ICYMI: Top Coachella Valley headlines for Aug. 21-27

State awards Palm Springs, county $19M for homeless navigation center

The state is awarding the city of Palm Springs and Riverside County $19.1 million to build and run a homeless navigation center planned for north Palm Springs, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Wednesday.

The award means there is now enough money to buy the land, then build the center and operate it for about six years, a county housing official said.

"We've worked in partnership to obtain this award, and we really want to thank the state for realizing this project will bring a lot of benefits to not only Palm Springs, but the western part of (the) Coachella Valley," said Greg Rodriguez, Riverside County's deputy director for housing and workforce solutions.

The money comes from the state's Homekey 2 program, which is making $1.45 billion available to local governments this year to develop housing and other services for people who are either homeless or at risk of becoming homeless.

— Paul Albani-Burgio

HOA sues to try to stop golf course from being converted to preserve

The homeowners association at Mesquite Country Club is suing to try to stop Oswit Land Trust from turning the golf course there into a nature preserve.

The nonprofit trust announced that plan last month, saying it would rename the course the Prescott Preserve after longtime Palm Springs resident Brad Prescott, whose foundation purchased the land and donated it to the trust.

For years, Oswit Land Trust has eyed purchasing closed or struggling golf courses in Palm Springs and restoring them to natural desert habitat. Oswit has called its plan "the largest desert restoration project in California."

But in a complaint filed in Riverside County Superior Court on Aug. 12, the Mesquite Country Club Condominium Homeowners Association argues that converting the golf course to a nature preserve violates the legally binding "covenants, conditions and restrictions," or CC&Rs, that govern the community. Those CC&Rs provide for "the construction, maintenance, and continued operation of an 18-hole golf course," the complaint states.

Jane Garrison, the founder and executive director of Oswit Land Trust, said the HOA has stopped paying rent of about $20,000 per month, which Oswit was relying on while planning out projected expenses for maintaining the property.

"We were depending on that money to pay our water bill, electric bill, maintenance of the property, maintenance staff, security, property taxes, and more," Garrison said.

She called the lawsuit a "speed bump" in an interview Thursday, saying the HOA "won't bully us into continuing to operate a golf course." The HOA board was scheduled to hold a meeting Friday morning, but it was canceled.

— Erin Rode and Paul Albani-Burgio

County monkeypox case tally at 165, with most in Palm Springs and Cathedral City

There have been 165 confirmed and probable cases of monkeypox reported in Riverside County as of Friday, with Palm Springs and Cathedral City making up two-thirds of those cases.

The cities with the most cases are Palm Springs (82), Cathedral City (27), and Desert Hot Springs (9), Riverside (8) and Palm Desert and Moreno Valley (5 each), according to the county's monkeypox dashboard.

Monkeypox is a disease caused by the monkeypox virus. People usually become infected through close contact with skin lesions or bodily fluids of infected animals or humans (alive or dead), including droplets, or clothing and linens from an infected person. The virus can also be spread through sexual contact, but it is not classified as a sexually transmitted infection.

Desert Regional Medical Center in Palm Springs is the latest health care provider to have TPOXX, a medication currently being used for monkeypox, available to patients.

Though the Palm Springs hospital is offering the medication, it is not a local provider of the Jynneos monkeypox vaccine. Vaccine locations can be found at www.rivcoph.org/mpx/Vaccine-Locations.

Borrego Health, DAP Health, Desert Oasis, Eisenhower Health, Kaiser Permanente and Riverside County-run health care clinics are also providing TPOXX to patients in the Coachella Valley.

— Ema Sasic

Fermon, Ortiz reappointed to Indio City Council

Having failed to attract any challengers in the Nov. 8 election, Indio Mayor Waymond Fermon and Mayor Pro Tem Oscar Ortiz will be appointed to continue representing Districts 2 and 4, respectively, for four more years.

The Indio City Council on Wednesday opted to appoint both men and save an estimated $52,000 that the elections would have cost in total.

Districts 2 and 4 make up most of the center of the City of Indio. District 2 stretches from the area of Cray Mill Drive to south of Indio Boulevard and District 4 starts from Indio Boulevard, down to the intersection Miles Avenue and Monroe Steet, and extends southwest to the area that includes The Cafe at Shields.

There will be an election in District 3, where incumbent Elaine Holmes is being challenged by first-time candidate Jonathan Becerra.

— Eliana Perez

Palm Springs fire chief suddenly quits

Palm Springs Fire Chief J. Kevin Nalder resigned Wednesday. Deputy Fire Chief Jason Loya will serve as the interim fire chief effective immediately.

City spokesperson Amy Blaisdell said officials are "immediately commencing conversation" about how to fill the position. The city manager appoints all department heads, including the fire chief.

Blaisdell did not say if Nalder gave a reason for his resignation. But when asked by The Desert Sun, Blaisdell confirmed that Nalder had been involved in an accident while driving a city vehicle in Palm Springs on April 8.

Palm Springs Police Chief Andrew Mills said his department asked Cathedral City police to investigate the crash "for greater objectivity," something he said is standard when a city official is involved.

Cathedral City police said Nalder was driving east on East Alejo Road about 10 a.m. on April 8 when he made a turn and collided with a vehicle heading south on Farrell Drive.

"Mr. Nalder was deemed the party most at fault but no citation was issued," Commander Julio Luna of Cathedral City police said in an email.

He added that both vehicles had "moderate damage" and drugs or alcohol were not a factor.

Nalder became chief in 2015, after serving in the same role in Kirkland, Washington, for six years. Public records indicate he lived in Carlsbad, California, about two hours from Palm Springs. Two sources close to city operations said some city leaders were displeased that he lived far away.

— Paul Albani-Burgio

This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Palm Springs area top news week of Aug. 21