – Right now Riverside County is under an Air Quality Alert which will remain in effect through Thursday this week.

This is due to harmful levels of ozone pollution, which officials say can cause serious health problems.

This is the first ozone pollution alert issued in Southern California this year.

Doctors say everyone can be affected, but sensitive groups, including older adults, pregnant women, and people with lung disease are at greater risk.

Experts say it’s best to stay inside as much as possible. Doctors say you should try to scale back activities that contribute to pollution, including gas-powered lawnmowers or relying on motorized vehicles.

South Coast Air Quality Management District Dr. Scott Epstein says that the highest ozone levels typically happen in the afternoon hours, with high ozone levels capable of causing shortness of breath and coughing.

News Channel 3’s Peter Daut spoke in-depth with Dr. Epstein to get more information about high ozone levels and what to do under an Ozone Advisory.

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Haley Meberg

PALM DESERT, Calif. (KESQ) – The Coachella Valley Pride Hockey Association announces their CV Pride Learn to Play Hockey program beginning Fall 2025. 

The Coachella Valley Pride Hockey Association, with the support of the One Valley Foundation and Berger Foundation Iceplex announce their new Learn to Play Hockey Program that offers LGBTQ adults and allies the opportunity to learn to play the sport of hockey and join a community league. 

For a $99 fee participants will be provided four one-hour professionally coached hockey lessons throughout the month of September with a full set of hockey equipment. 

Following these lessons participants will be given the option to join the Coachella Valley Adult Hockey League where they can play in local and international LGBTQ tournaments while also participating in CV Pride and Berger Foundation Iceplex Hockey Programs.

The Coachella Valley has a larger representation of LGBTQ people than other regions and this program seeks to connect the community to hockey and encourage participation in the sport. The Coachella Valley Pride Hockey Association aims to grow access to hockey for everyone in the Coachella Valley, by engaging LGBTQ Athletes and Advocates.

The interest list for the CV Learn to Play Hockey Program is open now through August 1 with a max class capacity of 25 people. 

To register visit https://www.cvpridehockey.org 

Stay with News Channel 3 for more updates.

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Jesus Reyes

PALM DESERT, Calif. –  The Palm Springs Power game has been canceled due to an ongoing power outage.

It’s the second game canceled since the outage started on Saturday. Officials said the outage is due to equipment failure at Sunrise Park.

Facilities slowly reopening at Sunrise Park after weekend power outage

The Power was set to play the So Cal Mavericks at Palm Springs Stadium Tuesday evening.

“The safety of our fans, players, and staff is our top priority, and efforts are underway to resolve the electrical issues. We appreciate the efforts from the city of Palm Springs to resolve the ongoing electrical issue.”

The Power does plan to play Wednesday’s game, as scheduled, with first pitch set for 7:00 PM.

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Peter Daut

COACHELLA VALLEY, Calif. (KESQ) – An Extreme Heat Warning has been issued for the Coachella Valley causing the Imperial Irrigation District (IID) to place a Conserve Alert on Wednesday and Thursday.

The National Weather Service Extreme Heat Warning began at 10:00 a.m. Wednesday morning and is expected to last through 8:00 p.m. Thursday evening. 

IID officials placed this voluntary Conserve Alert for times of the day when the energy grid may be stressed due to the extreme heat expected throughout the valley on Wednesday and Thursday. The IID Conserve Alert warning covers all service areas where IID supplies electricity in the Imperial and Coachella Valleys.

 “Although we are not currently experiencing a shortage of power generation resources, we are encouraging our customers to help reduce energy demand during this extreme weather,” said Matt Smelser, IID Energy Manager. “By conserving electricity, we can ease the burden on our infrastructure and help ensure continued reliable service while minimizing the risk of outages.” 

District officials encourage customers to take simple steps to conserve their energy voluntarily. This includes avoiding the use of any major appliances between the hours of 4 p.m. and 9 p.m., turning off unnecessary lights, setting thermostats to 78 degrees or higher, and blocking sunlight from overheating your home. 

IID reports that these simple changes can provide relief to the energy grid throughout these extreme weather conditions.

District Spokesman Robert Schettler says, “By issuing the conservative alerts for people voluntarily conserving, a lot of good things happen. There’s less stress on the system and you’re also lowering your power bill.”

News Channel 3’s Peter Daut spoke in-depth with Schettler about the current alert.

For more information on IID Conserve Alerts, visit www.iid.com/ConserveAlert or contact IID Customer Service Center at 1-800-303-7756 to register with their email list. 

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Haley Meberg

PALM SPRINGS, Calif. (KESQ) – The Coachella Valley Association of Governments (CVAG) has begun construction on the CV Link pathway in the Palm Springs area. 

The CV Link pathway is set to begin construction from the Palm Springs Visitor Center and run to the Whitewater River Stormwater Channel Levee.

Construction on this project is set to begin on July 7th and will continue through late September 2025. 

Teams are expected to be out working from 6:00am- 5:00pm. Residents should expect northbound lane closures on Highway 111 with traffic flaggers on site as well as sidewalk closures along Highway 111 from Tramview Road to the Whitewater River Stormwater Channel   throughout construction times. 

The CV Link pathway is a structure that was first instituted in the Coachella Valley in 2018 with a path that stretches 2.3 miles from Ramon Road in Cathedral City to Vista Chino in Palm Springs. 

Construction for this phase of the link was set into motion following a vote from officials that allocated $15 million to complete the final stages. 

The end goal for this project is to be a 40-mile pathway that stretches throughout the Coachella Valley and provides a safe area to walk, run, bike or use low-speed electric vehicles. 

CVAG reports this project will provide significant environmental and public health benefits as well as economic benefits that will affect generations of residents and visitors of the Coachella Valley.

It was said that every effort to minimize disturbance to the community will be made. CVAG emphasizes that due to the dynamic nature of construction all dates and times are subject to change in light of unforeseen operational factors and inclement weather. 

Officials advise that drivers use alternative routes and expect potential delays throughout the construction project and thank the community for their patience as they work to improve the Coachella Valley’s transportation network. 

For more information you can contact the project hotline at 1-833-4CV-LINK (428-5465) or visit coachellavalleylink.com 

Stay with News Channel 3 for more updates on this project.

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Tori King

Thousand Palms, Calif. (KESQ)– Local animal shelters are working to find the owners of hundreds of runaway or stay animals that were taken in over the Independence Day weekend. Every year, the Fourth of July sees the highest number of runaway pets out of all the holidays, and this year was no different, according to the Riverside County Department of Animal Services.

Officials with the Riverside County Department of Animal Services confirmed its four shelters took in more than 200 animals between July 4th, and July 6th alone. They believe many of them likely ran away or escaped during 4th of July fireworks celebrations, due to the loud noises.

“We see this every year, especially with us dealing with overcrowding prior to the Fourth of July,” said Damien Cruz, Animal Services Manager with the Coachella Valley Animal Campus. “This really put us in a crisis mode, and we can see that because we’re experiencing critical overcrowding at all of our shelter locations. We have now waived any reclaim fees, so we really want to stress that and make sure that the public is aware if your pet is missing and it’s here at the shelter, or if you are not sure if it’s here at the shelter, we encourage you to please come and look in person.”

The shelter system sent News Channel 3 a breakdown of the numbers this year:

On July 4th, the shelters took 75 animals in, 68 of them were dogs. During that day none of the animals were claimed.

On July 5th, 103 animals were taken in, 73 of them were dogs. On that Saturday, 13 pets were returned to owners.

On July 6th, 62 animals were brought in, 43 were dogs. So far, 12 owners have come to claim their pet.

Over the entire weekend, 240 animals came in, 184 were dogs, and so far 25 have been reunited with their owners.  According to those same numbers, 75% of animals that came in were dogs, and only 10% of animals have been returned to their owners so far.

According to a Facebook post by RCDAS, one dog named King was able to be reunited with it’s owner, thanks to micro-chipping technology.

Shelter operators are now urging pet owners who may be missing their animals to please call the shelters, or to come in and look. They also remind pet owners of the importance of micro-chipping your pet, and making sure they are wearing proper identification tags or a collar at all times. So far, every single animal that has been reunited with its owners had some sort of identification with owner information present.

“We do provide free engravable dog tags where we can have the owner’s phone number on there,” said Cruz. “We also have chip scanners pretty much everywhere, not only here in the shelter, but with our Field Services team. So with animals that they find out in the field, they definitely do their best to scan them for chips, get owner information and try and reunite, reunite them prior to impound because obviously that’s impounding is our last resort.”

RCDAS is also urgently asking the community to step up and adopt, with this influx of animals pushing the shelter’s capacity to critical overcrowding levels.

Anyone interested in adopting a pet can find information here.

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Kendall Flynn

PALM SPRINGS, Calif. (KESQ) – The Palm Springs Cultural Center is sporting a new banner outside saying “open during construction,” despite construction taking away 300 parking spots. Now the cultural center is left with less than 20 spots, and has felt it’s impacts on visitor numbers.

“It’s harder than we kind of anticipated,” Michael Green, the executive director said. “A lot of customers are older…we have some handicapped parking but if those get filled up, then people have to park across the street.”

Across the street is Palm Springs High School, which won’t be available for parking in the fall, and for older visitors it can be a long walk across Baristo Road.

“That’s a lot to ask somebody to do,” Green said. “We understand that, but that’s just the reality.”

The College of the Desert has been expanding it’s campuses, including adding new educational opportunities in Palm Springs. The new campus is opening up along East Baristo Road, which is next to the Palm Springs Cultural Center.

Green said they are looking forward to the campus addition as it will bring students with complimentary majors like film, digital arts and hospitality. But the construction is making it difficult to look forward to 2027 as they’re waiting for the parking lot to reopen.

COD reassured the cultural center its parking will be restored by Sept. 15th. It’s a deadline Green said is crucial as the parking at Palm Springs High School will no longer be available and they’re hosting their first major event days later.

“We open our first off season film festivals ‘Cinema Diverse,’ the Gay and Lesbian Film Festival on Sept. 18th,” Green said. “So, we want for sure to have our parking back by then.” 

Stay with News Channel 3 to hear from the Palm Springs Cultural Center on the construction impacts and what the public needs to know about attending events or movies.

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City News Service

TWENTYNINE PALMS, Calif. (KESQ) – The Twenty-Nine Palms Band of Mission Indians has received confirmation from the U.S. National Park Service that the tribe’s ancestral Chemehuevi cemetery in Twentynine Palms has been added to the National Register of Historic Places, officials said today.

The cemetery is historically associated with the Chemehuevi people, ancestors to the Twenty-Nine Palms Band of Mission Indians. Their reservation today spans San Bernardino and Riverside counties, separated by Joshua Tree National Park.

“Burial grounds are significant to Indigenous culture and our tribal identity; our ancestors are part of this land for all eternity,” Chairman Darrell Mike said in a statement. “The tribe has a rich history throughout the entire southeastern desert region dating back since time immemorial. The National Park Service designation links our tribal heritage to these expansive lands and the cemetery is just one location that will be preserved for generations.”

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