Nov. 21 Daily Briefing: City project updates, airport rush, PS Speaks tickets, and more

Good morning and happy Friday! We told you earlier about Rob Reiner tickets going on sale for his Dec. 16 appearance, and today at noon is your chance to score seats for the rest of the Palm Springs Speaks Season Seven lineup — Cheech Marin (Feb. 10), Wade Rouse in conversation with Steven Rowley (Feb. 24), and genetic genealogist CeCe Moore (March 30), all at the Plaza Theatre. The best part? Your ticket purchase supports the Palm Springs Public Library. So, head to palmspringsspeaks.org at noon for tickets and more information!

🎶 Setting the mood: “Bellbottoms” by The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion (Made famous by the amazing opening car chase scene from the movie “Baby Driver”)

LEADING OFF

Commission reviews progress on public safety facilities, infrastructure upgrades

The Palm Springs Measure J Oversight Commission received updates Thursday on capital improvement projects funded by the voter-approved sales tax. Work is advancing on fire station renovations, a police operations center and public safety infrastructure improvements.

Driving the news: Fire Station 3 off East Racquet Club Road is in the design stage for renovations, while Fire Station 1 will be remodeled at its current location rather than relocated. 

• The real-time operations center build out at the police department off South Civic Center Drive has reached substantial completion.

By the numbers: The city has spent $32,000 on vehicle outfitting and $270,000 on vehicle purchases in the current fiscal year. 

• Additional completed projects include $743,000 in conference room upgrades at City Hall and emergency electrical repairs at Sunrise Park.

The latest: The Palm Springs Swim Center locker room project has transitioned from a community-initiated project to a capital project. The swim center renovations are now fully funded with $7 million in debt issuance proceeds that were combined with library renovation funding.

• The change returns $79,000 to the overall community-initiated project bucket for future allocation, said Kristopher Mooney, the city’s director of finance and treasurer.

Of note: The Palm Springs Women’s Club solar installation project remains the only community-initiated project currently underway, with funds already distributed.

Dive deeper with our complete story

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BRIEFLY

✈️ Palm Springs airport gears up for Thanksgiving rush

• Palm Springs International Airport expects more than 75,000 departing passengers during a 13-day peak travel period that started Thursday and lasts through Dec. 2, with approximately 46,500 travelers departing during Thanksgiving week alone. 
  
• The airport recommends passengers arrive two hours before departure if checking bags and 90 minutes before for carry-on only. Peak security times are expected from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., when up to 1,200 passengers per hour may pass through the checkpoint. Holiday demand may also cause parking to fill quickly.
  
• Of note: The busiest days are projected to be the Tuesday and Wednesday before Thanksgiving and the Sunday after, with about 6,300 average departing passengers on those days. Also, new parking rates take effect Nov. 24, with hourly parking increasing to $9 from $8 and the daily maximum rising to $26 from $20. 

Dive deeper with our complete story

YOUR WEEKEND

MULTIPLE DAYS

• 11th Annual Cathedral City International Hot Air Balloon Festival all weekend
  
• Mid-Century Magic at the Rubine Red Gallery all weekend
  
• McCormick’s 79th Auto Auction at the Palm Springs Convention Center all weekend ($15)
  
• Rent at the Revolution Stage Company all weekend ($33)
  
• Hope Springs at Palm Springs High School all weekend ($10)
  
• The Roommate at the Palm Springs Cultural Center all weekend ($40)
  
• Marvelous Marilyn Maye! at The Purple Room Supper Club all weekend ($90)
  
• For the Heroic, Bright and Beautiful at the Jewish Community Center Saturday and Sunday ($35)

TODAY

• Endeavor with Jase at Demuth Park at 3 p.m.
  
• Foodie Fridays at the Palm Springs Cultural Center at 5 p.m. 
  
• Natalie Douglas & John Boswell at Oscar’s Downtown Palm Springs at 6 p.m. ($40)

SATURDAY

• Palm Springs Certified Farmers’ Market at the Palm Springs Cultural Center at 8 a.m.
  
• The Plaza Theatre Community Open House and Block Party on South Palm Canyon Drive starting at 10 a.m. 
  
• Coachella Valley Filipino Festival at Downtown Park at 11 a.m. 
  
• Props & Hops Craft Beer Festival at the Palm Springs Air Museum at 12 p.m. ($75)
  
• Jason Webber’s Piano Riot at the Revolution Stage Company at 4 p.m. ($15)
  
• Cybill Shepherd “Queen Of The Lucky Club” at the Palm Springs Cultural Center at 7 p.m. ($83)

SUNDAY

• Papa’s R&B Brunch at Mountain View Clubhouse at 11:30 a.m. ($29)
  
• Mahjong Meetup at the Social Cafe & Play Lounge at 12 p.m.
  
• Butterfly in the Desert at the United Methodist Church of Palm Springs at 3 p.m.

AND FINALLY …

If you’ve been with us a while, you may remember our first attempt at a valley-wide weekly newsletter, The CV Reporter. We launched it in 2022 hoping to highlight original reporting from across the Coachella Valley — only to discover there wasn’t nearly as much being produced as expected.

Looking back: Rather than drop the idea, we tried covering every city ourselves. Readers loved it, but it wasn’t sustainable — one of us was dealing with kidney issues and the other was still in a full-time, high-stress corporate media job.

Fast forward: In 2024, Kendall received a new kidney, Mark left corporate media, we deployed AI tools that dramatically boosted our efficiency, and we added excellent freelance help. 

• With the right systems and people in place, we launched The Indio Post last May and The Palm Desert Post earlier this month — both are weekly newsletters rooted in our mission to focus relentlessly on city government and municipal affairs.

What’s next: Tomorrow you’ll see a new and improved CV Reporter. It won’t cover every corner of the valley, but it will spotlight our strongest reporting each week from the three cities we now serve — something polling shows many of you want.

We think you’ll like it. If not, unsubscribing is easy and won’t affect any of your other Post newsletters.