Category: kesq-local-news

Gavin Nguyen

PALM DESERT, Calif. (KESQ) – Did you receive $2 in the mail asking for your response to a survey?

If you did, you were likely randomly chosen for a health survey ran by Health Assessment and Research for Communities, or HARC, Inc.

25,000 valley households were invited to participate in the survey online or in-person with a $2 bill in the envelope. HARC is offering $20 Visa gift cards for those who complete the survey.

HARC, Inc. releases new data every three years. The last report came in 2022, and now, in 2025, the nonprofit is asking for participants to help provide “insights into healthcare access, mental health, food insecurity, and more.”

A copy of the 2022 Edition of HARC’s Community Health Survey

According to Amairani Ramos, the Communications Manager for HARC, the nonprofit takes on the difficult task of sizing up a demographic that includes a large portion of part-time residents. She also acknowledges the vast differences between most health surveys, which lumps the Coachella Valley with western Riverside County, and HARC’s survey.

“We’re very unique as you mentioned, we have snowbirds in certain times of the year. We also have farmworkers. We also have people in Palm Springs whose income may vary from those farmworkers out in the East Valley,” Ramos explains. “We definitely have a different story from Riverside County and from other organizations. So [HARC’s] data is able to compile everyone and tell a more descriptive story of who we are.”

When talking about the healthcare providers in the desert that frequently cite survey data, Ramos says, “They’re able to calculate how many physicians they need in the area, whether it’s specialists for cancer or diabetes, asthma or anything else that may be prevalent in the area.”

Local nonprofits benefit, too. Jewish Family Service of the Desert is one of those organizations. Executive Director of the nonprofit, Kraig Johnson, says, “It’s what we use primarily to cite need for community services, need for our specific services in mental health and in social services. Case management. HARC is really the only source for that data locally.”

Johnson says the data is also helpful when the nonprofit applies for grant funding. “Hundreds of thousands of dollars over the years, certainly. We have about between 30 and 40 grants that we’re operating a year. And again, every single one of those applications, we will utilize HARC data.”

But Ramos says for this year’s survey, the nonprofit needs your help. Check your mailbox to see if you were one of 25,000 to be randomly selected to participate; if so, you’ve earned your $2. But they also encourage you to fill out the survey, and you’ll earn the $20 gift card, too. Ultimately, they say it’s for the benefit of yourself and the community.

HARC hopes to finish collecting responses by this month, though it could be extended if it does not reach its response goal. “We’re trying to reach 2000 adults and 500 children. We’re still very short of the adults and for the kids, we have about 400 surveys, so we’re a little bit closer.”

Ramos says after responses are collected, HARC contracts a third-party to accurately scale and tabulate the responses to the Coachella Valley’s population.

The survey is confidential. HARC says you can scan the QR code in the envelope to take the survey online. Respondents can also call HARC and request a paper form – just make sure you keep the unique code inside the flyer.

HARC was established in 2006 in Palm Desert and has released its report every three years since 2007. This year’s report is expected to be released in early 2026.

If you’d like to access previous health reports, you can view them on HARC’s website.

Garrett Hottle

RANCHO MIRAGE, Calif. (April 16, 2025) — As artificial intelligence continues weaving its way into daily life, leaders across the Coachella Valley are coming together today to talk strategy and catch up.

Starting at 11:30 a.m., the Rancho Mirage Chamber of Commerce will kick off its 2025 Signature Speaker Series with a luncheon focused on AI’s sweeping impact. The event, held at Mission Hills Country Club, brings together both national policy voices and local marketing minds.

Headlining the discussion is Jordan Crenshaw, senior vice president at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Technology Engagement Center (C_TEC), who also chairs its privacy working group and leads tech policy efforts. He’ll be joined by Andrew McCauley of Visit Greater Palm Springs.

Organizers say the event will dive into how AI is shifting the business landscape, helping nonprofits drive social change, and challenging organizations to keep pace in a fast-moving digital world.

Katie Slimko-Stice, CEO of the Rancho Mirage Chamber, called it a crucial moment for the region. “Understanding AI is no longer optional,” she said, adding that the gathering gives local leaders a chance to “navigate the AI revolution.”

Across town, Desert Oasis Healthcare (DOHC) is also doubling down on AI. The organization announced it’s expanding its use of AI-powered tools to help meet rising demand and boost patient care. DOHC now partners with more than 15 tech platforms that offer round-the-clock access to remote health monitoring and symptom tracking.

The tools, the organization notes, are rigorously tested for accuracy and safety — built to assist care teams, not replace them.

Meanwhile, new national data is stirring the conversation further. A recent Pew Research Center study shows a split in public perception: just 17% of U.S. adults believe AI will have a positive effect over the next two decades, compared to 56% of AI experts. Both groups share concerns about the speed of innovation outpacing government oversight and a growing need for control over how the technology is used.

Stay tuned to News Channel 3 tonight at 4pm, 5pm, 6pm, and 6:30pm for more on this story.

Julia Castro

LA QUINTA, Calif. (KESQ) — A Goldenvoice representative apologized Tuesday for a chaotic start to Coachella Weekend One, where traffic delays left thousands of festivalgoers stranded for hours during a desert heatwave.

The trouble started on Thursday, when long lines of festival campers tried to stream into the festival’s onsite campgrounds. Many ran out of gas while waiting in their cars, and without access to water or restrooms. Some said they were forced to endure extreme conditions in their vehicles.

A Goldenvoice representative addressed the debacle at the La Quinta City Council meeting on Tuesday. George Cunningham said the traffic jam was caused by an unexpected surge in early arrivals.

City Councilmember Kathleen Fitzpatrick called Thursday’s traffic jam “unacceptable” and “a total embarrassment” as she shared resident complaints of traffic jams and concertgoers forced to use the roadside due to no restrooms being offered to these invited guests from all over the world.

“Every year, we typically have a lull between one o’clock and six o’clock in the evening where it just dies down,” Cunningham said. “We didn’t have that. Everybody wanted to come early… the campers were in and they wanted to be here,” Cunningham added.

Cunningham said a first-ever Thursday night concert in the campgrounds provided a draw for people to arrive earlier, which had not been experienced in past years of the festival.

Adding to the problem, not all checkpoints were fully staffed the representative said, creating even more congestion. In past years, campers were sometimes allowed in before the official 9 a.m. opening. That policy didn’t apply this year, leading to massive backups on surrounding roads.

To help prevent a repeat of last weekend, Goldenvoice says it’s adding more entry points for vehicles. George Cunningham, a company official, told council members that 12 new toll plazas are being added near Madison Street and 50th Avenue, bringing the total to 44.

“We are enacting another toll plaza… so in the past we’ve had 32 toll plazas, we’re adding an additional 12,” Cunningham said.

Goldenvoice says it will continue monitoring traffic this weekend and will make more changes if necessary, especially with Stagecoach just around the corner.

Campground gates for Coachella Weekend Two open Thursday at 9:00 a.m.

Festival attendees and residents are encouraged to plan ahead.

Stay with News Channel 3 for the latest Coachella traffic updates.

Allie Anthony

The St. Jude Dream Home Giveaway in the heart of La Quinta is less than two weeks away, and you still have a chance to win it for just $100! Tickets are going fast for this stunning 3-bedroom, 3.5-bath home valued at $720,000.

Located in The Cove near Fritz Burns Park and Old Town La Quinta, this home, built by GHA Companies, features top of the line amenities and falls within the Desert Sands School District. Right now, the final touches are being put in place.

News Channel 3’s Allie Anthony took a tour with St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital Senior Advisor of Area Development Jennifer Castell.

Only 17,500 tickets to win this Dream Home will be sold, and those who reserve theirs by April 25th are also eligible for a $10,000 home shopping spree from BoConcept. Every ticket benefits St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and supports the fight to end childhood cancer.

To reserve tickets, call 1-800-535-6748.

You can view the original article here: https://kesq.com/news/2025/04/16/a-tour-of-the-st-jude-dream-home-less-than-two-weeks-left-to-reserve-a-ticket-before-giveaway/

A tour of the St. Jude Dream Home; less than two weeks left to reserve a ticket before Giveaway

KESQ News Team

JFK Memorial Hospital is less than three miles away from the festival grounds.

We’re learning more about the emergency room visits there during weekend one of Coachella.

Emergency Department Director Evelin Millsap says staff saw the same medical issues they’ve seen in previous years – including dehydration, heat related illnesses, and substance abuse.

But Millsap adds that total visits this year were around double – “We had a total of 54 patients that we saw in two departments. This year, our volume doubled by a hundred patients.” She explains that a lack of nutrition, lack of hydration, and even overdoses of either drugs or alcohol abuse added to the increase in emergency room visits this time.

Kendall Flynn

DESERT HOT SPRINGS, Calif. (KESQ) – Desert Hot Springs City Council voted Tuesday night to remove Public Safety Commission member Michael Rizzio, who says he is being terminated from the position for doing his job in protecting the public.

Rizzio says he requested an emergency Public Safety Commission meeting April 6 to discuss police brutality in the city.

He claims he did not witness the brutality situation, but it was brought to his attention by a person who felt victimized by police, and in his two-year term he has tried to investigate other matters like this but was denied by the Public Safety Commission.

Rizzio sent an email with an attachment requesting the emergency meeting, and by April 7, he was told he was in violation of City Ordinance Section 2-40-020: “To act as an advisor between the community, the Police Department, and the City Council,” an allegation Rizzio says is not true.

He says no one from the Council or Commission has contacted him about the situation, which is one he feels was part of his public safety duties.

“Even though they don’t want me to do my job anymore, it was still my job… when those people got beat up from the police,” Rizzio said. “And I can’t just drop the ball on that. I have to follow through with those victims.”

Desert Hot Springs Mayor Matas and the city’s Public Information Officer declined to comment on Rizzio’s claims prior to the vote.

City News Service

RIVERSIDE, Calif. (KESQ) – The Board of Supervisors today signed off on Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco’s initial plans to establish a permanent aircraft hangar at March Air Reserve Base, granting the sheriff’s request to allocate $655,255 for architectural, design and engineering services provided by a San Diego firm.   

In a 5-0 vote without comment, the board authorized the sheriff’s department to make the six-figure outlay for a contract with C&S Engineers Inc. The funds will be drawn entirely from the agency’s current fiscal year budget.   

“The proposed hangar will be 20,000 square feet and will serve as the main maintenance hangar for the sheriff’s existing and future aircraft,” according to an agency statement posted to the board’s agenda. “This location is suitable for meeting the needs of the Aviation Unit’s growth with staff and aircraft.”  

Officials said the facility would have room for three aircraft and is proposed on the southeast end of the airfield, close to the Million Air Hangar on Heacock Street. Million Air is a fixed-based operator serving civilian flights into and out of the base.

Sheriff’s aircraft currently operate out of Hemet-Ryan Airport and Jacqueline Cochran Airport in Thermal.

“The MARB Joint Powers Authority property has been identified as the most strategic location (for operations), as it is the closest airport to central Riverside, the sheriff office’s headquarters, and it is vital for quick responses to critical calls,” the agency stated.

C&S Engineers will manage the architecture and design plans, which call for 10 offices, 20 workstations, outdoor fuel tanks, a break room, restrooms, locker rooms, a small gymnasium, security fencing and a parking lot.   

The last environmental impact report completed for the site was approved in 2012, so the firm will be responsible for reviewing the previous assessments to ensure compliance with state and federal law to determine whether a supplemental EIR is necessary, according to officials.

Cynthia White

DESERT HOT SPRINGS, Calif. (KESQ) – The City of Desert Hot Springs is welcoming the new Chief of Police, Steven Shaw.

Shaw had been acting as interim Chief since February of this year, when former Chief Jim Henson retired after 30 years in law enforcement.

In Tuesday’s swearing in at the Desert Hot Springs City Council meeting, Chief Shaw described taking the position as an honor. Shaw said it was a new chapter for the city, and he pledged to always listen to the voices of the community.