ICYMI: News headlines from the Coachella Valley Oct. 30-Nov. 5

Two students arrested over gun at school in Thermal

After the evacuation of three Thermal schools Wednesday, the school district and sheriff's department gave more information about the chain of events, revealing that administrators didn't call police for over an hour after being told there could be a gun on campus.

Two 13-year-old Toro Canyon Middle School students were arrested and booked into juvenile hall on handgun charges, the Riverside County Sheriff's Department said Thursday, adding that one admitted to bringing the gun to school and the other said he hid it in a backpack for the first boy.

Other students told adults at school that they'd seen a boy with a gun at a bus stop and that he'd posted photos of himself with it on social media the day before, a sheriff's department press release said.

While searching the backpack, a deputy also found a suspicious device that looked like a grenade and turned out to be a toy.

Only Toro Canyon went on lockdown initially, CVUSD spokesperson Lissette Santiago said. Although the middle school shares a complex with Las Palmitas Elementary and Desert Mirage High schools, each is divided by fencing. She said administrators at Las Palmitas and Desert Mirage had been notified about the ongoing investigation and ensuing lockdown at the middle school.

About 3,700 students plus staff were all evacuated while the sheriff's department's Hazardous Device Team came to the middle school and bomb technicians X-rayed the object found in the backpack and deemed it safe. No one was injured.

— Jonathan Horwitz 

Coachella sees a dramatic rise in homicides

Coachella has seen a dramatic increase in homicides in 2022, rising to the highest level since before 2010, according to figures compiled by The Desert Sun.

Over the last decade, Coachella had reported an average of about two homicides a year, including in 2020 and 2021. But eight people have been killed so far this year, with most of the victims being teenagers and young adults.

The city contracts with the sheriff's department for police services, and deputies who work in the city are based in the station in nearby Thermal.

Sheriff's officials did not respond to requests for comment, sent to multiple spokespeople over several days, about the increase in Coachella homicides.

Mayor Steven Hernandez told The Desert Sun that recent preventative efforts by the city and the sheriff's department have included increasing patrols by paying deputies overtime. He also said there have been discussions about having more than four patrol deputies on duty at a time, as the city currently has, and adding special task forces.

— Eliana Perez

Two men arrested in triple shooting that killed man outside Palm Springs Raising Cane's

Palm Springs police arrested two men in a triple shooting that killed one outside the Raising Cane's restaurant early last Sunday.

Both 20-year-old Anastacio Machuca and 21-year-old Antonio Marins were booked on suspicion of attempted murder, and Machuca is also suspected of murder, police said Monday. They pleaded not guilty later in the week. The men are both from Palm Desert, a police spokesman said.

Officers responded at around 2:15 a.m. on Sunday to a report of a shooting outside the restaurant located on Ramon Road near Walmart. There, officers found three young men with injuries. They were taken to Desert Regional Medical Center, where one died.

Police have not released the name of the man who died. They also didn't release the names of the surviving victims.

Sunday's shooting death is the fifth reported homicide in Palm Springs in 2022, according to data kept by The Desert Sun.

— Paul Albani-Burgio

Newsom delays $1 billion in homeless funding amid concerns about slow progress

Gov. Gavin Newsom said Thursday he will delay $1 billion in funding to local governments because he says they are not being aggressive enough to curb homelessness in their communities.

California’s 58 counties, 13 largest cities and groups of public and private service providers were in line to get the money from the state if they submitted plans showing how they would reduce the homeless population in their community while increasing people in permanent housing.

Thursday, Newsom said the plans that have been submitted weren’t good enough. Together, Newsom said the collective plans by local governments would reduce homelessness statewide by just 2% over the next four years. Some plans even showed double-digit increases in the homeless population over that same time period, Newsom said.

Newsom said he would hold the money until after a meeting with local leaders later this month to “review the state’s collective approach to homelessness and identify new strategies to better address the homelessness crisis.”

Greg Rodriguez, Riverside County’s deputy director of Housing and Workforce Solutions, said he and his colleagues were blindsided by the announcement.

“I get the governor’s frustration on the big areas, but we’ve really put this money into good use in Riverside,” Rodriguez said. Riverside County has allocated state funds for permanent housing solutions, as well as preventative measures or services, Rodriguez said.

The county received $3,067,749 for the first round of funding and $1,402,400 for the second round. In the third round, it was set to receive $3,926,719.

County of Riverside Continuum of Care, a network of private and public sector homeless service providers, received $3,311,372 for round one, $1,566,822 for round two and was slated to get $4,207,199 for round three.

— Ema Sasic

'Beyond Van Gogh: The Immersive Experience' at Empire Polo Fields extended to Dec. 27

For those who haven't been to the art exhibition "Beyond Van Gogh" at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, there's good news. Due to high demand, the exhibition has been extended by a month through Dec. 27.

A spokesperson for the exhibition's production company, Paquin Entertainment Group, said it doesn't give out exact attendance figures, but added "tens of thousands" have gone through The Forum Tent at the Empire Polo Club to take in the immersive art experience since opening in September.

The exhibition features 300 works by van Gogh, such as "The Starry Night," "Sunflowers" and "Café Terrace at Night," which are brought to life in a whole new way. Paintings are projected onto walls, panels, and the floor, and as brushstrokes start to appear, one piece moves seamlessly onto the next.

— Brian Blueskye

Expanded Tamale Festival to return for its 30th year in Indio at new location

The Indio International Tamale Festival will return for its 30th year Dec. 1-4 with an additional two nights of programming and a new location at Miles Avenue Park.

A lineup of over 40 musical acts will be featured at the festival, including Banda Machos, La Santa Cecilia, Together Pangea, Bostich + Fussible and The Egyptian Lover. The festival will also include Julio Morones, Imperial Valley musician Eddie Zuko, Coachella band Israel's Arcade, and Yuma, Arizona trio Conexion Divina.

The festival typically draws over 100,000 attendees and hundreds of vendors during the two-day event.

Other attractions include the World's Biggest Bounce House, classic car show, mariachis, roller skating and The Chavela Throwdown with 20 luchador wrestlers throughout the weekend. New for 2022, the Mercadito de Noche holiday night market will feature holiday lights, entertainment, food, vendors and attractions on Thursday and Friday evening ahead of the festival.

— Brian Blueskye

This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: News headlines from the Coachella Valley Oct. 30-Nov. 5