Category: kesq-local-news

Kendall Flynn

THOUSAND PALMS, Calif. (KESQ) – Thousands are gathering throughout Riverside County and California to vote in the special election for Proposition 50.

If you’re planning to vote in the Coachella Valley polls will open at 7 a.m. and stay open until 8 p.m. If you arrive before or at 8 p.m. you will be able to vote. However, if you arrive after 8 p.m. you will not be able to cast a ballot or drop one off.

There are 18 official ballet drop off locations in the Coachella Valley. A full list can be found on the County of Riverside Registrar of Voters website.

Voter registration closed October 20th, but eligible citizens can sign up for “Same Day Registration” at county election offices or other voting locations.

If you have your mail in ballot, election officials recommend dropping them off at a voting location. They can be sent by mail if the postage is marked by Nov. 4 and received by Nov. 12.

Stay with News Channel 3 for your Election day coverage.

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KESQ News Team

INDIO, Calif. (KESQ) – The City of Indio invites the community to get a taste of its 10th Annual Indio BBQ Festival on Saturday.

The festival starts at 4:00 p.m. and runs through 9:00 p.m. in Downtown Indio at the Center Stage, 82881 Miles Avenue.

The city’s tasty tradition will feature smoky, savory BBQ, live entertainment, a free kids’ zone, and a beer garden. This year they’re set to have more BBQ vendors than ever before – so arrive hungry to try as many as you can.

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KESQ News Team

LOS ANGELES (KESQ) –  It was a day of celebration in Los Angeles as the city hosted a World Series parade for the second year in a row.

Tens of thousands of fans turned out to the celebration in downtown LA Monday morning, showing off their pride for the team.

Some local fans also made the journey, including local resident Mark Morocco, who’s become a mini-celebrity for bringing his dogs to countless Dodger games in the last decade.  

“It’s been a blessing of seeing the Dodgers just have such a good team and so entertaining going to the games. it’s hard not to be a baseball fan, let alone a Dodger fan,” Morocco said.

Morocco says he started the drive at 6 o’clock this morning and it took three hours — with a lot of traffic — to get to the parade.

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Shay Lawson

CABAZON, Calif. (KESQ)  – An emotional plea from Mary Beushausen, Emmanuel Haro’s maternal grandmother in the courtroom on Monday.

“He never gave me a chance to see my grandchildren. He kept my daughter away,” Beushausen said.

Jake Haro, 32, is heading to prison after pleading guilty in the murder of his 7-month old son – Emmanuel Haro.

Jake Haro is sentenced to 25 years to life in prison.

The Riverside County District Attorney’s office said Jake Haro was charged with one count each of murder, assault on a child under 8 causing death and filing a false police report.

This as his wife, Rebecca Haro, is scheduled for a separate preliminary hearing.

Diane Blair, who has been following the case, shared her reaction to the sentencing.

“Not harsh enough,” Blair said. “I believe that it needed to be a lot harsher. Emmanuel would have never ended up where he is now had they actually been harsh enough his first sentence, and not let him out with his daughter.”

Jake Haro admitted to assaulting his son, Emmanuel Haro, to the point that it caused his death, according to court documents.

Haro pleaded guilty last month to second-degree murder and filing a false police report. His guilty pleas were to the court and not a plea agreement with the District Attorney’s Office.

He received an aggregate sentence of 180 days for filing a false police report and six years and 8 months for a prior child abuse case that left an infant girl unable to walk or feed herself for the rest of her life.

“It would have never happened to Emmanuel had he’d been locked up where he should have been,” said Blair.

Stay with News Channel 3 for the full story at 10 p.m. and 11 p.m.

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Gavin Nguyen

PALM SPRINGS, Calif. (KESQ) – Election Day is just one day away.

Voters will decide on Proposition 50, introduced by Gov. Gavin Newsom, which would temporarily redraw California’s congressional districts starting in 2026 to favor Democrats. If passed, the measure could help Democrats secure five additional seats in the House of Representatives.

Locally, the City of Palm Springs and Indian Wells could be absorbed into California’s 48th congressional district. CA-48 is currently represented by Republican Representative Darrell Issa in San Diego County’s more rural East County. More Democratic voters from Palm Springs would likely make it more difficult for the GOP to retain Issa’s seat.

Proposed redistricting under Proposition 50 for California’s 48th congressional district, which would absorb Palm Springs and Indian Wells in the Coachella Valley

And under redistricting, longtime GOP Rep. Ken Calvert’s 41st congressional district would move entirely to Los Angeles County, threatening his streak of seventeen terms in the House.

As of Monday, the Riverside County Registrar of Voters said 390,035 vote-by-mail ballots have been returned and counted. That represents nearly 120,000 more ballots returned since last Monday.

More information on where vote-by-mail ballots can be dropped off, as well as polling locations for early voting and Election Day, is all available at the county’s election website.

News Channel 3 is speaking with the Riverside County Registrar of Voters office with more on voting in this year’s election. We’re also asking voters about the impact of this election. Stay with us for the latest.

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Jesus Reyes

Update 11/5/25

The suspect, Angelo Jose Saldivar, appeared in court on Wednesday, pleading not guilty to all charges.

He is scheduled to return to court on Nov. 10 and Nov. 12.

Original Report 11/3/25

SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. (KESQ) – Prosecutors filed charges against a man accused of killing a San Bernardino County Sheriff’s deputy responding to a domestic violence call in Rancho Cucamonga then leading police on a pursuit that ended in a violent crash.

Angelo Jose Saldivar, 47, of San Bernardino, is charged with 10 counts, including murder for the death of SBCSD Deputy Andrew Nuñez, the San Bernardino County District Attorney’s office announced Monday.

Charges filed:

PC 187a) – Murder

PC207(a) – Attempted Kidnapping

PC245(b) – Assault with a Semiautomatic Firearm

PC245(b) – Assault with a Semiautomatic Firearm

PC245(b) – Assault with a Semiautomatic Firearm

PC245(b) – Assault with a Semiautomatic Firearm

PC246.3(a)  – Discharge of a Firearm

VC 2800.2(a) – Evading an Officer

PC236 – False Imprisonment by Violence

PC243(e)(1) – Battery on a Spouse

Prosecutors have also alleged special allegations for use of a firearm in commission of the assaults. Special allegations of murder to avoid arrest, murder of a police officer, and personal and intentional discharge of a firearm have been filed with the murder charge.

If found guilty, and special allegations found true, Saldivar would be eligible to be sentenced to Life Without Possibility of Parole and Death, the DA’s office said.

The shooting happened on Oct. 28, just after 12:40 p.m. in Rancho Cucamonga. Police said the call started as a man threatening a woman. Deputies arrived and were immediately shot at by the suspect. Deputy Andrew Nuñez was struck by gunfire and airlifted to the hospital, where he was later pronounced dead.

Nuñez, 28, had been with the department for six years. He leaves behind a wife and a two-year-old daughter. His wife is also expecting, authorities said.

Official Donation Links for Family of Deputy Nuñez:

🔗 http://porac.org/fundraiser/seba_deputynunez🔗 http://venmo.com/u/SEATERD🔗 http://patriotprovisionsco.com/collections/memorial-tees🔗 http://sideactionapparel.com/products/tribute-shirt-sbso-deputy-andrew-nunez

Authorities said Saldivar fled the scene on a motorcycle. Police pursued him along the eastbound 210 freeway before coming to the end when he crashed into the back of a vehicle in Upland.

San Bernardino County Sheriff Dicus said in a news conference that an off-duty sheriff’s deputy conducted a “legal intervention” by striking the suspect on the motorcycle, which sparked the crash that ended the chase.

Saldivar is scheduled to appear in court Tuesday in Rancho Cucamonga.

Stay with News Channel 3 for continuing updates on this case.

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City News Service

RIVERSIDE, Calif. (KESQ) – The Board of Supervisors tomorrow is slated to approve the Riverside County Office of Agriculture Commissioner’s proposed contract with the state to monitor programs intended to ensure containment of any pink bollworm threats to cotton crops countywide.

The office has entered into agreements with the California Department of Food & Agriculture annually for the last decade or so to manage the Pink Bollworm Cotton Plowdown Program. The new contract, valued at $5,000, would be retroactive to Nov. 1 and expire on June 30.

Under the agreement, the county’s agricultural inspectors would be responsible for tallying all acreage reserved for cotton crops and track whether those parcels where pink bollworm populations were previously identified remain plowed under, uncultivated.

No recent evidence has emerged of major bollworm activity in cotton growing areas of Riverside County. However, the pest remains an ongoing concern to farmers statewide and throughout various locations in the Southwest United States, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Cotton crop production comprises about $13 million in value countywide.   

Pink bollworms were first identified in the United States in 1917, arriving via Mexico, where agricultural officials said they were likely imported from Egypt.

The pests originate from moths laying eggs in cotton bolls. The larvae consume cotton stalks from the inside out.   

By the 1960s, agricultural programs utilizing insecticides and radiation-sterilized male moths had netted successes destroying the pink bollworm population. The creatures resurfaced, however, and remained a persistent problem going into the early 2000s, when farmers began planting genetically modified “Bt” cotton crops, which proved largely resistant to the creatures.

Despite this, the bollworms have evolved, in some cases hardening their immunities to the modified crops. Though their numbers are no longer a major threat, crops where they are found have to be plowed down, officials said.

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City News Service

LA QUINTA, Calif. (KESQ) – A community celebration was held Saturday to mark the $15 million revitalization of Lake Cahuilla Veterans Regional Park in La Quinta.

The free, family-friendly event began with a catfish derby at 8 a.m. at 58075 Jefferson Street, following a 6 a.m. gate opening, according to officials.  

The lake was stocked with 4,800 pounds of catfish — the largest single stock in the Coachella Valley — provided by Yellow Mart Bait and Tackle in Indio.

A prize ceremony for the heaviest catch will take place at 11 a.m., followed by a ribbon-cutting ceremony, classic car show, vendor marketplace, food trucks and a family fun zone.

A drone light show sponsored by KYA, the contractor for the improvement project, will close the festivities shortly after 6 p.m.   

“With our lease being extended another 30 years, we have dedicated significant investment and made major improvements to have more features for people of all-ages to enjoy here. We are so proud to fix up and reopen the pool for our families, re-do the roads, built new restrooms and brought more greenery and trees and shade,” Supervisor V. Manuel Perez said.   

Perez allocated $15 million in county funds for the project, which includes a new amphitheater, repaired swimming pool, pickleball, sand volleyball and basketball courts, new shelters in fishing areas and overall park beautification.   

“Lake Cahuilla has always been a special place for families, veterans and visitors,” said Kyla Brown, general manager of RivCo Parks.   

The event is hosted by Riverside County Regional Park and Open-Space District, in partnership with Perez and KYA.

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Daniella Lake

PALM DESERT, Calif. (KESQ) – Senior citizens in the Coachella Valley say they’ve been getting calls that sound like loved ones in distress, asking for money. Artificial intelligence is being used by scammers to clone people’s voices, and according to the University of Chicago, 91% of people can’t tell the difference between a real voice and an AI clone.

Joel Johnson was the target for an AI scam. He got a call a few weeks ago, from a voice he thought was his son.

“I broke my nose. I caused a horrible accident that I need help,” the voice over the phone said. Then, Johnson was told to call an attorney. The attorney told him to send $10,000 for bail for his son.

Luckily, Johnson had his wife call their son. Turns out, he was completely okay.

“It’s scary that something like this could be done in this manner and Lord knows how many other things it’s being used for in a criminal method,” Johnson said. Johnson has spent his career as a consumer fraud attorney. He’s worked on thousands of cases of people being taken advantage of.

Sat Singh, a strategic advisor for AI Coachella Valley shared some tips on how to protect yourself from AI voice clone scams.

Create a secret code with your family. Do not share the code over text or any online platform. If you ever receive a suspicious call, the secret code will help you verify the caller’s identity.

Call the actual phone number of the loved one the voice on the phone claims to be.

If they ask for money through wire transfer or gift card, hang up. It’s likely a love one wouldn’t ask for financial assistance through this method.

AI Coachella Valley hosts workshops for people of all ages to learn how to navigate AI. You can learn more on their website.

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Luis Avila

PALM SPRINGS, Calif. (KESQ) – Local senior centers in the Coachella Valley are preparing for a surge in demand as SNAP benefits come to a stop amid the ongoing government shutdown. Tens of thousands of older adults now face difficult choices about how to put food on the table, and many are turning to local meal programs for assistance.

At the Mizell Senior Center, long lines were already forming Monday as seniors waited for what some described as their only hot meal of the day. The center, which operates the only Meals on Wheels and Senior Nutrition Program in the region, serves and delivers nearly 600 meals each week.

“It’s so critical. These folks are participants in the Riverside County Office on Aging Senior Nutrition program and so they’ve demonstrated need and food insecurity.”

Rob Wheeler, Mizell Center Executive Director

With SNAP benefits in jeopardy, the center is ramping up meal preparation in anticipation of higher demand. Riverside County estimates that roughly 53,000 seniors rely on SNAP benefits, many of whom will start feeling the impact this week.

Russ Learn, a local senior, relies heavily on the meals provided by the Mizell Center. Though he is not a SNAP recipient, he and his husband, who suffered a stroke a few years ago, depend on other forms of government assistance.

“If you want to live on a day-to-day basis, you have to plan ahead to make sure it’s going to last a whole month and with the costs of living going the way it is, it becomes very difficult… We do get government assistance. I am a disabled veteran so I’m concerned about what they going to be doing.”

Russ Learn, Palm Desert Resident

Despite the uncertainty, staff and volunteers at the Mizell Center say they are ready to meet the growing need.

“We have fantastic volunteers. We have about 60 active volunteers each week and a large number of them are here in the nutrition program. They’re really excited to step up along with the staff.”

Rob Wheeler, Mizell Center Executive Director

For some seniors, the support from the center provides stability in an otherwise uncertain time.

Stay with News Channel 3 for more.

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