Category: kesq-local-news

María García

INDIO, Calif. (KESQ) – A Sig Alert has been issued following a crash caused by a wrong-way driver on Interstate 10 in Indio Tuesday morning.

According to the California Highway Patrol, a Nissan Sentra was traveling the wrong way in the eastbound lanes of I-10, just east of Dillon Road, when it collided head-on with a Toyota Camry.

Investigators say the driver of the Sentra was suspected of driving under the influence. He suffered critical injuries in the crash and later succumbed to those injuries. Authorities have not yet released his identity.

The driver of the Toyota Camry sustained minor injuries.

The freeway remains closed at Dillon Road as crews continue their investigation and clear the scene.

Stay with News Channel 3 for updates.

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Joel Killam

COACHELLA VALLEY, Calif. (KESQ) – A small fire was seen Monday night in an area of tamarisk trees near Agua Caliente, seen in video recorded by News Channel 3. The fire was recorded shortly after 7:30 p.m.

CAL FIRE officials have been contacted for information on the cause.

The incident comes one week after city leaders raised safety concerns following several small fires linked to homeless encampments in the same general area.

Last Wednesday, firefighters removed multiple encampments set up in tamarisk trees along the railroad tracks and Interstate 10. Crews later returned the next day when a fire in those trees appeared to rekindle.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.

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Peter Daut

PALM SPRINGS, Calif. (KESQ) – Palm Springs boasts one of the highest concentrations of LGBTQ residents per capita in the nation and as gay men over 50 look at the next chapter of their lives, a new Palm Springs-based company is launching a weekend retreat designed to help them find purpose and connection. It will be held March 27th through 29th.

News Channel 3’s Peter Daut spoke today with the co-founder of the What Matters Next Retreat, Christian Winslow. 

For more information, visit whatmattersnext.com

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City News Service

PALM DESERT, Calif. (KESQ) – The 19th annual Coachella Valley Wildflower Festival will be held next month at Civic Center Park in Palm Desert, celebrating the region’s desert environment.  

The free event is scheduled from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. March 7 at 43900 San Pablo Ave.  

Hosted by Friends of the Desert Mountains and sponsored by the city of Palm Desert, the festival will feature native plants, a youth art contest, arts and crafts activities and food vendors, organizers said.

The all-ages event promotes environmental education, land conservation and appreciation of the desert mountains, according to organizers.   

More information is available at desertmountains.org.

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Shay Lawson

PALM SPRINGS, Calif. (KESQ)  – Dozens of Palm Springs community members gathered to give their input on the drafted Tramview Heights Specific Plan.

It was the fourth community open house aimed at collecting input.

The plan — formerly known as the College Park Specific Plan — covers neighborhoods including Desert Highlands, Gateway Estates, Mountain Gate and Palm Springs Villas.

Palm Springs city leaders said it was originally crafted around 2011 when a College of the Desert campus was expected to be built in the area. After the college moved forward with construction at a different site, the city began reexamining what residents want for the neighborhood.

Christopher Hadwin, Palm Springs planning director, said the effort is focused on updating development standards to reflect current community needs.

“They want a grocery store,” Hadwin said. “They want things that will really serve the local community. Banks, grocery stores, dry cleaners, restaurants and things that they can have access to within their own neighborhood.”

Hadwin said after additional feedback is gathered, the proposal would eventually go before the Planning Commission and later the City Council, though no formal decisions have been made.

He emphasized that community engagement remains central to the process.

Stay with News Channel 3 for continuing coverage at 10 p.m. and 11 p.m.

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City News Service

INDIO, Calif. (KESQ) – Jury deliberations began today in the trial of a convicted felon accused of gunning down an Indio man during a street confrontation over an apparent long-standing grudge.

Hilario Larry Muela Jr., 39, of Indio is charged with first-degree murder, being a felon in possession of a loaded firearm, illegal possession of a gun and sentence-enhancing gun and great bodily injury allegations for the 2023 death of 36-year-old Marco Ramirez Jr.

Testimony concluded at the end of last week, and the prosecution and defense rested Monday, delivering closing statements, after which Riverside County Superior Court Judge James Hawkins sent the jury behind closed doors to weigh testimony from the weeklong trial at the Larson Justice Center in Indio.

Jurors deliberated briefly Monday, then adjourned. Hawkins directed them to resume deliberations Tuesday morning.   

“This is not a case of self-defense. This is a case of a man who was shot two times,” Deputy District Attorney Jenna Barsamian told jurors in her opening statement last week.

Barsamian recalled that the victim and defendant were familiar with one another and not on good terms.  

She said that shortly after 1 a.m. on Feb. 3, 2023, Muela was walking through the 45600 block of Smurr Street, near Requa Avenue, just north of Highway 111, when he passed Ramirez and a few other people outside the victim’s home.

Barsamian said Muela later admitted to Indio Police Department investigators that he was armed, but that the pistol “was just a backup type of thing.”

The prosecutor told jurors there had been bad blood between Muela and Ramirez, and she alleged that something triggered the defendant during their encounter that morning, leading him to see “an opportunity to gain revenge on prior grievances.”

Muela allegedly pulled his pistol and shot the victim twice in the back. Ramirez died at the scene.

The defendant fled the location, but was quickly identified as the alleged assailant and taken into custody without incident that afternoon.   

Defense attorney Joshua Visco told the jury that “Mr. Muela acted in self-defense, and he is not guilty of murder.”   

Visco also pointed to previous conflicts between the men, but he insisted his client was not the gadfly and, in fact, was fearful of Ramirez.   

The attorney maintained that Muela only pulled his gun and opened fire to prevent harm to himself, but he did not elaborate on the exact circumstances.

Court records show the defendant has prior convictions that resulted in prison time, though they weren’t specified.

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City News Service

RIVERSIDE, Calif. (KESQ) – Thousands of unionized nurses and health care professionals at Kaiser Permanente facilities in California and Hawaii will return to work Tuesday, ending a roughly four-week strike carried out amid prolonged contract talks, union officials said today.

Officials with the United Nurses Associations of California/Union of Health Care Professionals said in a statement there has been “significant movement at the bargaining table” over the past 48 hours, prompting them to call for an end to the strike as of 7 a.m. Tuesday.

The union also called off all picketing activity on Monday as the union and Kaiser “finalize return-to-work agreements.”   

The nurses’ strike began on Jan. 26. Union officials called it the “largest open-ended strike of registered nurses and health care professionals in United States history.”

There were no immediate details available about the how close the two sides were to reaching a contract agreement, or what issues may have been resolved.

Kaiser officials said in a statement that the union has accepted the healthcare system’s offer of 21.5% across-the-board wage increase, calling the development “good progress” that “moves us closer to a contract agreement.” Kaiser officials said the union had been asking for increases of up to 63% over four years.   

“We made it clear when we presented this (21.5%) offer on Oct. 2, 2025, that this was the maximum we could offer and keep care affordable for our members and patients,” according to Kaiser. “Importantly, the increase is higher than any other health care provider in the country and keeps our employees at above market pay and among the best paid caregivers in the country.”

The roughly 31,000 members of the UNAC/UHCP had vowed to stay on strike until a fair contract agreement was reached. UNAC/UHCP members include registered nurses, pharmacists, nurse anesthetists, nurse practitioners, midwives, physician assistants, rehab therapists, speech language pathologists, dietitians and other specialty health care professionals.

“We’re striking because Kaiser has committed serious unfair labor practices and because Kaiser refuses to bargain in good faith over staffing that protects patients, workload standards that stop moral injury and the respect and dignity that Kaiser caregivers have been denied for far too long,” registered nurse Charmaine Morales, president of UNAC/UHCP, said previously.   

Camille Applin-Jones, senior vice president at Kaiser Permanente Southern California, previously described Kaiser’s latest contract offer as “one of the strongest nursing contract offers in California this year” once step increases and local adjustments are factored in.

“Despite the union’s claims, this strike is about wages. This open-ended strike by UNAC/UHCP is unnecessary when such a generous offer is on the table. The strike is designed to disrupt the lives of our patients — the very people we are all here to serve,” Applin-Jones said.

The union filed an unfair labor practice charge against Kaiser with the National Labor Relations Board alleging the company walked away from the bargaining table in December and attempted to bypass the agreed-upon national bargaining process. The union has been bargaining with Kaiser since last May.

Kaiser officials said Monday: “Our bargaining with UNAC/UHCP and each of the Alliance of Health Care Unions continues at local tables. We are continuing to make progress and remain optimistic about reaching contract agreements soon.”

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Jesus Reyes

INDIO, Calif. (KESQ) – “Home Improvement” star Zachery Ty Bryan has been sentenced to 16 months in prison for driving under the influence two years ago in La Quinta.

Bryan was convicted Monday at the Larson Justice Center of Driving Under the Influence BAC .08 or Higher, court records show. Two other charges were dismissed, including a hit-and-run/property damage.

Bryan was arrested on Feb. 17, 2024 near the area of Washington Street and Calle Tampico. According to the Riverside County Sheriff’s Office, deputies conducted a traffic stop after identifying a vehicle suspected of being involved in a recent traffic collision. When deputies approached the driver in the area of Washington Street and Calle Tampico, they observed signs of impairment.

“This led to the driver’s arrest for driving under the influence with priors,” added Sergeant Wendy Brito-Gonzalez.

Additional records show deputies arrested Bryan at 2:36 a.m.

According to FOX Los Angeles, Bryan has been arrested six times between 2020-2025, including a DUI arrest in Oklahoma in Oct. 2024.

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Jesus Reyes

PALM SPRINGS, Calif. (KESQ) – The Palm Springs Planning Commission will review a permit for plans to begin rebuilding a fertility clinic damaged in a terrorist attack last year.

According to city documents, the American Fertility Clinic is planned to be rebuilt as a two-story, 19,347-square-foot medical office at 1199 N Indian Canyon Drive. The ground floor will be a surgery center, with the second floor housing an OB/GYN/Fertility Center.

The property will also include increased security, including a 7-foot combination masonry wall and fence, and a small guardhouse.

On Tuesday, the Planning Commission will review the Development Permit application by TJ Holdings LLC, owned by Dr. Maher Abdallah, the clinic’s director. If approved, the Architectural Review Committee would next need to review the Major Architectural Application.

In November, Abdallah told News Channel 3’s Athena Jreij that the plan was for the new clinic to open in Fall 2026, although at the time, plans were for construction to begin in January. Abdallah said construction would take about 8 months.

The American Fertility Clinic was targeted in a domestic terrorist attack on May 17, 2025. Twentynine Palms resident Guy Edward Bartkus, 25, detonated a vehicle bomb in the parking lot, killing himself, injuring four others, and damaging the clinic and several surrounding buildings.

Authorities said Bartkus targeted the clinic for his “anti pro-life” ideals.

Many of the embryos were unharmed, thanks to the efforts of first responders and clinic staff who were able to restore the power and save the embryos. 

The clinic returned to operation in May, moving to a temporary location at the El Mirador Medical Plaza.

Stay with News Channel 3 for continuing updates on the rebuilding efforts.

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City News Service

BANNING, Calif. (KESQ) – A jury is slated to be seated before week’s end for the trial of an ex-substitute teacher in the Coachella Valley accused of perpetrating lewd acts during online contact with a female student, as well as sexually assaulting another woman.

Edward Noel Alvarado Valadez, 31, of Coachella was arrested in 2019 following a Riverside County Sheriff’s Department investigation.   

Valadez is charged with exhibiting harmful matter to a minor, sexual penetration with a foreign object and annoying a child. He’s free on a $10,000 bond.

Jury selection for Valadez’s trial got underway toward the end of last week at the Banning Justice Center. Superior Court Judge Jonathan Mendoza was expected to swear in a panel before Friday.

According to a sheriff’s arrest warrant declaration filed in December 2019, during the fall of that year, Valadez allegedly began a relationship with a teen girl, whom he contacted multiple times via social media.   

At the time, the defendant was employed as a substitute instructional aide at Coachella Valley High School in Thermal.   

The declaration alleged Valadez at one point called the victim, whose name was not disclosed, via Snapchat and proceeded to pleasure himself during the video call — exposing everything to the youth.

Investigators alleged the defendant also tried to arrange personal meetings with the girl with the intent of smoking marijuana and engaging in sex acts.  

The victim became increasingly uncomfortable with the communications and finally went to campus administrators, divulging her experiences, according to court documents. Sheriff’s detectives then began an investigation that resulted in charges.

On Dec. 5, 2019, Valadez was taken into custody without incident while he was working on the campus of Valle Del Sol Elementary School in Coachella. Afterward, he was dismissed from his CVUSD position. He had worked for the district about 10 months, according to officials.

In March 2021, while still awaiting trial for the lewd acts case, Valadez was accused of sexually assaulting another woman. The woman conveyed her alleged experiences to law enforcement sometime later, culminating in additional charges being filed against the defendant.

He has no documented prior felony convictions.

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