May 23 Daily Briefing: Forgiveness for violent act, discussion follows film, Memorial Day events, and more

Welcome to Friday, and the end of a very tiring week for many of you (and us!). We’re glad you’re here and hope you will find inspiration, as we did, in the words of hope and forgiveness spoken by Dr. Maher Abdallah, Mayor Pro Tem Naomi Soto and others at a news conference yesterday. There’s more on that story below, but for now we have an important update: Today’s drive-thru donation event to support businesses impacted by the May 17 bombing has moved from Denny’s to Booze Hounds (2080 North Palm Canyon Dr.) and is still planned from 7 a.m. until 7 p.m. 

As for us, please note we will be off on Monday for the holiday, so there will be no newsletter. We hope to catch up on some rest and be ready to serve you again come Tuesday!

🎶 Setting the mood: “Campo” Toro y Moi

LEADING OFF

Doctor offers forgiveness after clinic bombing

A Palm Springs fertility doctor chose forgiveness over anger after a bombing destroyed his clinic, even offering to pay for the suspect’s funeral. 

Driving the news: Dr. Maher Abdallah’s American Reproductive Centers was severely damaged May 17 in an explosion that injured four people and killed the suspected bomber. Abdallah was supposed to be in his office during his usual Saturday routine, he said, but stayed out of town to visit family, likely saving his life.

• The FBI said Thursday that the suspect had amassed commercial chemicals capable of creating homemade explosives. 

The response: During a news conference Thursday near the spot of the blast, Abdallah said he instructed his business partner to contact the bomber’s family with an extraordinary gesture of compassion.

• “He asked me to reach out to his family and to pay for his funeral services,” said Amer Abdallah, who is also the doctor’s cousin. “I told him, you are such a better man than I am.”

The miracle: Firefighters risked their lives to restore power to the clinic’s embryo laboratory, which survived intact within the destroyed building. Thousands of frozen eggs, sperm and embryos were preserved, including 14 developing embryos that became what Abdallah called “perfect blastocysts.”

Moving forward: The clinic never stopped serving patients, operating from a Palm Desert location just two days after the attack. City officials expedited permits and secured temporary space at the El Mirador Building for full operations resuming next week.

• Abdallah plans to rebuild on the original site after 13 years of operation and helping more than 2,200 families.

What’s next: Late Thursday evening, the Palm Springs City Council voiced approval for the city assisting with financial support for this weekend’s planned move of sensitive materials from the damaged building to the El Mirador Building.

• The city is also implementing a disaster overlay zone with reduced permit fees and expedited approvals for affected businesses.

Read our full story | Images from Thursday

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BRIEFLY

🎬 Film connecting Trayvon Martin to civil rights history screens here

Local nonprofit Brothers of the Desert presents a one-night screening of “Veils, Requiem for Trayvon” tonight at the Palm Springs Cultural Center, an independent film that connects the 2012 killing of Trayvon Martin to pivotal moments in the civil rights movement.

• Directed by Courtney Baker-Oliver, the film adapts a stage play by Steven A. Butler Jr. that Baker-Oliver had been directing for years. The transition to film allowed new creative possibilities, including scenes showing Sybrina Fulton meeting with mothers from civil rights history like Mamie Till-Mobley and Myrlie Evers.
  
• Baker-Oliver collaborated with cinematographer Andre Strong, his former student from the 1990s when he was teaching drama. The South Florida native discovered a personal connection to the story when he learned “Trayvon’s dad is an in-law of my aunt” and said the case resonated deeply because “what happened to Trayvon could happen to me or to my nephews.”
  
• Details: The screening takes place at 6 p.m., followed by a panel discussion with Baker-Oliver, Butler, cinematographer and editor Andre Strong, and City Councilmember Grace Garner. For ticket information, turn here.

Read Kendall Balchan’s full story

🌿 Wildlife board approves $3.5 million grant for Prescott Preserve

The California Wildlife Conservation Board approved a $3.48 million grant Thursday for the Prescott Preserve Ecological Restoration project in Palm Springs, moving forward with plans to transform a former golf course into native desert habitat after a legal dispute was resolved in November.

• The grant will fund restoration work on 28.14 acres of the defunct Mesquite Golf Course, which Oswit Land Trust purchased in July 2022. The project will restore native desert habitats to benefit 19 special-status species, including the federally endangered Casey’s June beetle.
  
• The funding comes after Oswit Land Trust and the Mesquite Country Club Homeowners Association reached an agreement following mediation in November 2024. The legal battle began when the homeowners association filed suit in August 2022, seeking to force golf course operations to resume.
  
• Bottom line: The restoration will remove invasive Bermuda grass and other non-native plants from the site. The work represents the first phase of a planned restoration of 75 acres within the 120-acre former golf course property.

Read our full story

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YOUR WEEKEND

MULTIPLE DAYS

• Broadway’s Bad Guys! At the Revolution Stage Company, Saturday and Sunday ($30)

TODAY

• Rebuild Palm Springs donation drive-thru event from 7 a.m. until 7 p.m. at Booze Hounds.
  
• “Grounding After Crisis” drop-in group therapy at the Scott Hines Behavioral Health Clinic at 10 a.m. and 4 p.m.
  
• Ron Oliver Walk of Stars Dedication, the 497th star will be dedicated at 222 South Palm Canyon Drive at 10 a.m. 
  
• Foodie Fridays at the Cultural Center starting at 4 p.m. (Last of the season)
  
• “Viels, A Requiem For Trayvon” screening at the Cultural Center starting at 5:30 p.m. (Ticket prices vary)

SATURDAY

• Certified Farmers’ Market at the Cultural Center starting at 8 a.m. 
  
• Dip Into Summer at the Palm Springs Leisure Center starting at 11 a.m.
  
• Not Your Grandma’s Bingo at Chill Bar starting at 11 a.m.
  
• “No Other Land” screening at the Cultural Center starting at 2 p.m. ($10 donation suggested)
  
• Country Western Dancing at the Dance Ranch Palm Springs, starting at 7 p.m. ($5)

SUNDAY

• Mid Mod Boozy Brunch at PS Air starting at 11 a.m. ($75)
  
• Mahjong Meetup at the Play Lounge & Cafe starting at 12 p.m. 
  
• Memorial Day BBQ at Sparrows Lodge starting at 1 p.m. (Ala Carte Menu)

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AND FINALLY …

Memorial Day Weekend will bring a uniquely moving tribute to the desert as the Palm Springs Air Museum honors fallen service members with a ceremony featuring over 3,000 red and white carnations dropped from a vintage B-25 Mitchell bomber on Monday.

Driving the news: The museum’s annual Memorial Day ceremony will showcase Semper Fi, the only flying Marine and Navy version of the famous World War II bomber, releasing thousands of flowers over the facility in tribute to fallen comrades.

• The flower drop follows a Missing Man formation flight around 2 p.m., with visitors welcome to collect the carnations as keepsakes.
  
• Adding to the weekend’s tribute, new fallen heroes banners from American Legion Post 519 will be displayed at the air museum and along Palm Canyon Drive.

The details: Flight exhibitions begin at 10 a.m., with the formal memorial ceremony starting at 1 p.m. The day also features kids’ activities, food vendors, and live music from the Heatwave Jazz Band.

Special attraction: Lockheed Martin’s DARKSTAR aircraft will be on display in one of the hangars, adding to the day’s aviation showcase.

When and where: The Memorial Day event takes place Monday, May 26, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at 745 N. Gene Autry Trail.

Why it matters: The ceremony represents one of the more distinctive Memorial Day tributes in the Coachella Valley, combining historical aircraft with a tangible reminder of service and sacrifice that attendees can literally take home.