Top Coachella Valley news headlines Sept. 26-Oct. 1: Salton Sea, vacation rentals, heat
Panel advises against importing water to Salton Sea
An independent review panel convened to evaluate water importation concepts for the shrinking Salton Sea is advising against water importation plans, instead recommending a combination of desalination and water from the Imperial Irrigation District.
The state-appointed Salton Sea Independent Review Panel was established in October 2021 to evaluate 18 water importation concepts submitted in response to two Requests for Information issued in 2018 and 2021. The panel was specifically tasked with taking a “long-term” perspective for resolving longstanding public health issues caused by receding shorelines at California’s largest lake.
Thirteen water importation concepts passed an initial screening, and three passed a "fatal flaw" review in July — all of which involved importing water from the Sea of Cortez, which lies between Baja California and mainland Mexico.
But in its fourth and final report issued Thursday, the panel ultimately did not recommend importing water from the Sea of Cortez to address long-term problems at the Salton Sea, citing high costs, environmental damage and other concerns.
Instead, the panel recommends building a large desalination plant near the Salton Sea, then removing 200,000 acre-feet of salty water from the sea each year for desalination. After desalination, 100,000 acre-feet of pure water would be returned to the sea each year. The other 100,000 acre-feet would be the salty waste product that results from the desalination process.
To replace that lost 100,000 acre-feet, the panel recommends a program that would compensate Imperial Irrigation District farmers for fallowing their land, with the saved water flowing into the Salton Sea.
— Erin Rode
Palm Springs Council hears report on vacation rentals, seeks more info
Palm Springs City Council members said Thursday they're open to more limits on short-term home rental permits, but need much more information before considering a vote.
Thursday's nearly two-hour discussion began with a presentation about the report of an 11-member vacation rental work group commissioned by the city earlier this year to look at whether more regulation is needed.
The citizen group's proposal, which was put together after five meetings, called for a citywide cap of 2,500 permits as well as limiting the proportion of homes in each neighborhood that could be vacation rentals to 10%. Those recommendations represented a consensus of the group members but were not unanimous.
But during Thursday's meeting, the council raised several concerns about how the group had operated and the information it relied on. Council members said the working group wasn't diverse enough to reflect the city and that there is not enough data available about the impact of short-term rentals on the city's housing supply, tax revenues and broader economy to make an informed recommendation.
— Paul Albani-Burgio
Sesame Street Live, Journey among shows announced for arena
Sesame Street Live, Professional Bull Riders and the Harlem Globetrotters are among shows slated for the new Acrisure Arena in 2023.
Norteno legend Ramon Ayala will perform Feb. 16, and the classic rock band Journey is slated to perform on April 25.
Sesame Street Live, is scheduled for Jan. 11. The Professional Bull Riders will bring some rodeo action to the arena on Feb. 10 and 11, and the Harlem Globetrotters will showcase their basketball skills on Feb. 24.
— Brian Blueskye
Man accused of quadruple homicide goes on trial again
The man accused of killing four people in Palm Springs in 2019 is on trial again, with attorneys delivering opening statements to a jury Wednesday. The first jury deadlocked, leading to a mistrial in March.
Jose Larin-Garcia of Cathedral City faces the possibility of the death penalty for the fatal shootings, killings that prosecutors have described as "executions." Defense attorneys have disputed that in both trials, saying another suspect is still at large.
Larin-Garcia's first trial spanned approximately five months, centering on his apparent attempt to flee after the shootings. Prosecutors said he was the only suspect found near the scene of the crime.
— Christopher Damien
Summer 2022: second hottest on record
Only two daily maximum temperature records were broken, but this summer was still the second-hottest on record in the Coachella Valley, with an average temperature of 93.9 degrees from June through September so far.
The culprit wasn't record-breaking high temperatures like last summer, but higher-than-normal low temperatures at night time, which drove up the average temperature over the summer, according to the National Weather Service.
Last summer was the hottest recorded since the historical temperature record began a century ago in 1922. A total of eight daily maximum temperature records were broken, and on June 17, 2021, Palm Springs hit 123 degrees, tying the record for the hottest day ever.
This summer only saw two temperature records fall: on June 11 the temperature reached 114, and this week's late-September heat wave set a new record of 111 on Sept. 26. While that was technically in fall, notably, the mercury never hit 120 degrees.
The average temperature from June through late September 2022 was 93.9 degrees, just slightly below the all-time high of 94 degrees last year.
— Erin Rode
This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Palm Springs area news Sept. 26-Oct. 1
