Category: kesq-local-news

Jesus Reyes

DESERT EDGE, Calif. (KESQ) – Two people were injured after a structure fire at a mobile home park in the unincorporated community of Desert Edge Thursday night.

The fire was reported just before 7 p.m. at the Joshua Springs Mobile Home Park on the 18000 block of Langlois Road.

The fire was contained by 8 p.m. So Cal Edison and So Cal Gas were requested, according to CAL FIRE.

Battalion Chief Ricky Harvey confirmed there were two patients. One was transported to the hospital for smoke-related injuries. The other was evaluated and released at the scene.

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City News Service

RIVERSIDE, Calif. (KESQ) – Settlement of a civil suit against Verizon Wireless stemming from alleged environmental violations will net Riverside County more than $1 million in penalties and fees, it was announced today.   

According to the District Attorney’s Office, a lawsuit filed following a years-long investigation that began in 2019 was resolved pretrial, culminating in Verizon Wireless, which is under the proprietorship of Bedminster, New Jersey-based Cellco Partnership, agreeing to a $7.7 million payout to the plaintiffs. Along with the Riverside County D.A.’s office, those in Imperial, Los Angeles, Orange, San Bernardino, San Diego and Ventura counties joined in the action, as well as the Office of the City Attorney for Los Angeles.

The case was heard in Orange County Superior Court, where the settlement was formally signed by a judge on Jan. 2.   

The civil complaint alleged that Verizon Wireless was negligent and deficient in its management of lead acid batteries and petroleum products required for operation of emergency generators and related systems to power equipment at sites throughout the region.

The company did not respond to calls for comment Thursday afternoon.   

“The complaint alleges that Verizon repeatedly failed to submit complete and accurate `Hazardous Materials Business Plans’ to the California Environmental Reporting System,” according to the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office. “Verizon also failed to maintain copies of these plans onsite as required, and failed to provide adequate employee training for responding to hazardous material releases.”

Prosecutors further alleged that public inspections of facilities were stymied, and that the defendant “failed to pay required permit fees that support local oversight of hazardous materials.”

“These requirements exist to ensure that first responders, environmental regulators and public safety officials have accurate information about hazardous materials stored at commercial sites in the event of an emergency,” according to the plaintiffs.

Verizon Wireless has since rectified its policies and practices, prosecutors said.

The settlement will result in $827,191 being paid to the D.A.’s office to cover costs and penalties, while $318,375 will be going to the county Department of Environmental Health for similar reasons, according to prosecutors.

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Shay Lawson

PALM SPRINGS, Calif. (KESQ)  – Barrie Shulman, a longtime waitress at Johannes Palm Springs, is leaning on her community after a sudden Leukemia diagnosis forced her to stop working and face mounting financial strain.

Shulman said she was diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukemia on December 16, a life-changing moment that will keep her out of work for at least 6 months while she undergoes treatment.

She previously battled breast cancer, but said this diagnosis is far more uncertain and complex.

A career waitress, she said she has always supported herself and her mother, but without the ability to work, her monthly Social Security income falls short of covering basic expenses.

Johannes Bacher, Executive Chef/Owner of Johannes Restaurant, said she has been part of the restaurant’s family for nearly 2 decades.

“She’s a great employee,” Bacher said. “A lot of customers, they love her and they come for that reason. They come to see Barrie.”

Shulman said regular customers who have turned into friends, have rallied around her in a big way.

In just 3 days, Shulman’s GoFundMe has raised more than $15,400 to help cover living expenses during treatment.

You can visit the fundraiser by clicking here.

She said she’s been blown away by the community’s generosity.

Shulman is scheduled to undergo a bone marrow biopsy on Friday, a key step in determining the next phase of her treatment.

Stay with News Channel 3 to hear directly from Shulman at 10 p.m. and 11 p.m.

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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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