Aug. 8 Daily Briefing: Deadline for business program, local woman identified as 9/11 victim, and more

TGIF, everyone, where we have news we’ve been waiting eight long months to deliver: We’re taking some vacation days! You may or may not know that our tiny team of two often works six — and sometimes seven — days each and every week. Believe us when we say it is our absolute pleasure to serve the community, but sometimes we get tired, especially on those 20-hour days when the City Council meets. Since the Council is off this month, along with many other boards and commissions, we’re taking advantage by taking all next week off — our first week off since last December. We hope you’ll understand, know from our history that you probably will, and promise to be back in your inbox on Aug. 18. 

🎶 Setting the mood: “Vacation” by The Go-Go’s

LEADING OFF

Entrepreneurs have until mid-month to apply for free business training program

Palm Springs entrepreneurs have one week left to apply for a free business training program that comes with $4,000 grants. The Aug. 15 deadline approaches for BizUp Palm Springs 2.0, which begins the week of Aug. 18.

Driving the news: The program offers bilingual business training, personalized coaching and mentorship to undercapitalized entrepreneurs, with successful participants receiving $4,000 business grants from the City of Palm Springs.

The details: Up to 10 participants will be selected for the program, which is delivered through a partnership between Caravanserai Project and the City of Palm Springs with support from Caravan SBDC. Local small business owners are graduates of the program’s first class.

• Training is available in both English and Spanish, targeting businesses led by women, BIPOC individuals, LGBTQ+ people, immigrants, veterans and people with disabilities.

By the numbers: Since 2018, Caravanserai has supported more than 3,500 small business entrepreneurs and distributed over $3 million in micro-business grants.

What’s required: The program is open to for-profit businesses located within Palm Springs, focusing on supporting microbusinesses, side hustles and startups.

How to apply: Interested entrepreneurs can learn about eligibility criteria and submit applications at this website.

Dive deeper with our complete story

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BRIEFLY

🫶 Palm Springs resident among three 9/11 victims identified after 24 years

The New York City Office of the Chief Medical Examiner announced Thursday the identification of three more World Trade Center victims from the September 11 terror attacks, including Barbara Keating, a 72-year-old Palm Springs resident who was a passenger on American Airlines Flight 11.

• According to her online obituary, Keating was a breast cancer survivor who was returning to California after visiting her grandchildren on the East Coast. She worked as a receptionist at St. Theresa Catholic Church and was known for driving around Palm Springs in a red convertible with the top down.
  
• The three new identifications bring the total number of people positively identified through DNA analysis to 1,653. About 40% of the 2,753 people killed at the World Trade Center on 9/11 remain unidentified.
  
• What they’re saying: “The pain of losing a loved one in the September 11th terror attacks echoes across the decades, but with these three new identifications, we take a step forward in comforting the family members still aching from that day,” said New York Mayor Eric Adams.

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YOUR WEEKEND

ALL WEEKEND

• Splash House – Weekend 1  across multiple venues in Palm Springs ($158)

TODAY

• Men’s Chat Group held virtually starting at 1 p.m.
   
• Game Night at Starbase 505 starting at 4 p.m.
  
• Mankiewicz Director’s Night at the Camelot Theatre at 7 p.m. ($12)

SATURDAY

• Indoor Palm Springs Certified Farmers’ Market at the Palm Springs Pavilion starting at 8 a.m.
  
• Desert Film Society at the Camelot Theatres at 10 a.m. ($15)
  
• Decriminalize Nature Palm Springs at the Mizell Center at 12 p.m.
  
• Planet of the Apes at the Camelot Theatres at 6 p.m. ($14)
  
• Comedy Night at Hotel Zoso at 9 p.m. ($15)

SUNDAY

• Hello Dolly at the Camelot Theatre at 3 p.m. ($14)
  
• Retreat to The Heat at Hotel Zoso at 5 p.m. ($900)

AND FINALLY …

Today’s the day – the last day the city’s main library will operate out of its current location on Sunrise Way for quite some time. When the library closes at 5 p.m. today, it won’t return to that location for at least 18 months. There’s a lot to keep track of, so here’s a round up of what you need to know.

Driving the news: After today, the library will close in preparation for a massive $42 million renovation to modernize the 50-year old building.

The timeline: Construction is set to begin soon, with the groundbreaking scheduled for Aug. 25. If the 18-month construction stays on course, construction would wrap up in February 2027 and the library would reopen in the summer of 2027.

• But construction could take up to three years, meaning the library would reopen some time at the end of 2028.

In the meantime: The library’s temporary location at Rimrock Plaza at 4721 East Palm Canyon Drive will open on Monday, Aug. 25. This time of transition is needed for the moving process.

With a little help from our Friends: The Friends of the Palm Springs Library have relocated to Our Savior’s Lutheran Church on Ramon Road and will resume accepting donations at the church location on Aug. 11, but only by appointment by calling 760-668-8838.

• Expect to see regular Friends book sales at the library’s temporary location and monthly book sales at the church.

Need to know: Procrastinators you’re in luck. If you’ve got any books due soon – or overdue books – the library wants you to just hold on to those items until the temporary location opens in a few weeks.

What else: The library is about so much more than books, there’s also amazing programming like movie nights, story times, author talks, and more! While the main library is under construction, expect to find library programming at the Welwood Murray Memorial Library and the Mizell Center in addition to other locations that will be announced later.

Stay tuned to the social media accounts of the library and Mizell Center to learn more.