Category: kesq-local-news

Kendall Flynn

THOUSAND PALMS, Calif. (KESQ) – The Coachella Valley Animal Campus continues to deal with overcrowding like many of the Riverside County shelters. They said this can be especially difficult for pets who have unique medical circumstances as they require additional care during their stay.

The shelter has nearly 188 dogs sharing 81 kennels, and four of those dogs have medical conditions ranging from mild skin conditions to needing leg surgery.

CVAC officials said they work to get grants from animal welfare organizations across the country for dogs or cats in need of major surgery. While they do have a budget for in-house surgeries, they shelter is not a hospital and they are usually in need of specialists for the care some pets need.

The process for getting grants is never guaranteed and it can be a lengthy process. Locals who are interested in adopting one of these pets is always recommended to take them to a vet for further evaluation.

Officials do acknowledge that there is an added cost of having a pet with medical circumstances and it can vary. If people are not able to adopt, the shelter asks for fosters while they continue medical treatment. Not only does it keep the pet from the stress of an overcrowded shelter but it can also be a better recovery environment.

“It’s not quite as simple as, ‘Oh, just take it to the doctor,'” Clingman said. “There’s a little bit more logistics that goes into it, but we just want to guarantee we are providing as much medical care as we possibly can in-house, and the missing piece is usually a foster.”

News Channel 3 met with two of the pets with unique medical circumstances in need of fostering or adoption.

King is seven years old and has bilateral fluctuating patella. This means both of his patella’s in his knees are out of place. He will need surgery to get them fixed. Because of this he “waddles” when he walks, according to CVAC, but he is not in any pain. He additionally needs his hips checked, as he is an older dog.

Sweet Potato has two minor medical conditions. She came to the shelter with a skin condition, leaving her with nearly no hair on her body. After time and care it has not come back and she is not contagious. She also has a chronic CCL tear, and she does limp. Doctors have told CVAC she does not need surgery, but it is an option.

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Kendall Flynn

PALM SPRINGS, Calif. (KESQ) – The Human Rights Campaign is set to honor the City of Palm Springs and the Transgender Health and Wellness Center Saturday for their work in advancing LGBTQ+ equality and quality of life.

Palm Springs Mayor Ron deHarte will be presented with the HRC Community Leadership Award and Transgender Health and Wellness Center CRO Thomi Clinton will be given the HRC Community Impact Award.

For deHarte and Clinton, they said this award is a great way to show how inclusive the Palm Springs community is during the Greater Palm Springs Pride events. They also said the awards are meaningful as DEI rollbacks continue across the nation.

“This is something new, and it shows me that, there are those who are able to change and be more inclusive, and we’re ready for that,” Clinton said. “I think it’s really it’s time that we all be really supportive of one another.”

The honorees will be awarded during the 24th HRC Palm Springs Garden Party based on their leadership and perfect scores on the HRC’s Municipal Equality Index. This is the second year in a row Palm Springs has received a perfect Municipal Equality Index score, and HRC officials said the city is on track for a third year as well.

“It says to everybody that the city plans and moves forward and makes decisions with intention, and you have to act like that every single day,” Mayor deHarte said. “Your actions have to show in your words and deed, and that’s what this scale, the 100, means.”

The Palm Springs members of the HRC Foundation Board of Directors Brian O’Connor said he hopes these recognitions of Clinton and deHarte’s work in the community set an example for other cities on how to advance work in LGBTQ+ equality.

“This is just a demonstration of the sustained leadership of the city council and our leaders here within this region. And, I think there’s a ripple effect of that,” O’Connor said. “We see many cities here in the valley, who follow along, who appreciate that diversity, equity and inclusion really does bring together, more unique, innovative and critical thinking that just makes us a better community.”

Stay with News Channel 3 for the latest on this award garden party.

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Jeff Stahl

It was a sea of purple in Palm Desert on Saturday as people gathered for the annual Alzheimer’s Association Walk to End Alzheimer’s.

People carried flowers to support the organization’s many services and research aimed at finding an ultimate cure.  The energy and smiles were on display at the city’s Civic Center Park as people walked to end Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia.

More than 20-thousand people live with the disease in the Coachella Valley alone. So many more, especially their caregivers, are affected. 

“It is extremely hard,” said Janet Barth, whose Husband has Alzheimer’s. He had a whole team walking in his honor.

“We thought that by having the whole group of us, we could, I don’t know, help further the cause,” Barth said.

Her husband, Melvin, was enjoying the walk and said, “We all want to be healthy, live good lives, and stretch those lives out by living as long as we can. Staying active.”

“It’s touched so many people,” said Janet, adding, “And I’ve been ignorant of the fact that it has touched so many people until it touched my family. And so it’s humbling.”

Everybody carries a flower for a different meaning. Those holding an orange know somebody with Alzheimer’s; those with a purple flower have lost someone to Alzheimer’s. Yellow means you’re a caregiver, and blue means you are somebody living with Alzheimer’s or another dementia.”

The walk also included a Promise Garden Ceremony and hope for a white flower someday soon, to represent the first survivor of Alzheimer’s.

Michelle Silvia Salado from the Alzheimer’s Association says this event, for her, helps honor her grandmother, whom she lost to the disease.

Salado said, “Here in the Coachella Valley, we have an office on the corner of Portola and Alesandro. We are there for you Monday through Friday, 9 to 5, and also 24 hours a day at our 1-800 number. 1 800-272-3900.”

170 thousand dollars is the fundraising goal. The drive runs through December. 

Organizers point to new research and treatments for hope, but say a good diet, staying socially and mentally active, and getting exercise, moving– have all been shown to be effective in slowing the disease’s progression.  

You can connect with the Alzheimer’s Association at 1-800-272-3900 or online at their local website. 

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KESQ News Team

COACHELLA VALLEY, Calif. (KESQ) – CV Link continues to celebrate grand openings in Coachella Valley cities.

Palm Springs celebrated with a ribbon-cutting at the Palm Springs Visitor Center. Cathedral City also celebrated the grand opening with a ribbon-cutting at the Cathedral Canyon access point.

The CV Link runs 40 miles across the Coachella Valley, stretching from Palm Springs to Coachella, with the exceptions of the cities of Rancho Mirage and Indian Wells. It’s a project that’s been 14 years in the making.

The project was led by the Coachella Valley Association of Governments, which is hoping to keep residents safe.

“We don’t want to be out on these busy roadways where folks are driving 50 miles, 60 miles, 70 miles an hour, and sometimes looking at their phone. We have many accidents out here and they could be avoided,” said Tom Kirk, executive director of CVAG.

CV Link takes bikers and walkers and others off of our busy roadways and provides a protected space for them.

Coachella celebrated the opening of its CV Link stretch earlier this week.

On Monday, La Quinta and Palm Desert will have grand openings.

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Jesus Reyes

PALM SPRINGS, Calif. (KESQ)- It was a day of celebrating you being you and the amazing community we live in.

News Channel 3 brought you live coverage of the Palm Springs Pride Parade in downtown with News Channel 3 chief meteorologist Patrick Evans and weekend anchor Athena Jreij, with Meteorologist Katie Boer from Inside the Parade.

News Channel 3 anchor Peter Daut is this year’s Grand Marshal!

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Daniella Lake

RANCHO MIRAGE, Calif. (KESQ) – The Association of Fundraising Professionals CA Desert Communities Chapter (AFP) honored the desert’s outstanding philanthropists, volunteers and nonprofit professionals today at their National Philanthropy Day awards luncheon.

The Association of Fundraising Professionals has been hosting the Philanthropy Day Awards for 19 years. It’s a moment to pause and reflect on the contributions locals have made to improve their communities. 

News Channel 3’s Chief Meteorologist, Patrick Evans, was the emcee for the event, which was held at Agua Caliente Resort and Spa in Rancho Mirage, on Friday morning.

Stay with News Channel 3 to hear from the honorees.

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City News Service

RIVERSIDE, Calif. (KESQ) – A felony settlement conference is scheduled for Nov. 18 for a registered sex offender charged with attempted child molestation and other crimes for allegedly attempting to meet with a person he believed was a teenager, but was actually an undercover investigator.

Victor Gabriel Perez, 44, of Azusa, began communicating through a social media platform with an undercover investigator with the Riverside County Child Exploitation Team posing as a 13-year-old girl in September, according to the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office.

The online communication continued until Tuesday, when Perez allegedly arrived at an agreed-upon location to engage in sexual activity with the person he believed to be the minor, authorities said.

Perez was arrested by members of the Child Exploitation Team and booked at the Robert Presley Detention Center.

Perez pleaded not guilty to all charges on Thursday, according to the District Attorney’s Office. He was also charged with arranging to meet with a child for sex, sending harmful material to a child and communicating with a child for sexual gratification.

Perez remains in custody in lieu of $60,000 bail.

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KESQ News Team

PALM SPRINGS, Calif. (KESQ) – Palm Springs Pride reached new heights this weekend — literally — with the debut of a 100-foot Ferris wheel that quickly became one of the festival’s biggest attractions.

Throughout the day, long lines formed as attendees waited for their turn to take in sweeping views of Palm Canyon Drive and the colorful crowds below. The towering ride offered a one-of-a-kind vantage point over the heart of downtown, adding a new dimension to this year’s celebration.

But many festivalgoers say the Ferris wheel is just part of what makes Palm Springs Pride so unique. It’s the atmosphere — the combination of community spirit, desert backdrop, and inclusive energy — that gives the event its signature feel.

From high above downtown to the lively streets below, the sense of connection and celebration could be felt everywhere. The weekend continues with a full lineup of performances, parties, and community events, all leading up to Sunday’s highly anticipated Pride Parade.

For more information, click here.

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KESQ News Team

PALM SPRINGS, Calif. (KESQ) – Mark Hunter Seymour, entrepreneur, community leader and champion for LGBTQ visibility, was honored with a star on the Palm Springs Walk of the Stars on Friday.

The Palm Springs Chamber of Commerce made the announcement last month, stating Seymour is deserving of the star for his role in the LGBTQ+ nightlife and community advancement for more than four decades.

Seymour founded Hunter’s Nightclub in Palm Springs – one of the city’s first gay-owned and operated full service nightclubs that supported numerous nonprofits that helped support the LGBTQ+ community.

Of the honor, Seymour said, “I can’t thank the community enough. They came together and put this up, put this together for me. I am just filled with pride and gratitude. It’s wonderful.”

Seymour’s star, in the categories of Entertainment and Civic/Pioneer, is the 481st. It is located at 302 East Arenas Road.

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City News Service

INDIO, Calif. (KESQ) – Jury selection is slated to get underway Monday for the trial of an ex-Riverside County sheriff’s deputy accused of harassing and abducting a woman, as well as possessing child pornography.   

Alexander Ravy Vanny, 34, of Hemet was arrested last year following an investigation by the sheriff’s department’s Special Victims Unit.

Vanny is charged with kidnapping, stalking, possession of child porn, unauthorized use of protected electronic data, maliciously destroying a wireless device, witness intimidation, illicit eavesdropping, using a concealed camera to invade a person’s privacy, illegal use of a tracking device, interference with a traffic control device and possession of a firearm in violation of a protective order, with a sentence-enhancing allegation of perpetrating a felony while on bail.   

Vanny’s case was moved Wednesday from the Southwest Justice Center in Murrieta to the Larson Justice Center in Indio, where Superior Court Judge James Hawkins is expected Monday to summon multiple panels of prospective jurors for screening as to their availability and qualifications. The courthouse will be closed Tuesday for the Veterans Day holiday, after which jury selection will likely resume.

Vanny is being held without bail at the Smith Correctional Facility.   

According to sheriff’s Sgt. Mike Kelleher, Special Victims Unit detectives received word at the end of last November regarding Vanny’s alleged harassment of the woman, whose complaints earlier in 2024 had prompted a separate investigation into the defendant’s alleged misconduct.

Sufficient evidence was gathered to book the former lawman into custody.

Vanny was first arrested on June 22, 2024, following an investigation that began weeks before when the victim, identified in court documents only as “M.P.G.,” told a law enforcement officer that she allegedly had been assaulted by the defendant.  

At the time, the victim was confirmed to be a sheriff’s department volunteer at the Hemet station, where Vanny was then assigned.   

He was booked into the Banning jail but posted a $1 million bond and was released. He was initially placed on paid administrative leave, but within a few months, he was fired from the department, according to sheriff’s officials.

The criminal complaint against him alleged that he abducted M.P.G. sometime between May and December 2024. The document stated that he “unlawfully, maliciously and repeatedly followed and harassed” the victim.   

He also gleaned specific data from a government computer system, copied it and loaded the information onto his personal electronic device, the complaint alleged.

It further said that he allegedly destroyed a mobile phone “to prevent the use of the (phone) to … notify law enforcement of a crime.”   

No additional details were provided.   

While he was on bail, Vanny was separately charged with possession of child pornography.

He had been a sworn peace officer since he was hired by the sheriff’s department in 2016.

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