Monday brings mostly sunny skies with normal temperatures around 90 degrees, NBC Palm Springs reported. The Weather Channel forecast agreed, with a sunny high of 90 degrees in Palm Springs on Monday and 89 degrees on Tuesday.

Photo: Panoramio, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 3.0)

A low approaches by Wednesday

An upper level low pressure system moves down the Pacific coastline on Monday and Tuesday before turning over Southern California on Wednesday, NBC Palm Springs reported. Rain is certain over the western half of Southern California on Wednesday and Thursday, NBC Palm Springs reported, but whether the valley gets wet is still an open question.

There is still some disagreement regarding wet weather for the Coachella Valley, NBC Palm Springs reported.

The GFS model has forecast only a few very light showers for the valley, if anything at all, while the latest ensemble outlook predicts between 0.01 inches of precipitation over the valley's eastern half and 0.20 inches over its western half across the two days, NBC Palm Springs reported.

The Weather Channel forecast for Palm Springs gave a 20 percent chance of rain on Wednesday, rising to a 30 percent chance of showers late Wednesday night with about 0.04 inches, then a 20 percent chance on Thursday.

Photo: Panoramio, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)

Cooler to close the week

Clouds and a frontal passage will bring cooler than normal highs on Thursday and Friday, NBC Palm Springs reported. The Weather Channel forecast put Palm Springs at 77 degrees on Thursday and 79 degrees on Friday, down from the upper 80s and near 90 earlier in the week, with sunny skies returning by Friday.

Ryden Evers and Julius Miettinen each scored their first professional goal for the Firebirds (2-2-2-0), and Logan Morrison added his third goal of the season, the team reported.

Photo: The American Hockey League

A six goal second period

After Abbotsford moved out to a 4-0 lead, Evers scored his first professional goal and point at 13:57 of the second period to put Coachella Valley on the board, the team reported. The goal ended a goalless stretch of 135 minutes and 48 seconds, the second longest in team history, the team reported.

The Canucks scored six times in the second period, the most goals allowed in a single period in Firebirds history, the team reported.

Morrison followed with a power play goal, assisted by Tyson Jugnauth and Jani Nyman, the team reported. The Canucks scored six times in the second period, the most goals the Firebirds have allowed in a single period, passing the previous mark of four, the team reported.

Miettinen scores in the third

Miettinen scored his first professional goal at 4:47 of the third period, assisted by Lukas Dragicevic and Jugnauth, the team reported. Jugnauth finished with two assists, bringing his season total to 10, which the team reported leads the AHL.

Photo: Jenn G, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0)

Abbotsford outshot Coachella Valley 40-24, the team reported. The Firebirds went 1 for 4 on the power play and the Canucks went 2 for 5, the team reported. Victor Ostman made 20 saves before Nikke Kokko entered in relief and stopped 13 shots, the team reported.

The teams meet again on Sunday, October 18, at Rogers Forum, with puck drop scheduled for 4 p.m. PT, the team reported.

The group has rallied in the valley multiple times since President Trump's second term began, NBC Palm Springs reported. This time, organizers say Saturday is "not purely a protest," NBC Palm Springs reported. USA Today quoted organizers saying: "It's a day of nonpartisan voter participation, being in community with each other, and making sure every eligible voter has a plan, knows their options, and is ready to make their voice count."

Photo: Visitor7, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)

The Indivisible event pages describe the Vote Early events as nonpartisan and designed to increase participation from all eligible voters, with a commitment to nonviolent action at every event.

Organizers say Saturday is a day of nonpartisan voter participation, not purely a protest, reports said.

Where the five valley events are

In Palm Springs, the event at City Hall, 3200 East Tahquitz Canyon Way, is hosted by Courageous Resistance and Indivisible of the Desert and ends at noon, NBC Palm Springs and the group's Indivisible event page said. Listings differ on the start time: NBC Palm Springs, the Desert Sun and the Gay Desert Guide weekend listings give 9 a.m., while the Indivisible event page gives 10 a.m. City Hall also has a ballot drop off location for anyone ready to turn in a ballot, NBC Palm Springs reported.

A second Palm Springs event meets at the southeast corner of Sunrise Way and East Palm Canyon Drive, near the Smoketree area, from 9 a.m. until 11 a.m., NBC Palm Springs and the Indivisible Smoketree event page said.

Photo: Daytrippen

The Cathedral City event at City Hall, 68700 Avenue Lalo Guerrero, wraps up at 10:30 a.m., NBC Palm Springs reported. Events at Monterey Avenue and Highway 111 in Palm Desert, and at Highway 111 and Monroe Street in Indio, both end at 10 a.m., NBC Palm Springs reported. All five events start at 9 a.m. on Saturday, NBC Palm Springs reported, apart from the City Hall listing difference noted above.

Election Day is November 3

The general election will be held on Tuesday, November 3, USA Today reported. A full list of the Saturday events is available on the No Kings website, NBC Palm Springs reported.

The crash was reported at about 9:40 p.m. Sunday at the intersection of North Sunrise Way and East Vista Chino, police said, in reports carried by NBC Palm Springs and MyNewsLA. The cyclist was traveling north on Sunrise Way and attempted to cross Vista Chino before the collision.

Photo: Boehms on Tour

NBC Palm Springs, citing police investigators, reported that the bicyclist was riding north along the west side of Sunrise Way and tried to cross Vista Chino when a car heading west hit the rider. MyNewsLA's shorter account did not include the west side or westbound details.

The bicyclist remained in critical condition on Monday, and police did not release the rider's identity.

Taken to Desert Regional

The bicyclist, whose name was not released, suffered significant injuries and was taken to Desert Regional Medical Center in Palm Springs, police said. NBC Palm Springs reported the rider remained in critical condition as of Monday morning.

The driver cooperated with investigators at the scene, and alcohol and drugs are not believed to be factors in the collision, police said in both reports.

Photo: Farragutful, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Investigation continues

NBC Palm Springs reported that the police department's Traffic Unit is leading the investigation, which is still ongoing. MyNewsLA reported that the department reminded motorists, bicyclists and pedestrians to remain alert, obey traffic signals and exercise caution when traveling, especially at night.

The Sunday night crash is a separate incident from the fatal collision on East Palm Canyon Drive that the Post covered on October 7. The Post will update this story if police release more information.

Saturday's bill is topped by Calvin Harris, with Fisher and Chris Lake performing back-to-back as Under Construction, Peggy Gou going back-to-back with Four Tet, and Seth Troxler back-to-back with Ben Sterling.

Photo: via Wikimedia Commons (CC license)

Sunday brings Swedish House Mafia, Skrillex, Dom Dolla back-to-back with Kettama, The Blessed Madonna and DJ Harvey. Floating Points' Sunflower Sound System, making its U.S. debut inside a custom-built dome, runs across the full weekend.

Two nights, one stage, no overlapping sets: every performance in sequence, just this once.

One stage, no conflicts

The entire weekend unfolds on a single stage with no overlapping sets, so attendees can catch every performance without choosing between acts. The format is the festival's signature idea: two nights, one stage, just this once.

Doors open at 3 p.m. both days, with free parking from 1 p.m.; car camping and shuttle passes are also on offer. The event is 18 and over, and official hotel packages bundle passes with local lodging, putting Palm Springs hotels in the mix for the weekend.

Photo: via Wikimedia Commons (CC license)

Storm timing

The opening arrives with a weather watch. The Desert Sun reported Thursday that the most intense part of the remnants of Hurricane Rachel could reach the Coachella Valley in the middle of Head Trip, with the mountains west of Palm Springs in line for around 1.5 inches of rain early Sunday.

The timing may favor the festival: artists are not scheduled to perform until after 3:30 p.m., meaning the heaviest rain will likely have passed before the grounds fill, and Sunday headliner Swedish House Mafia is not expected on stage until 10:30 p.m. Still, forecasters warned that thunderstorms could build after the rain, adding uncertainty to the weekend.

USA Today reported that Palm Springs and surrounding desert communities could see periods of heavy rain capable of producing rapid flooding in washes, low-water crossings and typically dry creek beds, similar to the impacts of Tropical Storm Hilary in 2023.

Goldenvoice announced Head Trip in March as a one-time-only event, and the promoter has not confirmed any second edition.

Photo: via Wikimedia Commons (CC license)

The National Hurricane Center on Wednesday expanded Rachel's forecast cone into California. The system is expected to approach Southern California as a post-tropical cyclone early Sunday, with a projected landfall area roughly 100 miles south of San Diego, though the cone stretches as far north as Orange County. USA Today reported that the odds of tropical-storm-force winds reaching the coast remain below 10 percent, but could rise if the storm tracks farther north.

Photo: Panoramio, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)

The National Weather Service flagged a slight risk of flash flooding for inland areas including Palm Springs, the San Bernardino Mountains, Las Vegas and Phoenix. In the desert, the concern is familiar: periods of heavy rain capable of producing rapid flooding in washes, low-water crossings and typically dry creek beds, similar to the impacts Tropical Storm Hilary brought to desert communities in 2023.

Palm Springs and surrounding desert communities could see heavy rain capable of rapid flooding in washes and low-water crossings.

A break in the heat

The tropical moisture arrives on the heels of another hot stretch. Dangerously hot weather persisted across the region Wednesday, with extreme heat warnings in effect through 8 p.m. Thursday in Los Angeles and Orange counties, but forecasters expect a sharp cool-down Sunday through Tuesday as a cold low-pressure system moves south from Canada.

Forecasters told MyNewsLA the remnants of Rachel could bring showers late in the weekend or early next week, with thunderstorms possible Sunday or Monday. For the Los Angeles and Orange County areas, the National Weather Service put the chance of thunderstorms on either of those days at 5 to 10 percent. By Monday, high temperatures across the region are expected to be mostly in the 70s, about 5 to 15 degrees below normal.

Photo: inkknife_2000, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0)

What to do

No recorded hurricane has made landfall in California while maintaining hurricane strength, but the remnants of tropical systems have flooded desert roads before. Residents should monitor National Weather Service updates, clear storm drains and gutters, know whether they live in a flood-prone area, and never drive through flooded roadways.

Hanson announced the sale in February. Barkow, a longtime Dinah operations manager, and Garcia, a Dinah emcee, acquired the festival through their newly formed company, BellaRose Productions, keeping the event independently owned and rooted in LGBTQ+ culture.

Photo: Visit Greater Palm Springs

Rose and Bella are the perfect duo to take over The Dinah. Through their big hearts, business acumen, and commitment to preserving what is most beloved about The Dinah, I am genuinely excited to watch them take The Dinah to new heights.Mariah Hanson, founder of The Dinah, via GO Magazine

The 2026 weekend

The 2026 bill included Da Brat, Hayley Kiyoko, The Aces and Sasha Keable. Da Brat headlined the Black & White Ball on Friday, October 2, and Hayley Kiyoko and The Aces played the Hollywood Party on Saturday. The official schedule mixed pool parties, comedy and a Sunday closing party around the nighttime concerts.

Thirty-five years in, The Dinah turns the page with new owners and the same heartbeat.

The festival bills itself as the largest, longest-running female and non-binary music festival in the world. It launched in 1991 as a one-night event at a Palm Springs museum and grew into the five-day destination that takes over the Hilton and Hotel Zoso each fall.

We needed to come together in an energetic, fun and loving space. And that's what the Dinah is about. Community, friends, being queer and party.Bella Barkow, co-owner of The Dinah, via NBC Palm Springs

What comes next

With the 35th in the books, the festival's first chapter under BellaRose Productions is complete. As of Sunday, thedinah.com had not yet announced dates for the 2027 edition.

Photo: Shelly Simon, via GO Magazine

The reopening marks the start of the Tramway's winter season. The schedule for opening day calls for the first tram up at 10 a.m., the last tram up at 8 p.m. and the last tram down at 9:30 p.m.

Photo: inkknife_2000, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0)

During the 2026 closure, crews rebuilt the carriage on cabin two, repainted the cabin interiors, and completed the annual state-permit testing and service to the controls system, according to the Tramway's announcement.

The rotating cars are back on the cables, and the winter season in the mountains above Palm Springs begins.

We appreciate our guests' patience and understanding as our Tramway Systems and Facilities Departments worked to complete all necessary projects. We look forward to welcoming new and returning visitors back to the Tramway and eagerly anticipate the upcoming holiday and event season.Nancy Nichols, General Manager of the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway

The ride

The Tramway bills itself as the world's largest rotating tram car. Opened in 1963, its 80-passenger cars travel along the cliffs of Chino Canyon from the Valley Station at 2,643 feet to the Mountain Station at 8,516 feet in approximately 10 minutes, a climb of more than 5,800 feet. The cars rotate slowly as they climb, giving every rider shifting views of the canyon and the Coachella Valley.

The Mountain Station offers restaurants, observation decks and access to the trails of Long Valley and Mount San Jacinto State Park. With the winter season comes the chance of snow in the mountains above town, typically from November through April, and temperatures at the top can run far colder than the desert floor. The Tramway advises riders to bring a warm layer and sturdy shoes, and to carry water and check trail conditions before hiking.

Photo: Slowking Man, via Wikimedia Commons (public domain)

Planning a trip up

The reopening is one of the valley's biggest fall tourism signals, arriving just as the desert's peak visitor season begins. The first days after a reopening tend to draw crowds of riders who waited out the closure; a weekday later in the week may be calmer than reopening day. Tickets are sold on the Tramway's website, which is also where any change to the schedule would appear first. More information and tickets are available at pstramway.com.

Each two-hour evening includes the interior tour, light refreshments and a keynote presentation from speakers connected to the aircraft and the Walt Disney Company. Doors open at 6 p.m. Tickets are $65 for general admission and $50 for museum members, and children 12 and under are admitted free with a paid adult. Tickets are available through the museum's website, and attendance is limited.

Photo: Laughing Place

The dates and the storytellers

The first evening is Saturday, October 17, 2026, with Mark Malone and Ed Ovalle. Malone is the son of Chuck Malone, Walt's personal pilot, and later flew the Gulfstream himself as captain for Walt Disney Productions from 1979 to 1985; he is also the historical consultant to the aircraft's restoration. Ovalle is the archives manager at the Walt Disney Archives.

For the first time, anyone can tour the restored cabin of the plane Walt Disney flew as a studio in the sky.

The remaining evenings follow on Saturdays: January 16, 2027 with Walt Disney Archives director Rebecca Cline; February 20, 2027 and April 3, 2027 with Walt Disney Archives team members; and March 6, 2027 with Bob Gurr, the Disney Legend and Imagineer who worked on the Disneyland Monorail and Autopia. Each event also features its own limited-edition T-shirt available that evening.

"The Mouse" and the desert

The aircraft, nicknamed "Mickey Mouse One" or "The Mouse," was acquired by Walt Disney Productions in 1963 and served the company for nearly three decades, flying an estimated 83,000 passengers. The cabin was designed with creative input from Walt and Lillian Disney, and the museum lists its features as a galley kitchen, two restrooms, lounge-style couches, a desk workspace, and custom stationery and matchbooks adorned with subtle Mickey Mouse imagery.

Photo: Laughing Place

The plane has a direct link to the desert: in 1964, Disney flew from Palm Springs to Puerto Rico to scout settings that shaped Pirates of the Caribbean. The Castillo de San Felipe del Morro in Old San Juan helped inspire the look of the Disneyland attraction, which opened in 1967. Since 2022, the aircraft has been on long-term loan to the Palm Springs Air Museum from the Walt Disney Company, and the museum is restoring the interior to resemble how it looked during Disney's lifetime.

The Palm Springs Air Museum sits at 745 N. Gene Autry Trail and is open daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The five tour evenings are scheduled across October and the winter months, a rare chance for Disney and aviation fans alike to stand inside a piece of entertainment history.

Photo: Attractions Magazine, courtesy of D23

In June, the City Council approved a roughly $4 million agreement to acquire nearly an acre of the property at Andreas Road and North Indian Canyon Drive from Town and Country LLC and developer Grit Development, clearing the way for the new station. The Desert Sun and NBC Palm Springs both reported the purchase as it moved through the council this spring.

Photo: Farragutful, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)

The purchase drew scrutiny over its price. Public records showed the nearly one-acre parcel had been independently appraised at $3.15 million, and Mayor Pro Tem David Ready defended the roughly $850,000 premium by saying the agreement puts demolition and asbestos-removal costs on the seller rather than taxpayers, according to NBC Palm Springs.

The demolition is the first visible step in a long-planned change to downtown: a new Fire Station No. 1 on part of the historic Town & Country Center.

Two historic buildings come down

In July, the city's Historic Site Preservation Board approved the removal of two buildings at 171 and 181 N. Indian Canyon Drive. The approval calls for archival documentation of the buildings' historic features before removal, and for the assessment and stabilization of the neighboring building at 169 N. Indian Canyon Drive, which stays.

The demolition covers only part of the complex. The city's own staff report noted that the buildings at 171 and 181 N. Indian Canyon would likely need to come down so fire engines could maneuver on the tight site, and that the structures' historic status meant the preservation board had to sign off first.

Photo: Andare Incentives

Replacing a 1957 firehouse

The current Fire Station No. 1, at 277 N. Indian Canyon Drive, was built in 1957 and city officials say it no longer meets the department's needs. They have called it "vastly undersized" and unsuitable for housing both male and female firefighters, the Desert Sun reported.

An earlier plan to build the replacement station on a parking lot south of the existing firehouse was dropped after nearby business owners objected to the loss of parking. The Town & Country site keeps firefighters in the same downtown coverage area while preserving 90 public parking spaces, city officials have said.

A historic center, a new use

The Town & Country Center opened in 1948 and was designed by Paul R. Williams and A. Quincy Jones, an early example of mixed-use desert modernism that the city designated a Class 1 historic site in 2016. Most of the existing businesses along Palm Canyon Drive are not affected by the sale.

The acquisition displaced Well in the Desert, a nonprofit that ran a food bank out of 181 N. Indian Canyon Drive. Its lease was terminated in late May, and the organization's president said about 250 families a week picked up food there on Saturdays. Grit Development has said it is working with the nonprofit to find another home.

Prosecutors added sentence-enhancing great bodily injury allegations to each count. The incident unfolded at about 1:30 a.m. on Aug. 9 during the Splash House music celebration at the museum on Gene Autry Trail, according to Palm Springs police.

Photo: Palm Springs Air Museum

Police say Youssef was in the middle of a fight that broke out at the poolside party when he allegedly grabbed glass bottles and threw them at partygoers. It was unclear whether he was aiming at anyone in particular, police said.

The charges are allegations that have not been proven in court. Youssef is free on a $180,000 bond and returns to court Nov. 13.

Six victims identified by initials

Court papers identified the alleged victims only by their initials: four women, listed as A.C., I.A., N.G. and S.P., and two men, A.P. and D.G. The victims were treated by paramedics on site or taken to Desert Regional Medical Center for evaluation and treatment. Their injuries were generally described as minor and all stemming from contact with broken glass.

What happens next

Youssef was arraigned Tuesday before Riverside County Superior Court Judge Elizabeth Tucker, who set a felony settlement conference for Nov. 13 at the Larson Justice Center in Indio. He remains free on a $180,000 bond.

Photo: Palm Springs Air Museum

Officers working security at the venue were summoned when the fight erupted, but Youssef had fled by the time they reached the scene, police said. He turned himself in to investigators five days later and was booked into jail. Court records show no documented prior felony convictions for him in Riverside County. The charges are allegations and have not been proven in court.

The scam targets people with active land-use permit applications, NBC Palm Springs reported. The scammers use real property addresses, permit numbers and the names of government officials to make their emails look legitimate, then request payment for fake permit fees through wire transfers, peer-to-peer payment services or cryptocurrency.

Photo: Visit Palm Springs

Criminals are impersonating city and county planning or zoning officials and sending highly convincing emails that include real property addresses, permit numbers, and even names of government staff. Their goal: to trick you into paying fraudulent permit fees through wire transfers, peer-to-peer payment apps, or even cryptocurrency.Palm Springs Police Department, in a news release, via MyNewsLA

How the scam works

The emails can be difficult to spot because they are built on accurate information. The FBI warned earlier this year that victims of the phishing campaign have been identified nationwide, MyNewsLA reported. The federal agency described emails containing detailed, accurate information about planning and zoning requests, property addresses, case numbers and the true names of city and county officials.

Criminals are impersonating city and county planning or zoning officials and sending highly convincing emails that include real property addresses, permit numbers, and even names of government staff.

The emails may use professional language, formatting and imagery consistent with legitimate government communications, and arrive with attached PDF invoices containing itemized statements of purported fees, MyNewsLA reported. The invoices direct applicants to request payment instructions by email rather than by phone, which can keep victims from calling the city or county office to check whether the fees are real.

What police advise

Police are urging anyone who receives a payment request related to a permit to independently verify it with the city using official contact information, NBC Palm Springs reported. Residents and businesses should be cautious of unsolicited emails demanding immediate payment and carefully check the sender's email address for suspicious or non-government domains. Police say people should never send money without first confirming that the request is legitimate.

Photo: Daytrippen

Anyone who receives a suspicious request or believes they have been victimized by the scam in Palm Springs is encouraged to contact the Palm Springs Police Department's non-emergency line, MyNewsLA reported. Victims were also encouraged to file a complaint with the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center at ic3.gov.

Palm Springs elects its council members by district, a system the city adopted after facing the threat of a California Voting Rights Act lawsuit over its former at-large elections. District elections have been held in 2020, 2022 and 2024; this November continues that cycle for the three seats whose terms expire this year.

Photo: Andare Incentives

How district voting works

Under the district system, the city is divided into five geographic districts of roughly equal population, and each council member must live in the district they represent. Voters cast ballots only for the council seat in their own district. The mayor is selected by the council from among its members on a rotating basis; there is no separate mayoral election.

Three of the five council seats are in play, and the winners will shape the city's next four years.

The change was designed to give every neighborhood a direct voice at City Hall. In practice, it means campaigns are smaller, more local affairs: candidates knock on doors in a fifth of the city rather than running citywide media campaigns.

What the ballot looks like

In District 1, covering the northern end of the city, Grace Garner faces Donald J. Soja. In District 2, which includes downtown and the Uptown Design District, incumbent Councilmember Jeffrey Bernstein is unopposed on the printed ballot after the council voted to keep the race before voters; a write-in window runs September 7 through October 20. In District 3, covering west and central neighborhoods between Vista Chino and Ramon Road, former mayor Ron deHarte faces Charles A. Brown.

Photo: Tripadvisor, via Tourteller

Candidate filing closed in August, and the Riverside County Registrar of Voters will mail ballots to every registered voter in the county beginning in early October. In-person voting locations open in the days before Election Day, with vote centers operating across the Coachella Valley. Voters who prefer to vote in person can do so at any vote center in the county, not just in their own neighborhood.

Why this election matters

The winners will join a council facing a full agenda: the long-delayed Dream Hotel, the Plaza Theatre's first full season under its new operator, a new city manager search, and the ongoing buildout of the city's Section 14 restorative justice commitments. With three seats in play, the election could reshape the council's direction for the next four years.

The turnover is compounded by the city manager transition. Scott Stiles retires November 1, days before the election, which means the new council will play a central role in choosing the person who runs the city's day-to-day operations for years to come.

Voters can check their district and registration status through the Riverside County Registrar of Voters. The Post will publish candidate profiles and a voter guide in October.

The restoration returned the 1936 movie palace to its former glory, with the facade, marquee, auditorium and back-of-house systems renewed. Later accounts, including the National Trust for Historic Preservation, have put the full rehabilitation cost at $40.3 million, reflecting the project's private donations, state grant and federal historic tax credits as well as city support.

Photo: Andare Incentives

The Plaza opened in 1936 and spent decades as a premier desert entertainment venue. By the 2010s, the building had deteriorated badly, and its rescue became a civic cause, championed by the foundation that raised the restoration money and the city, which put public dollars behind the project.

The restoration returned a 1936 movie palace to its former glory.

The December gala was a major cultural moment for the city, with Erivo headlining a night that signaled the theater's ambitions. The programming since has mixed concerts, comedy, film and community events.

The $10 million question

The restoration's financing included city money, and the foundation behind the project is still working to repay $10 million to the city, according to September 2026 reporting. An earlier agreement called for repayment within three years after construction ended.

Photo: Inland Valley Living

The dynamic is familiar in historic preservation: the public sector bridges the financing gap to save a landmark, and the nonprofit operator spends years paying it back from fundraising and operating revenue. The theater's first full seasons will show how the venue performs.

For downtown, the theater's return is already tangible. A programmed historic venue brings evening activity to the surrounding blocks.

The programming choices ahead will define the theater's identity. A restored movie palace can be many things: a concert hall, a comedy club, a film venue, a community stage. The foundation's booking decisions in these first full seasons will answer the question the restoration left open, which is not whether the building is beautiful but what it is for.

The Post will continue to cover the theater's seasons and the foundation's fundraising progress, including the milestones on the road to repaying the city's $10 million.

The project dates to about 2007. The city sold roughly 7.8 acres to developer Selene Palm Springs LLC in 2015, and the current plans call for 150 to 160 hotel rooms, at least 40 condo-hotel units eligible for short-term occupancy, and at least 36 luxury villas without short-term rentals.

Photo: Expedia

In March 2026, the council approved an amended agreement built around nine milestones. The developer missed the April 30 deadline to complete a model room and the July 30 deadline to submit a guaranteed maximum price for construction, triggering default action by the city under the agreement.

Every missed deadline erodes confidence that the project will ever be built.

Default starts a legal process; it does not by itself end the deal. The agreement's repurchase terms follow contractual calculations if the city moves to take back the site, and the council has directed staff to report on its enforcement options, which could include financial penalties.

A familiar pattern

The Dream Hotel saga is one of the longest-running development dramas in the Coachella Valley. The project has survived multiple ownership and financing shuffles, each announced with fanfare and each followed by silence.

Photo: Andare Incentives

For the area around the Convention Center, the stakes are tangible. A completed hotel would bring hundreds of rooms and restaurant space to one of the city's most visible corridors. An empty lot brings none of those things, while tying up one of the most valuable parcels in the city.

What happens now

The agreement still targets construction starting October 1, 2026, with new construction drawings due October 15, a guaranteed maximum price by March 2027, completion on December 30, 2028, and opening the following day. Whether those dates hold depends on a developer that has missed every milestone this year.

Staff are expected to return with an accounting of the developer's compliance and a menu of enforcement options. Those could range from a final short-fuse extension with financial penalties to termination of the agreement, which would let the city seek a new developer. Termination would not produce a hotel overnight: a new developer would need a fresh agreement, financing and permits, a process measured in years.

The Post will continue to cover the project as the council's next steps become clear.

The figures, reported this month, put the airport about 3 percent below 2025's record pace, and mark the second-highest January-through-August total of the last six years. The airport heads into the winter season as airlines restore seasonal nonstop routes that connect the desert to the rest of the country.

Photo: Visitor7, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)

Behind the passenger numbers, the airport is planning a major capital upgrade. An outbound baggage system is under construction and expected to open in 2028, with completion of the baggage handling overhaul scheduled for the fourth quarter of 2028.

The airport is the front door of the valley's visitor economy.

Baggage systems are the kind of infrastructure nobody notices until it fails. PSP's open-air terminal design, charming in the abstract, funnels thousands of winter passengers through facilities built for a smaller era. The overhaul is the airport's acknowledgment that near-record years are the new normal, not the exception.

Federal money in the pipeline

The city has accepted up to $10.5 million in additional federal support for the inline baggage screening project, funding that helps underwrite the capital program alongside the baggage system overhaul.

Photo: Sdkb, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)

For the valley's visitor economy, the airport numbers are watched closely. Hotels, restaurants and shops plan their winters around the flight schedule, and a near-record year at PSP is a promising sign for the businesses that depend on visitors landing here.

The terminal's mid-century bones remain, but the operation inside keeps modernizing: seasonal routes return each winter, the baggage project advances toward 2028, and federal dollars keep flowing into the capital plan.

The Post will track the winter schedule as airlines finalize their seasonal routes, and the capital program as the baggage overhaul moves toward its 2028 completion date. Check back as the winter season takes shape.

This year's work includes cabin interior refurbishments, servicing of the Cabin 2 carriage assembly, controls maintenance and the state permit testing required before the cars can carry passengers again. The tramway operates under state oversight, and the annual inspection is not optional.

Photo: HikingGuy.com

The closure falls in the shoulder season, after the summer heat has driven down visitation and before the winter crowds arrive. It is the one month of the year when the mountain goes quiet.

The closure is the tramway's annual physical: cabins, controls and state permits.

The tramway has run this annual cycle for decades. The cars climb 2.5 miles up Chino Canyon, rising from the desert floor to an elevation of 8,516 feet, where the temperature routinely runs 30 to 40 degrees cooler than the valley below. The system opened in 1963 and its rotating cars, the largest in the world, have carried more than 20 million riders since.

What reopens October 5

When the cars start turning again, they will carry hikers to the trail network around the Mountain Station, diners to the mountaintop restaurants, and sightseers to the valley views that have made the tramway one of the desert's signature attractions since 1963.

Photo: Netphase

The Mountain Station sits at the edge of the Mount San Jacinto State Park wilderness, with more than 50 miles of hiking trails. For many visitors, the tramway is the only practical way to experience the alpine forest that rises directly above the desert, a ten-minute ride between two climates.

The maintenance closure is also a reminder of what the tramway is: a 1960s engineering marvel operating in one of the harshest environments in American tourism. The cables, towers and cars endure extreme heat, high winds and winter ice. The annual shutdown is the price of keeping a sixty-year-old machine safe, and the state inspectors who sign off each fall are the reason millions of riders have trusted it.

The reopening date is tentative, pending completion of the work and state sign-off. The Post will confirm the reopening when the tramway announces it, along with first-week details for hikers and sightseers planning their fall trips up the mountain. After a month of silence, the cars will be waiting, and the mountain will be ready.

The project would build 72 income-restricted rental homes for residents 55 and older, generally at or below 60 percent of area median income, on roughly two acres owned by the United Methodist Church of Palm Springs. The church would lease the land rather than sell it.

Photo: Inland Valley Living

The city's $3 million is structured as a loan at 3 percent simple interest, with a 55-year affordability requirement attached. The commitment can be withdrawn if the project fails to secure tax-credit financing after three attempts, and the funds are not expected to be disbursed until 2029. The city expects no general-fund impact.

The $3 million commitment is a loan, not a grant, with a 55-year affordability requirement.

Why the city money matters

Affordable housing deals are capital stacks, and a local commitment is often the piece that makes state and federal money possible. Federal low-income housing tax credits provide most of the equity, but credits are awarded competitively, and applications with committed local funding score higher. The city's $3 million would not build the project on its own; it would make the project competitive for the funding that would.

Wakeland specializes in affordable communities and has built across Southern California. The Palm Springs proposal follows the model the nonprofit has used elsewhere: city gap financing that unlocks state tax credits and other affordable-housing funding.

Photo: Lonely Planet

The project's stated timeline targets construction from mid-2027 through early 2029. Affordable developments routinely take years to move from council support to lease-up, and each funding layer adds its own timeline.

The Post is tracking the project's status and will report as financing milestones are reached.

The urgency ordinance bars the city from accepting, processing or approving data center applications while planners draft permanent regulations. Urgency ordinances take effect immediately and require a supermajority vote. Part of the problem: the city's zoning code has no definitions or regulations specific to data centers, so planners have no rules to apply if one is proposed.

Photo: Inland Valley Living

City staff identified no active data center application in Palm Springs. The moratorium is preemptive, aimed at writing the rules before the first proposal arrives rather than after.

In a desert city, every large new electricity and water customer deserves a hard look.

Data centers have become one of the most contested land uses in California desert cities. The facilities can draw enormous amounts of electricity and, depending on their cooling systems, significant volumes of water, a sensitive question in a region that imports much of its water and manages fragile groundwater basins.

How the moratorium works

Staff are expected to return with options for permanent rules governing where data centers may locate and what standards they must meet. Staff have since recommended extending the pause by 22 months and 15 days to complete the work, a sign the initial 45 days were understood as a starting gun for a longer planning process.

Photo: Expedia

The council can extend the moratorium if the work is not finished in 45 days, as state law allows urgency moratoriums to be extended for further study. Extensions are common in California land-use planning, where drafting permanent regulations routinely takes far longer than six weeks.

Palm Springs is not the first desert city to pump the brakes. Across the Coachella Valley and the high desert, councils have weighed the tax revenue and construction jobs data centers promise against their long-term demands on infrastructure. Palm Springs will now do its own math.

Residents who want a say should watch for the study sessions when staff return. Moratorium extensions require public votes, which means the data center question will come back to the council chamber more than once before permanent rules are set. The 45-day clock is ticking.

The festival, held February 12 through 22, offered nearly 500 events through 52 partner organizations: home tours, lectures, films, parties and the design showcases that have made the week a pilgrimage for architecture lovers. The organizers describe it as the festival's strongest showing to date.

Photo: Visitor7, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)

The $62 million figure captures the festival's full economic footprint: hotel rooms, restaurant meals, retail spending and the design-world commerce that flows through the valley during the week. For a city whose economy runs on visitors, an 11-day festival with that footprint is a major economic event.

More than 111,000 attendees across 11 days in February.

A global brand

What began as a local celebration of mid-century architecture is now billed by its organizers as an international design event, drawing visitors from around the world, many of whom extend their stays to explore the valley.

The festival's subject is the city's own built environment. Palm Springs holds one of the world's great concentrations of mid-century modern architecture: the Alexander tracts, the Frey and Neutra houses, the commercial buildings along Palm Canyon. Modernism Week turned that inheritance into an export, teaching the world to come to the desert to look at buildings.

Photo: Barbara Alfors, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)

The economic impact number also matters for civic math. Events like Modernism Week generate transient occupancy tax, the hotel tax that helps fund city services.

February is the sweet spot. The weather is mild, the winter residents are in town, and the festival gives the design world a reason to be in the desert at the exact moment the desert looks its best.

The Post will cover the 2027 festival when dates and the lineup are announced.

The grants are $3,750 each, and the program aims to reach 40 to 50 businesses a year. It is open citywide, but outreach prioritizes former Section 14 residents and their descendants. The $5.9 million Section 14 settlement was fulfilled in October 2025, and the city describes BizUp as part of its broader restorative justice package.

Photo: Tripadvisor, via Tourteller

Caravanserai, the program operator, works with small businesses on training, technical assistance and access to capital. The microgrants are aimed at the smallest businesses, the kind that often cannot access traditional lending.

Seventy-five percent of the $1 million is designated for microgrants.

The program pairs grants with business coaching alongside the checks, part of a model that treats money and mentorship as a package.

Why microgrants

Small grants can be the difference between a business opening and a business plan dying in a drawer. For entrepreneurs without collateral or credit history, a few thousand dollars can cover a business license, initial inventory or a security deposit on a commercial space.

Photo: Visitor7, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)

The Section 14 priority gives the program a restorative dimension. In the 1950s and 1960s, the city razed the Section 14 neighborhood, displacing predominantly Black and Latino families. The $5.9 million settlement with former residents and their families addressed part of that history; economic development aimed at survivors and descendants addresses another part. A microgrant cannot undo a displacement, but it can fund the businesses of the families who lived through it.

The five-year structure gives the program time to build relationships and measure results, rather than spending the money in a single burst. The city will be watching whether the grants reach the intended recipients, particularly in the Section 14 community.

The program is also a bet on the valley's small-business economy. Palm Springs runs on independent shops, restaurants and service businesses far more than on chains, and a million dollars over five years, targeted well, can keep promising businesses alive through their fragile early years.

Business owners interested in the program can find details through the city's economic development office. The Post will follow the program's rollout and report on where the first microgrants land, and whether the Section 14 outreach reaches the families it is meant to serve.

SunLine adopted an alternative-fuel policy in 1993 and pioneered fuel cell buses in transit service, operating from its Thousand Palms base. Its zero-emission bus rollout plan, updated in late 2025, lays out the path for converting its fleet. California's Innovative Clean Transit regulation requires the state's transit agencies to transition to zero-emission buses, and SunLine's documents show an agency that chose hydrogen early and is staying with it.

Photo: CALSTART, via Mass Transit Magazine

SunLine's hydrogen operations date to the early 2000s, when it began putting fuel cell buses into regular service. The agency has since built fueling infrastructure and run the buses as part of its fleet, making it a national reference point for hydrogen transit, with institutional knowledge few other agencies can match.

SunLine has operated hydrogen fuel cell buses longer than almost any transit agency in America.

The contested math

Not everyone is convinced the bet pencils out. A March 2026 CleanTechnica analysis argued that SunLine's hydrogen comes with high costs and questioned the real emissions profile of the fleet, distinguishing between hydrogen made from natural gas and hydrogen made with renewable energy. That analysis is the outlet's own read of the numbers, and readers should weigh it as one critical perspective rather than a settled verdict.

The distinction the analysis raises matters. Hydrogen's climate benefit depends on how it is produced. Hydrogen made from natural gas, the cheapest and most common method, carries a significant carbon footprint. Hydrogen made with renewable electricity is genuinely clean but far more expensive. The agency's own planning documents and state air regulators' reports provide the primary record.

Photo: GPS Business Insider

SunLine's answer, in its planning documents, is that hydrogen's range and refueling speed suit its long desert routes, a claim the rollout plan's performance data will test as the 2035 target approaches.

What riders will notice

For valley bus riders, the technology debate is background. What matters is whether the buses run on time, the fares stay affordable, and the air gets cleaner. SunLine's rollout plan is the document that will determine all three.

The move shifted the statue about 75 feet from its previous position into the park, under a city-approved 25-year placement agreement. The relocation followed a legal battle that had kept the sculpture's fate uncertain and divided the city.

Photo: Fotospot

Few public artworks in recent Palm Springs history have generated as much sustained argument. Supporters called the sculpture a tourist draw and a celebration of Hollywood glamour. Critics objected to its placement, its depiction and the process that brought it downtown.

The sculpture's journey to Downtown Park took years of legal battles and public argument.

The sculpture, by artist Seward Johnson, depicts Monroe in the famous subway-grate scene, skirt billowing. At 26 feet tall, it is impossible to ignore, which was always the point and always the problem. Its first downtown stint divided residents between those who saw a beloved photo opportunity and those who saw an oversized monument to a moment many found demeaning.

The legal fight

The path to Downtown Park ran through the courts. Opponents challenged the sculpture's placement, and the litigation kept its future uncertain for years. The February 2025 move, shifting the statue about 75 feet into the park under the 25-year agreement, gave the sculpture a permanent home with a defined term after years of temporary placements and legal challenges.

Photo: APK, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)

A new chapter

With the statue now in its permanent home, the controversy has cooled into the background hum of civic life. Tourists still pose for photos at its base. The 25-year agreement means the sculpture will be part of the downtown landscape for a generation.

The episode left its mark on how the city handles public art. The years of argument over Forever Marilyn taught Palm Springs that placement is policy: where a sculpture stands, how long it stays, and who decides are questions that deserve answers before the cranes arrive, not after the lawsuits do.

Whether the city made the right call will be argued for years. What is no longer in doubt is where she stands: in Downtown Park, 26 feet tall, greeting visitors for the next quarter century.

The new rates phase in on two tracks. Recycled water rates took effect July 1 and appeared on August bills. New potable water rates and the wastewater service charge take effect January 1, 2027, appearing on February bills, timed for the season when water use is typically lowest.

Photo: Lonely Planet

The agency says an independent study showed rates were not adequately covering the cost of service. As a public agency, the district cannot profit from its operations; rates are determined by the cost of delivering water and maintaining the system.

As a public agency, the water district cannot profit. Rates are set by the cost of providing service.

The five-year plan, adopted in 2023 after a series of public meetings, was designed to bring rates in line with costs gradually rather than all at once. The June vote was the fourth of the five scheduled increases, which means one more remains. Each increase has followed the same script: a cost-of-service study, public notice, and a board vote.

Where the money goes

The agency says the increases will fund upgrades to its distribution system, the network of pipelines, pumps and reservoirs that moves water across its service area. Some of that work is already visible: pipeline replacement projects are underway or scheduled in the Movie Colony East, Racquet Club Estates and Park Imperial North neighborhoods, with the Movie Colony East work starting the week of October 5.

Photo: Inland Valley Living

Pipeline replacement is the least glamorous and most essential work a water agency does. Much of the valley's water infrastructure dates to the postwar building boom, and aging pipes mean more breaks, more emergency repairs and more water lost to leaks. Replacing them on a schedule is cheaper than replacing them in a crisis.

For customers struggling with bills, the agency expanded its Help2Others billing assistance program, offering income-eligible customers a one-time $300 credit per 12-month period. The expansion acknowledges what the rate increases make plain: water is getting more expensive, and the households least able to absorb the cost need a buffer.

The agency also continues its conservation programs, the other half of the desert water equation. In a region where every gallon is pumped, imported or recycled at a cost, using less remains the cheapest source of new supply.

The rate plan's fifth and final increase is still to come. The Post will cover it when the board takes it up.

We Can and we are moving forward! Our path to progress is forged in working together, maintaining unwavering focus on our strategic goals, and letting the voice of our community be our compass.Ron deHarte, in the city's State of the City announcement

Since then, the city's leadership has turned over significantly. The mayoralty rotated to Naomi Soto in December 2025 under the council's rotating system. City Manager Scott Stiles announced he will retire November 1. And three of the five council seats, Districts 1, 2 and 3, are on the November 3 ballot.

Photo: Ken Lund, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0)

DeHarte seeks another term

DeHarte, who served as the city's 27th mayor from 2024 to 2025 and was first elected to the council in 2022 with 64.7 percent of the vote, is running for re-election in District 3, which covers west and central neighborhoods between Vista Chino and Ramon Road. He previously served on the Human Rights Commission and on nonprofit boards including Safe Schools Desert Cities, the LGBTQ Archives of the Desert, USA Prides and Palm Springs Pride.

We can and we are moving forward.

If re-elected, he would return to a council choosing a new city manager, a process in which his experience as a former mayor would carry weight.

Reading the speech now

State of the City speeches are the council's annual chance to set the narrative, and the December address leaned into consensus goods: major accomplishments, ongoing projects and future plans. Nine months later, the test of that narrative is the city's open files: the Dream Hotel's missed deadlines, the Highway 111 warehouse review, and a data-center moratorium adopted in August.

Photo: World Landscape Architect

The voters get their say on the direction soon enough. Ballots for the November 3 election go out in early October, and three seats will decide whether the “Palm Springs Forward” agenda continues under new leadership or takes a different direction.