Category: kesq-local-news

María García

Morales and Galindo Marketing Group along with other organizations are holding a donation drop-off at COD today from 9 a.m. and will continue until 4 p.m.

The drop-off location is at College of the Desert-Palm Desert Campus, South Annex, GSD Pride Center, 43-500 Monterey Ave Palm Desert, CA.

The items that are needed include:

Water

Masks

Blankets

Soap

Toothpaste/Toothbrushes

Feminine Hygiene Products

Baby wipes

Diapers

Kids supplies

Stay with News Channel 3 to hear from donors and organizers of the donation.

Jesus Reyes

Customs and Border Protection officers found more than 250 pounds of liquid meth concealed in the gas tank of a vehicle at the Calexico East Port of Entry.

The discovery was made Saturday afternoon. According to CBP, a 52-year-old driver and 46-year-old passenger in a 2002 SUV were applying for admission into the United States. Following a cursory inspection, CBP officers referred the travelers and vehicle to secondary for further examination.

In secondary, non-intrusive technology was employed to perform a comprehensive scan of the vehicle.

CBP officers observed irregularities in the vehicle’s gas tank area and radioed for assistance. A CBP K-9 unit responded and screened the vehicle, alerting officers to the presence of narcotics.

A total of 254.85 pounds of gasoline was extracted from the vehicle’s gas tank. CBP officers tested the contents, which resulted positive for methamphetamine.

“Drug traffickers will go to great lengths in their attempts to deceive our officers,” said Roque Caza, Calexico Area Port Director. “I’m proud of our highly trained officers working diligently every day to combat these dangerous drugs that have claimed so many lives.”

CBP officers seized the vehicle and narcotics.

The driver and passenger were detained and turned over to Homeland Security Investigations for further processing.

Cynthia White

The Board of Trustees at College of the Desert voted on Friday to continue its search for a new Superintendent/President. The search will start next month, and the new Superintendent/President is set to be approved by May or June.

The Board canceled the search last month due to a confidentiality breach, placing interim Superintendent/President Laura Hope on paid administrative leave.

At that time, Val Martinez Garcia was appointed as the acting Superintendent/President. The Board also approved at Friday’s meeting that Martinez Garcia will earn an annual salary of $325,000 in that position.

Athena Jreij

A chance to rebuild is what Dr. Taleb Alsafi with the Islamic Society of Coachella hopes for the people of Gaza, some even his own friends and family.

“We are expecting that more aid goes to Gaza, rebuilding of the schools, the hospitals that were, you know, bombed and put to the ground. Everything. Life just comes back to Gaza again,” Alsafi said.

Now that the final ceasefire and hostage deal between Israel and Hamas has been approved by the Israeli cabinet, Alsafi hopes the agreement will be followed.

But says he distrusts the Israeli government’s promise.

“I was happy for the people of Gaza in specific because they have suffered a lot. And at the same time, I was also, again, cautious of my own feeling because you expect everything out of the Israeli government of breaking the laws, the international laws and also the agreements.”

The deal, set to be implemented Sunday, would pause fighting for 6 weeks to allow for the exchange of over 700 Palestinian prisoners for 33 hostages held by Hamas.

But among those News Channel 3 spoke with, concerns are being echoed about the fairness of the ceasefire’s elements.

Rabbi Steven Rosenberg with RabbisUnited, worries the ceasefire lacks consequences for Hamas, a designated terrorist organization.

“There is no one on this planet that would not want to have peace and would not want to have an equitable cease fire. Unfortunately, you’re dealing with Hamas, which is a terrorist organization. I think we have to remember that October 6th, 2023. There was a ceasefire with Israel and Israel was attacked. Twelve-hundred Israelis and other people were murdered,” Rosenberg said.

While peace negotiations offer hope for the future, opposing viewpoints on the reality of the war are still strong.

“I think that the other problem is that we have to stop with the rhetoric that Israel is a country that’s committing genocide and committing apartheid. There are so many non truths that are going around that I think that we need to get the hostages home before anything else,” Rosenberg said.

When asked what makes this war different from others and about claims of a possible genocide by the Pro-Palestine movement, Dr. Alsafi said:

“It’s very simple. And it’s it’s a unique coincidence that we have the Ukraine and Russia conflict. How many civilians were killed in the Ukrainian or Russian parties? It’s totally different to this, this is genocide. You’re killing, you’re talking about 47, almost 47,000 people killed in a genocide.”

Tori King

Hundreds of people gathered in Downtown Palm Springs to attend the ‘People’s March,’ early Saturday.

The rally was hosted by two local organizations, Courageous Resistance and Indivisible of the Desert, to support minority groups here in the Coachella Valley.

“No one is being left behind. No transgender, no lesbian, no gay, no Black, no Latino, no native,” a rally presenter said.

The rally brought out over 400 people to the downtown area, hoping to create a safe space for marginalized populations to share their concerns.

“The purpose of this is to bring people together and create community to show them that they’re not alone,” co-chair of Courageous Resistance, Emily Vogt said.

California Lieutenant Governor, Eleni Kounalakis, also made a surprise appearance at the event.

“I love the state of California. I love Palm Springs. It’s one of my favorite places in the whole state. There is something just undeniably beautiful and special about the desert,” Kounalakis told News Channel 3 reporter Tori King.

Kounalakis says she was already in Southern California touring the Los Angeles fire damage and felt compelled to attend the rally as a sign of support from herself and Governor Gavin Newsom.

María García

 California’s lieutenant governor swung by a local event in Palm Springs earlier today.

Eleni Kounalakis spoke to News Channel 3 on the damages she saw firsthand of the LA fires and what is currently being done to help the victims.

“The reality is, I’m in southern California because I was here to tour the devastation of the wildfires,” said Kounalakis.

One of California’s top leaders sees firsthand the damage of the Palisades and Eaton fires, at least fifteen thousand homesites have been lost. 

“It will take time. but my pledge is that, again, as someone who has a background in construction, that we’re going to hold every level of government accountable to moving forward quickly to rebuild these areas,” explained Kounalakis.  

She talks about the takeaways of the fire.“Takeaway number one, climate change has created extreme weather events, and we’re going to be dealing with these kinds of events for a long time, there is always more that we can do to be ready and to be able to withstand them,” Kounalakis said.

The lieutenant governor says the damages are absolutely heartbreaking but she has a message of hope.

“The real message here is we’re going to do everything we can. Governments at all different levels have pledged to clear the debris and help people move back in and be able to resume their lives,” Kounalakis said.

Shay Lawson

About 100 people gathered Sunday to celebrate the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., in a heartfelt tribute that featured powerful speeches, city proclamations and moments of unity.

The 39th annual Martin Luther King Jr. Commemoration Celebration, held at St. Margarets Episcopal Church,  included remarks from a Palm Desert High school student and Anyse Smith, attorney, both of whom reflected on King’s vision for justice and equality.

“We look here in 2025, we want to make sure that the lessons from his legacy and the things that he did are being preserved, but also being repeated along with context,” Smith said.

Ceremony sponsors included: City of Palm Desert, City of Palm Springs, Democratic Women of the Desert, Desert Sands Unified School District and Palm Springs Black History Committee.

Stay with News Channel 3 to hear more from the tributes attendees.