Oct. 14 Daily Briefing: Latest housing report, arrest in 2024 fatality, our pet of the week, and more

Welcome to a potentially wet and chilly Tuesday! If you have hatches, we suggest you dig out your battens and tarpaulins to secure them, because the National Weather Service is predicting the clouds that blew in yesterday (along with an air quality alert) may leave some rain before the end of today. And even if the rain doesn’t happen, it’s still going to be about 10 degrees cooler than normal, with a high of only — shudder — 72 degrees. The experts say it’s because of a Pacific storm system entering the area, but we’re going to blame it on the fact stores are already selling Christmas decorations.

🎶 Setting the mood: “Ghost Town” by The Specials

LEADING OFF

Home prices drop slightly as inventory climbs

The latest Desert Housing Report, issued for September, reveals a continuation of the trends from August as prices continue to go down and inventory climbs.

Driving the news: In Palm Springs, the median price of an average-sized detached home last month was $1.13 million, down 3% compared to the year before. 

• The city’s attached home prices — for condominiums, townhomes and similar structures — averaged $427,000, down nearly 5% compared to last year.

Zoom out: The median price of a detached home in the Coachella Valley is $625,000, a 2% decrease from the year before. 

• Every city except for Cathedral City saw lower median prices for detached homes in August compared to the year before.

In context: Prices in the valley usually hit their seasonal low in autumn and their high in spring. 

What else: Palm Springs has the highest inventory in the valley, with 615 homes for sale at the beginning of this month. That’s an increase of 11% from the year before. However, the city also had the highest three-month average of sales, with 115.

• In the larger Coachella valley, inventory is up nearly 16%, with 2,799 detached and attached units available at the start of this month.

In the weeds: Homes have been selling at a slightly higher discount. Detached homes in the valley sold at an average discount of 2.7% below asking compared to 2.1% below asking last year. Few homes are selling above asking price.

Homes in the valley are taking an average of roughly 59 days to sell, while that number is 63 days in Palm Springs.

BRIEFLY

🏥 Desert Healthcare District to review $5.3 million grant for teaching health center

• The Desert Healthcare District Board of Directors will hold a study session today at 4:30 p.m. to review a grant application from Innercare for a Coachella Valley teaching health center program aimed at addressing the region’s primary care physician shortage.
  
• Innercare’s application requests $5.3 million over three years to establish the valley’s first Teaching Health Center and Family Medicine residency program. The initiative would recruit board-certified physicians and launch with six residents in year two, expanding to 12 residents at Innercare and six at DAP Health by year three. 
  
• Details: Today’s meeting will take place at the Regional Access Project Foundation, Conference Room 103, 41550 Eclectic St. in Palm Desert. It will also be available via Zoom. More details about the meeting are available here. Specifics about the proposed program can be found here.

🚨 Local CEO arrested in fatal hit-and-run case

• The 43-year-old founder and CEO of Silvercrest Advertising was arrested Monday by Cathedral City police in connection with a fatal hit-and-run crash from October 2024. William Frank Rodriguez faces felony hit-and-run and homicide charges after allegedly striking a scooter with his 2021 Porsche and fleeing the scene.
  
• The crash occurred at 12:46 a.m. on Oct. 11, 2024, near East Palm Canyon Drive and Bankside Drive, where Christina Barrington, 60, of Cathedral City, was found in the roadway with significant injuries. Police say Rodriguez’s vehicle struck Barrington’s scooter from behind and dragged it approximately 1,400 feet before fleeing. Barrington died the following day at Desert Regional Medical Center.
  
• Bottom line: Rodriguez was booked at the John J. Benoit Detention Center on a no-bail warrant and is scheduled to appear in court Wednesday. Silvercrest Advertising, a Palm Springs-based agency serving more than 200 clients, had been a presenting sponsor of the Palm Springs International Film Festival.

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TODAY’S FEATURED EVENTS

Yoga with Mariana
10 a.m. | Palm Springs Leisure Center
Affordable community yoga classes to recharge your body, mind, and spirit for much less than the big studios. ($12)

Leads Lunch
12 p.m. | Kaiser Grille Palm Springs
Join the Palm Springs Chamber of Commerce for its October Leads Lunch. No price for admission, just cover your meal. 

ONE-PS Monthly Meeting
4:30 p.m. | Palm Springs Police Training Center
The Organized Neighborhoods of Palm Springs (ONE-PS) holds its monthly meeting to discuss neighborhood issues with city council members, public safety officers, and others. The meeting will also be available on YouTube.

Desert Healthcare District special meeting
4:30 p.m. | Palm Desert
The meeting includes a study session on Innercare’s $5.2 million grant request. It is open to the public in person and via Zoom.

Melba Miller’s Jazz Oasis
5:30 p.m. | Palm Springs Cultural Center
Join songstress Melba Miller and special guests for an evening dedicated to serious listeners and lovers of Jazz. ($22)

Palm Springs Planning Commission
5:30 p.m. | City Hall
Commissioners meet to make recommendations on land use, zoning, and the general plan. Check out the agenda here. 

PSUSD Board of Education Meeting
6 p.m. | PSUSD Headquarters
The Board of Education meeting is tonight. Check out the agenda here.

See all events here

SAVE THE DATE

• Modernism Week October starting Thursday
  
• Wet + Wild Party benefitting Palm Springs Police and Fire at Desert Hand Car Wash on Oct. 23
  
• Pride Equality Walk on Oct. 25
  
• “Be A Hero For Kids” Halloween Bash on Oct. 26
  
• Pride on the Page on Nov. 1
  
• Palm Springs Pride Nov. 6 through 9
  
• Palm Springs Pride 5K Run & Walk on Nov. 8
  
• Palm Springs Hospitality Golf Tournament on Nov. 14

Submit your event here

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AND FINALLY …

🐾 Each week, The Post partners with a local animal shelter to feature one or more of the many animal companions ready for a new home in our community. 

Today, get ready, because it’s Britney, B#%ch! Britney Shears is a 4-year-old female poodle who became recently available at the shelter after undergoing an incredible glow-up.

• She initially arrived at the shelter in a box with incredibly matted fur that required two grooming sessions and anesthesia. During her spaying, it was discovered that she also had a life-threatening uterine infection.
  
• Doctors at the shelter were able to detect it and treat it in time, and now she is ready for the spotlight.

If you’re interested: You can visit the shelter at 4575 E. Mesquite Ave. Hours are 11 a.m. until 5 p.m. on all days except for Mondays (open for intake only) and Thursdays (1 p.m. until 7 p.m.). You can always call the shelter at (760) 416-5718.

• Make sure to check out all the other pets at the shelter here.