Category: kesq-local-news

Kendall Flynn

PALM SPRINGS, Calif. (KESQ) – It’s almost the end of summertime for families as the school year is just around the corner. Variety Children’s Charity of the Desert is hosting an “end of summer splash” at the Palm Springs Surf Club for a charity fundraiser and community event.

While 20 families with Variety will be coming to the park for free to enjoy the waves and water slides, organizers say it’s an important event beyond the amenities.

“It’s so important to feel like you belong and you’re a part of a community,” Nick Rossi, Variety’s senior development director said.

The surf party will welcome Variety families, whom the organizers said are from underserved communities. Families often lack the ability to enjoy spaces like the surf club because of disabilities or income insecurity.

“We have brought them in because maybe they have never thought they could come to a surf club or to a water park,” Rossi said.

One family who got to enjoy the club for the first time was Analysa Santos and her two children. She said Variety has been instrumental in providing services for her families mental health, and getting to spend the day at the surf club is an extra helping hand.

“Variety has a lot of resources because it’s an extra hand,” Santos said. “I believe a lot of people need an extra hand sometimes to be able to maneuver, especially when you got kids.”

The Palm Springs Surf Club said they’re always doing what they can to make the surf club accessible whether it’s with ADA compliant facilities or helping families. With the partnership with Variety, the surf club hopes to give the families visiting for free a relaxing experience.

“We want everyone to enjoy it, you know bring the community together regardless of whatever disability or where you are in life,” James Dunlop, the general manager of surf, said. “They have a lot of stress I’m sure. We can relieve someone of that here and give them a good time and it’s worth it.”

Stay with News Channel 3 to hear from organizers and families about the end-of-summer event.

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Haley Meberg

TWENTYNINE PALMS, Calif. (KESQ)– Twenty-Nine Palms Band of Mission Indians partners up with 29 Palms Marine Corps Community Services and Joshua Tree National Park Visitor Center to launch free shuttle service for Marines. 

On Friday, August 1, the Twenty-Nine Palms Band of Mission Indians in partnership with 29 Palms Marine Corps Community Services and Joshua Tree National Park Visitor Center will host the ribbon cutting ceremony for the inaugural launch of a free shuttle service for local Marines. 

The event will take place at 4:00 p.m. at the Joshua Tree National Park Visitor Center Freedom Plaza located at 6533 Freedom Way, Twentynine Palms, CA 92277.

The ribbon cutting will include representatives from Joshua Tree National Park and Chairman Darrell Mike from the Twenty-Nine Palms Band of Mission Indians.

The shuttle is said to be available for mostly weekends and late-night service. The shuttle will have multiple stops on the marine base, a stop at Freedom Plaza which is where the Joshua Tree Visitor Center is located, at Tortoise Rock Casino, back to park, and then back to base.

More information about the services involved with this launch have not been released at this time. 

Information will soon become available at Shuttle29.com.

Stay with News Channel 3 for more updates.

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Zachariah Perez

RIVERSIDE, Calif. (KESQ)- Today Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco held his first fundraising period.

In his first fundraising period since announcing his candidacy for governor, Sheriff Bianco raised $1.64 million from more than 8,100 donors.

The donors from this list include police officers, sheriff’s deputies, firefighters, teachers and more. The Sheriff’s campaign raised $321,000 from over 8,500 individual contributions of $100 or less, highlighting the Sheriff’s grassroots support across California.

The total amount includes no loans, candidate contributions or committee transfers. He ended the period June 30, with nearly $1.1 million cash-on-hand.

“California is broken with the highest taxes, housing prices and energy rates in the nation – and a broken criminal justice system that puts criminals above victims – it’s clear that we need a major change in Sacramento to lower our cost of living and bring our state back,” said Sheriff Bianco.

To learn more about Sheriff Bianco and his run for California Governor visit www.BiancoforGovernor.com.

Stay with News Channel 3 for more updates.

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Haley Meberg

COACHELLA, Calif. (KESQ)– The City of Coachella calls out to youth leaders to apply for their 2025-26 Youth Advisory Council. 

The Youth Advisory Council runs from August to June, mirroring CVUSD’s school year. This council is set to work hand in hand with city council and aims to gain insight from community youth leaders on all matters involving young people in The City of Coachella. 

The city urges young students to participate and help shape the future of the community while earning a $250 stipend. 

10 youth commission seats will be available to Coachella residents enrolled in high school. The deadline to apply for this committee is August 19. 

To apply for this program, visit https://www.coachella.org/home/showpublisheddocument/9367/638342484748630000 

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KESQ News Team

PALM DESERT, Calif. (KESQ) – A woman drowned in a swimming pool Thursday afternoon at a home in the 74000 block of Chicory Street in Palm Desert.

Riverside County Sheriff’s deputies say they were called out to the home just after 4:00 p.m., with a report of a woman in the pool who was not responding.

Deputies arrived at the scene and pronounced the woman deceased.

The Sheriff’s Office reports that the investigation is ongoing, and they will not be releasing further details at this time.

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Garrett Hottle

YUCCA VALLEY, Calif. (KESQ) A brown bear was caught on camera wandering through a Yucca Valley neighborhood Wednesday evening, startling residents and prompting renewed reminders about desert wildlife.

Jamie Norcutt and his fiancé were sleeping until a camera alert woke them up around 2:30 in the morning.

“I looked at the live view and I saw that there is a bear on the front porch. . .grabbing a bag of salmon dog food,” Norcutt explained.”

On the camera footage you can see the bear starting to walk off until Norcutt hops on the ring camera.

“I proceeded to yell at him and tell him no, don’t take the food, and he looked back and stopped.”

The bear dropped the bag and disappeared into the night possibly toward the canyon across the street, Norcutt said.

Nobody was hurt and the bear hasn’t come back, but it’s a furry reminder the desert isn’t just ours.

Wildlife officials recommend locking up food, bringing in pet bowls, and securing trash cans.

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Zachariah Perez

San Bernardino, Calif (KESQ)- The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) continues to work on a $21.9 million dollar pavement rehabilitation and shoulder widening project. 

This project takes place on state route 247 this work is funded through the senate bill “The Road Repair and Accountability Act of 2017”. Construction signs are now placed throughout the project area as well as clearing in the shoulder areas

Placement of high visibility fencing for environmental protection work operations will take place near Yucca Valley from state route 62 to Gin Road. The project is expected to begin the week of August 3rd and be completed by the fall of 2025. 

Expect delays as traffic control will be located at various locations, wait times per side are expected to be 20 minutes. 

“Plan-ahead and please be mindful of work area signage as law enforcement will enforce applicable laws and regulations. Please proceed cautiously as work vehicles and crews may move in and out of shoulder areas for backfill operations,” said Caltrans officials. 

These operations will take place Sunday to Thursday from 7:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. 

These work activities will begin at northbound State Route 247 near Eureka Rd with lane closure and flagging operation on Friday and Saturday night work may occasionally be required from 7:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m.

Motorists are advised to plan their routes accordingly to avoid potential delays.

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KESQ News Team

CATHEDRAL CITY, Calif. (KESQ) – Residents near Avenida Ximino and Baristo Road in Cathedral City saw a heavy presence of Riverside County Sheriff law enforcement in their neighborhood Thursday afternoon.

The Sheriff’s Office reports that shortly after 12:00 p.m., members of the Emergency Response Team and Gang Task Force went to the 3100 block of Avenida Ximino to serve a narcotics and weapons-related search warrant.

Deputies arrested two suspects related to the investigation, and the area was clear of law enforcement just after 5:00 p.m.

They say that the investigation remains ongoing, and no further details will be released.

Stay with News Channel 3 for updates.

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Hernán Quintas

COACHELLA, Calif. (KESQ)– The FIND Food Bank is helping empower local youth by offering different partnerships and internship programs.  

The FIND organization aims to provide students with skillsets to pursue a higher education, hands-on training, professional development and more.  

“Here at FIND food bank, what we do is we want to give our youth of the community the empowerment to make a difference, and not only that, but to break the cycle of poverty within their families in the local community,” Priscilla Salcedo, Director of Community Impact at FIND says. “Each program focuses on their own specific standards and curriculum. We have multiple [programs] currently for this summer, we have our healthcare career connections, we have Bank of America which focuses on accounting, and then we also have our California Climate Action Corps that focuses on food rescue as well as volunteer recruitment.”

Diana Zaragoza, an intern through Health Career Connections (HCC), a rising junior at UCLA and a Coachella Valley native, shared her experience conducting nutrition workshops for children in the Coachella Valley.

Zaragoza explains, “I come from an immigrant family, and I think just seeing them struggle sometimes when I was younger, I think it’s important for me to educate the future generations about the importance of health and really taking care of your body.” 

The programs get students involved in different organizations connected with their interests and help leave a lasting impact on the community. 

Eric Huerta, a senior at Desert Mirage High School, is hoping to get into the medical field with the help of the Bank of America Student Leaders Program. Huerta hopes his 7-week internship helps him learn skills to achieve his goal. 

Hureta says, “With this workshop, we do a lot of nutritional workshops for the kids. And since I’m really interested in the medical field, I feel like this is really helping me gain that experience and also helping my community.”

Fortunately for Hureta, this year, Bank of America selected him out of 315 students from around the nation to be part of the FIND food bank internship program.

He continued, “I think it’s really teaching me that when we are growing and that we have to come back to our community to help, because this community has a lot of people who sometimes need help, whether it’s by food or like any other financial need.” 

Another proud student from the valley, Carmen Olmos, who wants to be an accountant, joined FIND’s food bank internship program through HCC. She explained, “It is a full circle, because going to college, it’s such a privilege being able to go to college coming from here, I didn’t think it would have been possible for me. So being able to come back and help, it’s such a wonderful experience, truly full circle.”

Salcedo explains that FIND helps young people prepare for the workforce by providing real-world experience and professional environments. She emphasized that through the programs young people begin building skills and experience needed for future careers. 

Olmos explains what being a part of this program means to local students, “I didn’t think I would be having an internship here, and I’m extremely grateful for that. So being able to help this nonprofit here where I was born and raised, it just really is full circle.”

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Haley Meberg

PALM SPRINGS, Calif. (KESQ)– Americans born in 1990 have four times the risk of developing rectal cancer compared to those born in 1950, according to a new study that reveals how dramatically cancer patterns have shifted across generations.

The alarming trend also extends to gastrointestinal cancers, which have surged by 15 percent in just one decade among people under 50.

The findings were published in the “British Journal of Surgery.” Researchers say most of the cancers were not caused by genetic defects, instead they’re linked to obesity and diets dominated by processed foods.

Dr. Elber Camacho, Medical Director at Desert Regional Comprehensive Cancer Center says, “We hardly ever see cancer in the colon in 20-year-olds, and we’re already seeing it at that age. So we feel that by eating this kind of product, poses a great deal of inflammation in the gi tract, and this can lead to cancer development.” 

The findings also show the rise in cancer among young adults hit minority groups hardest.

For more information stay with News Channel 3.

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