Feb. 27 Daily Briefing: Police town halls kick off, pickleball plans discussed, parking at PSP, and more

Welcome to Tuesday, where we’d like to show a little solidarity with some members of the local media. After years of negotiations, the Desert Sun News Guild, which is challenging Gannett (the country’s largest newspaper chain), voted to strike on Monday. The duration and timing of the strike is not yet known, but it appears justified. “For three years, we’ve emphasized the importance of investing in the dedicated workers, but Gannett hasn’t responded,” stated Christopher Damien, the guild’s unit chair. Members of the guild have established a strike fund for those wishing to contribute.

🎶 Setting the mood: “Quick” by Tank and the Bangas

LEADING OFF

Police town halls kick off with shift in concerns noted for some residents

Palm Springs police held the first of four neighborhood town hall meetings on Monday, with around 50 residents from the northern part of the city attending to discuss community policing priorities. The main concerns raised were homelessness and traffic issues, followed by property crimes.

Driving the news: Police Chief Andy Mills addressed the audience, highlighting the department’s focus on violent crime prevention since the last town halls in 2022. He noted that reports of gunshots have “decreased enormously” since then.

•  Mills also pointed out that there were no homicides in the city in 2023, down from five in 2022, and fatal collisions dropped from 16 in 2022 to seven in 2023.

By the numbers: The police department reported 2,544 crimes in the city in 2021, which decreased to 2,330 in 2023. 

• Speaking before the meeting began, Lt. William Hutchinson emphasized the importance of residents reporting any suspected crime, no matter how small, to help law enforcement spot trends and identify potential serial criminals.

What’s next: Three more town hall meetings are scheduled this week for community members in the city’s Business District, Central District, and South District. 

• The goal of the meetings, according to Mills, is to “police from your perspective,” considering the city’s 47,000 residents and 50,000 to 60,000 annual visitors.

Dive deeper with our complete story online.

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BRIEFLY

🎾 Third pickleball court community workshop scheduled for tonight

The Palm Springs Parks and Recreation Commission is looking into expanding the pickleball courts at Demuth Park, and the project design team wants more community input.

• During Monday evening’s commission meeting, a consultant working with the its members on drawing up plans for an expansion of the pickleball courts said the turnout and response to the earlier two community workshops have been so helpful, they scheduled a third meeting for tonight.
  
  
• Right now, there are 12 pickleball courts and one tennis court. The current concept would replace the tennis court with more pickleball courts, and would expand the footprint of the pickleball court area for a total of 24 pickleball courts.
  
  
• On Monday evening, five people spoke in favor of the expansion, with some wanting to make sure nearby trees weren’t harmed in the process.
  
  
• Details: Tonight’s meeting starts at 5 p.m. at the Demuth Community Center in the multipurpose room.

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TODAY’S FEATURED EVENTS

PSPD Neighborhood Town Hall Meeting
11 a.m. | Convention Center
PSPD will meet with residents on the Convention Center’s east lawn for its second town hall which officers hope will encourage community engagement and public safety strategizing. 

Desert Healthcare District Board Meeting
5:30 p.m. | In-person and online
The Desert Healthcare District meets tonight for its regular meeting. Among the agenda items is a discussion about the ongoing hospital lease negotiations with Tenet Healthcare.

Palm Springs Toastmasters
6 p.m. | Palm Springs Toastmasters Club
Learn to speak with confidence with the Palm Springs Toastmasters and practice with friends. Guests always welcome.

Palm Springs Speaks: Terry McMillan
7:30 p.m. | Palm Springs Cultural Center
There are still tickets available for this evening’s Palm Springs Speaks event featuring bestselling author Terry McMillan. McMillan will share her wisdom on reinventing oneself at any age and discuss her books, including her latest novel, “It’s Not All Downhill from Here.” ($35)

SAVE THE DATE

• 26th Annual Hike 4 Hope at the Art Smith Trailhead on March 3.
  
  
• Movies in the Park: “The Goonies” at Downtown Park on March 5.
  
  
• Rock the Park: AbbaFab-a Tribute to Abba at Downtown Park on March 6.
  
  
• 2024 Palm Spring Philharmonic Series at the McCallum Theatre on March 6.
  
  
• Palm Springs Art Festival at Frances Stevens Park on March 9.

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AND FINALLY …

At a recent meeting, The Palm Springs Airport Commission reviewed the data on parking at the Palm Springs International Airport (PSP) to see whether PSP’s low rates are causing people to park there long-term, even if they’re not flying.

Driving the news: With parking rates of $20 per day, there were some concerns from residents and commissioners that some drivers were taking advantage of the price and taking parking spots away from actual travelers.

By the numbers: According to parking data over the last year, 52% of parking sales are people parking for one hour or less. 20% of sales are for people parking for between one hour and 20 minutes to 24 hours. People parking for five days or longer only accounts for about 6% of parking sales.

What they’re saying: A commissioner summed up the issue, saying, “We don’t think [people camping out] is an issue.” The commissioners also pointed out there is usually enough parking for everyone, even around busy holidays, because they open up auxiliary lots. 

• “We haven’t run out of capacity once over the last year,” said PSP Executive Director Harry Barrett.