Author: KESQ

Tommy Gallegos

OJAI, Calif. — UPDATE 8/7/2026 The Ojai Raptor Center reports that Big Bear Lake bald eagle Jackie remains in intensive care, where she is receiving oxygen therapy, supportive treatment, and continuous monitoring. Her condition remains critical after recent blood work showed her packed cell volume (PCV) has declined again, falling below 10%.

“We are sorry to share that today’s update is not positive,” the Ojai Raptor Center said in the post.

The center says that advanced diagnostics performed this week, including a contrast CT scan and bone marrow biopsy, have provided important new insights into her condition. The center says additional specialized testing is still pending.

The Ojai Raptor Center’s veterinary team continues to collaborate closely with specialists across the country as they evaluate the latest findings and determine the most appropriate next steps in her care.

The center is consulting with specialists at the University of Georgia, UC Davis, and avian specialists in Northern California as they determine the next steps in Jackie’s care.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Ojai Raptor Center (@ojairaptorcenter)

UPDATE 8/5/2026

The Ojai Raptor Center has shared a medical update regarding Jackie, the Big Bear bald eagle, reporting that she underwent further advanced diagnostics, including a contrast CT scan and bone marrow biopsy.

The center says Jackie recovered well from anesthesia and is back in her recovery enclosure receiving supplemental oxygen.

The veterinary team says together with their scientific advisory council and consulting specialists, are now reviewing today’s findings alongside Jackie’s previous test results.

The center also says additional lab work is still pending. The group says it will share a more comprehensive updates once they have the opportunity to review their findings.

Original Report

OJAI, Calif. — The Ojai Raptor Center has shared a concerning medical update regarding Jackie, the Big Bear bald eagle, reporting that the bird’s condition has become more serious following the latest round of diagnostic testing.

According to the rehabilitation center, bloodwork performed Monday revealed that the eagle’s packed cell volume (PCV) has declined to 13%, indicating that her anemia has worsened since the previous public update. A low PCV means the bird has fewer circulating red blood cells than normal, reducing the body’s ability to deliver oxygen to vital organs and tissues.

In response to the results, the Ojai Raptor Center’s veterinary team has initiated additional advanced diagnostic testing while requesting expedited laboratory analysis to help determine the underlying cause of the anemia. Those findings will be used to guide the next phase of the eagle’s treatment.

Jackie has been receiving treatment after being found on the ground on Big Bear Lake following a confrontation with two other bald eagles.

The center revealed that the encounter with eagles likely left her grounded, but experts do not believe it is what caused her illness.

At this time, veterinarians say they do not yet have definitive answers regarding the cause of the worsening condition or the prognosis. The center emphasized that it will provide another update once meaningful new medical information becomes available.

Click here to follow the original article.

Peter Daut

The Palm Springs Unified School District (PSUSD) is preparing to welcome students back to campus as the new academic year begins Wednesday, with district leaders emphasizing a renewed focus on connection, belonging, and student achievement.

Superintendent Dr. Marcus Funchess says the district’s top priority this school year is ensuring every student feels supported, affirmed, and engaged in their education. District leaders are working to strengthen relationships with students, families, and staff while creating learning environments where everyone feels they belong.

A key initiative this year centers on improving student attendance. PSUSD plans to work more closely with families by reaching out when attendance concerns arise, helping identify barriers that may be preventing students from getting to school, and connecting families with available resources and support.

During an in-depth interview with KESQ’s Peter Daut, Dr. Funchess shared the challenge that remains at the forefront of his mind.

“There’s one challenge that’s always on my mind: How can we help our scholars excel academically? And how can we help them be excited about learning in our classrooms?” Funchess said.

In addition to its attendance efforts, the district has launched a new multi-year vision aimed at shaping the future of PSUSD. The long-term plan is designed to build on academic success while fostering stronger connections throughout the district community.

Click here to follow the original article.

Kiera McKinney

Update – 8/4/26

Police said Sunday after 5:00 p.m., the vehicle’s registered owner called dispatch, claiming that a 22-year-old male “cousin” had taken his 2024 Chevy pickup without permission.

Surveillance video of the crash

The vehicle, now in the owner’s possession, was processed by officers, and the owner was interviewed.

The case remains under investigation as officers continue to gather information related to the incident.

A GoFundMe has been set up to help support the restaurant’s road to reopening. Click here if you would like to make a donation.

Original Report 8/3/26

INDIO, Calif. (KESQ) – The search continues tonight for the car suspected of driving into Indio’s Burger Box restaurant early Sunday morning.

Video footage released by the restaurant shows a white truck driving into the iconic landmark before fleeing the scene.

Owner Anthony Ruiz says he received a call around 7:50 a.m. about the crash. When he arrived, a police officer told him the incident was a hit-and-run, and the driver and vehicle were no longer at the scene.

The restaurant was quickly boarded up as the business began assessing the damage.

The timing is especially difficult for Ruiz and his family. Burger Box was just 10 days away from celebrating its one-year anniversary since reopening.

The Indio Police Department is investigating. Anyone with information is asked to contact the department’s non-emergency line at 760-391-4051.

Owner Anthony Ruiz says he got a call around 7:50 Sunday morning telling him a vehicle crashed into the resturant.

“We got some footage from a nearby tire shop. They, you know, it’s pretty sad to see the footage. We’re hoping it was some crazy, accident or, you know, who knows what happened,” Ruiz says.

Ruiz also says he grateful no one was inside at the time, adding that the outcome could have been much worse.

“To the person responsible. I wish you healing. I wish you, nothing but love and peace. we definitely hope that this doesn’t happen again, so that justice is made and prevent this from happening in the future,” Ruiz says.

Click here to follow the original article.

Athena Jreij

INDIO, Calif. (KESQ) – A former colleague of Adva Lavie, a model and influencer arrested for grand theft in Riverside and LA counties, is speaking out about his interaction with the woman.

Michael Sartain, a podcast host based in Las Vegas, says he hosted Lavie, who went by the alias ‘Mia Ventura’ on his show Access Vegas Live. During the 2024 election episode, Sartain accuses Lavie of stealing the credit cards and cash of fellow panelists while on the show.

“She gets up and she walks out and goes into the greenroom. I’m looking at the producer and I’m like, what is she doing? It was very strange. She comes back and stays, then there’s a window sill behind her and there’s her purse. In that purse is all of the other panelists’ credit cards and cash that she had stolen from the green room. We know that because I talked to them all afterwards and they were all like, yeah, she stole our stuff,” Sartain said.

Sartain says while none of the women pressed charges, they did find several charges on cards after they believe they were stolen by Lavie.

“The next day, she goes to a salon and she uses a girl who’s on the show, her credit card to book the appointment,” Sartain said.

Lavie was arrested last week for two separate grand theft investigations in Indio that occurred on April 12, 2025, at the same Airbnb rental located in the 43000 block of Spiaggia Place in Indio during the Coachella Music and Arts Festival.

Indio PD say Lavie stole $25,000 in property from a victim she was sharing an Airbnb room with. In a second incident, they say she stole a Rolex, Louis Vuitton sunglasses and cardholder totaling around $10,000.

Police said both incidents involved separate victims who reported valuable personal property stolen after spending time with the suspect, whom they had met through social connections.

Lavie is now facing upwards of 7 felony charges across LA and Riverside County. She appeared in a Los Angeles courtroom last week, as her lawyers said they’re prepared to fight her case.

“Adva has gone through a lot in her life. She’s a work in progress. She is not perfect. She’s made mistakes, but she’s doing the best she can,” Defense attorney Jeremy Lessem said.

A data for Lavie’s arraignment has not been set yet by the Riverside County District Attorney.

Authorities said Lavie’s charges in LA County are separate from the Indio Police Department’s investigation and should not be conflated with the Riverside County case.

Stick with News Channel 3 for continuing coverage.

Click here to follow the original article.

Garrett Hottle

INDIO, Calif. (KESQ) The preliminary hearing for William “Billy” Frank Rodriguez, the founder and CEO of Silvercrest Advertising, lasted all day Monday at the Larson Justice Center in Indio, with the judge setting a status update for Aug. 24 and day two of preliminary hearing set for Aug. 31.

Rodriguez is charged with murder, hit-and-run causing death or permanent serious injury, and driving on a suspended or revoked license in the death of 60-year-old Christina Barrington. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges.

Prosecutors allege Barrington was riding a scooter with her pet on East Palm Canyon Drive in Cathedral City on Oct. 11, 2024, when she was struck by a Porsche driven by Rodriguez, who then fled the scene. According to a sworn declaration filed by Cathedral City police, Rodriguez had been drinking at Acrisure Arena and at two downtown Palm Springs bars in the hours before the crash.

Investigators say he was driving 65 mph in a 45 mph zone when he swerved into Barrington’s lane, and dragged her scooter roughly 1,400 feet before it dislodged. The declaration states he drove home, never reported the collision, and spent that weekend in Las Vegas.

The declaration also states Rodriguez has a 2013 DUI conviction out of Los Angeles County, and that his license was suspended and never reinstated. Prosecutors raised the prior conviction in court following his arrest.

Rodriguez was arrested Oct. 13, 2025, nearly a year after the crash, and booked at the John J. Benoit Detention Center in Indio. He was later released on $2 million bail.

After Monday’s hearing, the judge will now weigh whether prosecutors have presented enough evidence to send the case to trial. Prosecutors do not have to prove guilt at this stage. The judge only needs to find probable cause, a much lower standard than what is required to convict at trial.

The case has faced repeated delays. As News Channel 3 previously reported, defense attorneys spent months saying key discovery had not been turned over, including autopsy materials, records tied to evidence seized during a search warrant, medical records and witness statements. During a March hearing, it was also revealed investigators obtained a DNA profile from Rodriguez through a court-authorized search warrant.

Click here to follow the original article.

Garrett Hottle

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. (KESQ) The California Supreme Court will hear oral arguments Aug. 24 in the case over Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco’s seizure of ballots cast in the November 2025 special election, according to the court’s online docket.

The docket entry, dated July 31, orders the case to be argued Monday, Aug. 24, at 10 a.m. in San Francisco.

The docket also shows Justice Gordon Burns was assigned as a justice pro tempore in the case.

The case, Attorney General v. Bianco, stems from Bianco’s seizure of ballots from the November 2025 election, which he has said was part of an investigation into whether they were fraudulently counted. As News Channel 3 previously reported, the Supreme Court granted Attorney General Rob Bonta’s petition for review April 8 and issued an emergency order directing Bianco to pause the investigation and preserve all seized materials. Bonta and Bianco then jointly asked a Riverside Superior Court judge to freeze the parallel local case while the high court resolves the dispute.

The docket shows the court later ordered both sides to address the effect of Senate Bill 73 on the issues in the case, and attorneys for Bonta and Bianco each filed letter briefs on the bill in June.

News Channel 3 has reached out to the court’s public information office for details on the session, and will have more tonight on this story at 4, 5, 6, and 6:30pm.

Click here to follow the original article.

Gavin Nguyen

THOUSAND PALMS, Calif. (KESQ) – We remain under a First Alert Weather Alert for dangerous heat through our early evening shows on Sunday. As the heat wanes for the night, the alert is set to expire, but dangerous heat is still set to linger as we start the workweek.

The Coachella Valley is still under an Extreme Heat Warning through Monday at 8 p.m. The Extreme Heat Warning for our friends in our local mountain communities was also extended to Monday night.

High pressure continues to dominate the desert southwest today. We’re expecting this ridge to weaken as we look towards Monday and beyond; that should help temperatures “cool” somewhat into the week. As that happens, we’re set to pick up some additional onshore flow. That’ll help push lingering moisture out and lead to breezy to gusty winds 25-40 MPH in the deserts tonight and Monday evening.

Even after the peak of the heatwave this weekend, highs on Monday and beyond stay toasty. Expect another round of one-teens tomorrow.

Do your best to avoid spending your day outside. If you have to, take frequent shade breaks and be sure to hydrate. For more information on cooling centers, click here.

We don’t expect to drop below 110°F for the foreseeable future. We stay in the one-teens for practically all of our 7-day forecast. The average for this time of year stands at 109°F, so we’re in for another week of above-average – though certainly not unexpected – summer heat.

Click here to follow the original article.

Timothy Foster

Update – 8/4/26

Police said Sunday after 5:00 p.m., the vehicle’s registered owner called dispatch, claiming that a 22-year-old male “cousin” had taken his 2024 Chevy pickup without permission.

Surveillance video of the crash

The vehicle, now in the owner’s possession, was processed by officers, and the owner was interviewed.

The case remains under investigation as officers continue to gather information related to the incident.

A GoFundMe has been set up to help support the restaurant’s road to reopening. Click here if you would like to make a donation.

Original – Report 8/2/26

INDIO, Calif. (KESQ) – A longtime Indio restaurant is dealing with significant damage after a vehicle crashed into Burger Box early Sunday morning.

Owner Anthony Ruiz says he received a call around 7:50 a.m. about the crash. When he arrived, a police officer told him the incident was a hit-and-run, and the driver and vehicle were no longer at the scene.

The restaurant was quickly boarded up as the business began assessing the damage.

The timing is especially difficult for Ruiz and his family. Burger Box was just 10 days away from celebrating its one-year anniversary since reopening.

Ruiz says the crash was a major blow, especially because the business was looking forward to celebrating the milestone.

Burger Box has been part of the Indio community since 1954. Customer Cesar Rodriguez says the restaurant has been a longtime fixture in the Coachella Valley and that he has been coming there for about 40 years.

Rodriguez says seeing the damage is devastating, especially because of the restaurant’s history and importance to the community.

Ruiz says the business is working with nearby businesses to gather surveillance video and any other information that could help investigators determine what happened.

Despite the damage, Ruiz says he is focused on moving forward and hopes the restaurant can come back even stronger. He says the incident is an opportunity to make improvements and take the business to the next level.

Ruiz also says he is grateful that no one was hurt in the crash.

The Indio Police Department is investigating. Anyone with information is asked to contact the department’s non-emergency line at 760-391-4051.

Click here to follow the original article.

Matthew Pearce

DESERT HOT SPRINGS, Calif. (KESQ) – Firefighters were called out to structure and vegetation fires burning in Desert Hot Springs on Sunday morning.

Around 6:58 a.m., fire crews responded to the 18000 block of Bubbling Wells Road and the 67500 block of 18th Avenue.

Multiple resources responded to reports of about four acres of brush and palm trees on fire on both the east and west sides of Bubbling Wells Road.

Several outbuildings were also involved. All occupants had been accounted for and safely evacuated.

Southern California Edison was requested for downed power lines, which were de-energized. According to SCE’s website, the power outage impacted more than 1,400 customers and was expected to be restored by 9 a.m.

Officials tell News Channel 3 there was no damage to structures and no injuries from the fire. Crews were expected to remain on scene for about four hours, with Bubbling Wells Road to remain closed in the area until they finished.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation. Stay with News Channel 3 for updates.

Click here to follow the original article.

Matthew Pearce

THOUSAND PALMS, Calif. (KESQ) — A First Alert Weather Alert remains in effect Sunday as temperatures stay at dangerous levels.

Yesterday was officially the warmest day of the year so far, reaching 117 degrees. The first 120-degree day will have to wait, though, as today’s high is expected to be near yesterday’s peak.

The Extreme Heat Warning issued by the National Weather Service remains in effect until 8 p.m. Monday. An Air Quality Watch also remains in effect until 8 p.m. because of elevated ozone pollution. With these conditions, it’s recommended to stay indoors when possible, stay hydrated and check on neighbors. The heat can become dangerous quickly, especially if you’re unprepared.

EXTREME HEAT WARNING UNTIL 8p.m. MONDAY

AIR QUALITY WATCH UNTIL 8 p.m. SUNDAY

The high-pressure system driving these dangerous temperatures will begin to weaken today, allowing monsoonal moisture to potentially increase during the latter half of the week.

Temperatures are expected to remain above 110 degrees throughout the week, with a high near 112 on the first day of classes for the Palm Springs Unified School District Wednsday.

Click here to follow the original article.