Jan. 16 Daily Briefing: A legacy of service, process questions addressed, Trader Joe’s hopes dashed, and more

Welcome to Friday, where we hope it’s the start of a long weekend for you.  Heads up that if you were planning to attend the annual MLK Jr. Youth Basketball Classic at Demuth Community Center this weekend, it has been canceled due to unforeseen circumstances. But we’re not without other events to honor Dr. King’s legacy. A commemoration of his life takes place Sunday at 2 p.m. at United Methodist Church. Find all the details here at the Palm Springs Black History Committee website.

🎶 Setting the mood: “Leaving on a Jet Plane” by Peter, Paul & Mary

Leading Off

Longtime airline employee reflects on watching PSP go from six-seaters to 3.2 million passengers

Gina Russo-Hartman is retiring from Palm Springs International Airport after nearly five decades, ending a career that began handwriting airline tickets on three-foot notepads. Her biggest adjustment? Choosing what to wear each morning after wearing a uniform since Catholic school.

Meet Gina: Russo-Hartman grew up three blocks from the airport, playing in its fountain as a child and getting dressed up to meet her father on flights from Los Angeles on Bonanza Airlines.

• When she started in 1978, passengers didn’t get confirmation numbers — “they just trusted that we had their name on the manifest,” she said.

Looking back: Her career spanned the industry’s transformation from six-seater Cessnas where passengers couldn’t stand upright to record-breaking passenger numbers at PSP and strict security.

• The biggest change came after Sept. 11. Before 9/11. “There was no real security screening,” she said. “They would look in your purse, but people were able to carry [small] knives and scissors and all of that.”

What’s next: She hopes to travel the world with her 10-year-old granddaughter using her employee flight benefits, visiting Japan, Korea, the Galapagos Islands, and South America.

• She’s also considering attending community meetings to help preserve the airport’s mid-century aesthetic during upcoming renovations.

Bottom line: She will miss her Alaska Airlines coworkers, talking to new people every day, and the airport itself.

• “I get told every day what a beautiful airport we have and how stress-free it is compared to where [passengers] were coming from,” she said. 

Dive deeper with Kendall Balchan’s story

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Briefly

🏛️ Process concerns addressed during convention center briefing

• A city-hired consultant and the city’s finance director presented plans Thursday for a $135 million convention center modernization to the Measure J Oversight Commission, including a proposed Tourism Improvement District with a 1% lodging assessment that would generate an estimated $4 million annually.
  
• Commissioner Larry Isaak raised a concern about the process, saying the panel should have been consulted earlier about the project’s impact on Measure J funding capacity. Finance Director Kristopher Mooney said staff understood the commission’s frustration and committed to keeping commissioners more closely informed as the project advances, including providing monthly updates before any formal Measure J funding request.
  
• What’s next: A petition drive for the Tourism Improvement District is expected to begin within the next week, requiring approval from property owners representing more than 50% of assessed lodging revenue. Property owner approval is expected by March.

Dive deeper with our complete story

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Your Weekend

MULTIPLE DAYS

• The Wild Show at the Desert Art Center all weekend long
  
• Eureka Day at the Dezart Playhouse all weekend ($69)
  
• Assassins at the Revolution Stage Company all weekend long ($33)
  
• Palm Springs Fine Art Festival at Frances Stevens Park on Saturday and Sunday 
  
• Matteo Lane at the Plaza Theatre Saturday and Sunday ($90)

TODAY

• Parks Listening Session at Hilton Palm Springs at 8 a.m.
  
• Friends Book Club at the Welwood Murray Memorial Library at 2 p.m.
  
• Foodie Fridays at the Cultural Center at 5 p.m. 
  
• Razzle Dazzle at the cultural center at 7 p.m. ($22)
  
• A Brighter Day at PS Underground at 7 p.m. ($190)
  
• Top of the World – A Carpenters Tribute at the Plaza Theatre at 8 p.m. ($79)

SATURDAY

• Hiking Mixer at South Lykken Trail at 7:30 a.m. 
  
• Palm Springs Certified Farmers Market at the Cultural Center at 8 a.m.
  
• Community Cleanup at Tahquitz Creek Foot Bridge at 8 a.m. 
  
• Standard Pool Promenade at Eight4Nine at 9 a.m. 
  
• F-104 Starfighter Open Cockpit at the Palm Springs Air Museum at 10 a.m. ($25)
  
• TASTE Festival at The Shag House at 12 p.m. ($105)
  
• Poetry in Motion at the Janssen Artspace at 4 p.m. 
  
• American Legion Baseball Fundraiser at the American Legion Owen Coffman Post 519 at 6 p.m. ($45)

SUNDAY

• MLK Jr. Commemoration at the United Methodist Church of Palm Springs at 2 p.m.
  
• Salon Sundays at the Riviera Resort & Spa at 4 p.m.
  
• Nonna – A Celebration of Italy at PS Underground at 4 p.m. ($150)

AND FINALLY …

A report reviewed during a recent Palm Desert City Council meeting has sparked cautious optimism among Trader Joe’s enthusiasts in Palm Springs (including us), but city officials say there’s nothing concrete to report.

Driving the news: A retail update presented to the Palm Desert officials during a recent study session revealed that a broker has expressed long-term interest in opening a second Palm Desert Trader Joe’s location — but only after “a location in Palm Springs has opened and matured.”

Wait, what??: A Trader Joe’s in Palm Springs? Could it finally be? Not to dampen your Peanut Butter Filled Pretzel Nuggets, but Palm Springs Planning Director Christopher Hadwin said this week his department “has not had discussions with representatives of Trader Joe’s and is not aware of any application having been filed for a location in Palm Springs.”

• The company’s website also doesn’t show any Palm Springs plans. We’re happy for you, Cypress, Texas, but still …

Why it matters: Despite three existing Coachella Valley locations in Cathedral City, Palm Desert, and La Quinta, Palm Springs residents — like those in just about every city in America — have long hoped for their own outpost of the beloved grocery chain.

What’s next: For now, Palm Springs shoppers will need to continue trekking across the border to Cathedral City for their cult favorites (hello Mandarin Orange Chicken!) while keeping their fingers crossed that someday, somehow, those persistent Trader Joe’s rumors might actually come true.