September 9 Daily Briefing: Parking meetings start, candidate Q&As, and more

Welcome to Monday and what promises to be a busy week! Starting tonight with both a Human Rights Commission meeting and the first of four downtown parking meetings, and ending Thursday with the first City Council meeting in more than a month, City Hall is back in full swing. We’ll be paying particularly close attention to the Council meeting to see what, if anything, might be said or done about allegations by the District Attorney that one councilmember doesn’t live in her district. During a gathering of local business leaders last week, a city official said a meeting was held in late August with the DA about the allegations. However, this paywalled Desert Sun story says the meeting wasn’t very fruitful, with the DA not giving the city access to his evidence.

🎶 Setting the mood: “Hate is the Basis (of Love)” by Rachel & Vilray

LEADING OFF

Parking study finds room for improvement; community can weigh in

If you’ve got something to say about parking in Downtown Palm Springs, your opportunity has arrived. A series of community meetings to gather feedback on parking are scheduled this week. The first one is planned for tonight. 

Driving the news: The meetings, scheduled for both in-person and virtual attendance, are designed to review findings from a recent parking study — commissioned by local resort owners — and gather community input on improvement strategies.

Zoom in: According to the study, data captured by drone footage and license plate recognition technology showed 359 on-street spaces and 1,927 off-street spaces available downtown. However, there was a surprisingly low occupancy rate for those spaces.

• The study revealed an average of just 29% of the available parking spots were used on days where monitoring took place.

Why it matters: City officials hope the meetings will generate valuable feedback from business owners, employees, and residents on proposed strategies to optimize the parking system.

• There are no plans to institute paid parking. Rather, the study suggests optimization is needed. 

Bigger picture: Among the possible strategies for that optimization are the development of a comprehensive signage plan, implementation of consistent parking enforcement, the establishment of a routine maintenance plan for parking structures, and adjustments to parking time limits.

What’s next: Feedback from these meetings will be integrated into final recommendations, expected to be shared with stakeholders in October.

How to participate: Four meetings are scheduled between Monday and Thursday, with both virtual and in-person options available. They include:

• Today from 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. (virtual)
• Tuesday from 7:30 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. (in-person)
• Tuesday from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. (in-person)
• Thursday from 7:30 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. (virtual)

Details: Virtual meetings will be held via Zoom at this link (Meeting ID: 872 5945 9170). In-person meetings will be held at the City Council Chambers.

Dive deeper with our complete story

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IN OTHER NEWS

🔥 The fast-growing Line Fire exploded to 20,553 acres Sunday in San Bernardino County, pushing smoke and the smell of it into the Coachella Valley. [CBS Los Angeles]

🏀 Los Angeles Lakers guard Max Christie surprised some young basketball players at Raymond Cree Middle School on Friday, working on drills with them and answering a few questions [Desert Sun]

🏈 The PSHS football team picked up its second win of the season, defeating Eisenhower 35-14 last Friday evening.  [KESQ]

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TODAY’S FEATURED EVENTS

CalComMen’s Monday Coffee
5 p.m. | Play Lounge and Cafe
See old friends and make some new ones at this friendly gathering over coffee. No RSVPs necessary.

Downtown Parking Meeting
5:30 p.m. | Zoom
The City of Palm Springs invites business owners, employees and interested community members to join a discussion about downtown parking.

Human Rights Commission
5:30 p.m. | City Hall
The city’s Human Rights Commission typically meets on the second Monday of each month. For agendas and other information, check here.

AAPAC General Meeting
6 p.m. | Zoom
The African American Parent Advisory Council will hold a regular meeting virtually this evening. For a complete list of meetings and more information about the council, check here.

Modern Men Chorus Auditions
6:30 p.m. | United Methodist Church
Audition to join Modern Men – Coachella Valley Men’s Chorus for its 11th season and holiday concert, Home for the Holidays, will be held this evening. Tenors are especially needed. For more information about the chorus or the auditions, go here.

Fabulous Bingo
7 p.m. | Kings Highway at Ace Hotel
Join in a night of fabulous bingo. (Must spend $30 at Kings Highway to participate).

SAVE THE DATE

• Cat Show at the Palm Springs Convention Center on Saturday.
  
  
• Business Expo & Taste of Palm Springs at Indian Canyons Golf Resort on Sept. 18.
  
  
• Healthy Desert, Healthy You summit on Sept. 20 and 21.
  
  
• Palm Springs Police Department open house on Sept. 28.
  
  
• Palm Springs Car Show and Festival on Oct. 5.
  
  
• One Night Out Rio benefiting The Foundation for PSUSD on Oct. 5.
  
  
• Evening Under The Stars benefit for AAP – Food Samaritans on Oct. 13.
  
  
• Center Stage benefiting LQBTQ+ Center of the Desert on Oct. 19.
  
  
• Pride on the Page Book Festival on Oct. 20.
  
  
• Palm Springs Speaks first speaker on Oct. 22.

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AND FINALLY …

We don’t do a whole lot of in-depth political coverage, but that doesn’t mean it’s not out there, including plenty about local races. Today, we’re happy to direct you to some coverage that we think you’ll find valuable as you make your decisions in the Nov. 5 General Election.

Driving the news: As they have in years past, the hard-working crew at The Coachella Valley Independent has started running a question and answer series with candidates for local office. It’s your chance to hear straight from the people who want your vote. 

Zoom in: The Independent recently kicked off the series with interviews that include a pair of Palm Springs City Council members, Lisa Middleton and Christy Holstege, who are hoping to land seats in Sacramento in the fall.

• Holstege is once again running against Greg Wallis for the State Assembly District 47 seat. This time, Wallis is an incumbent, having edged Holstege for the seat two years ago. Read the answers they both supplied to The Independent’s questions here.
  
  
• Middleton is facing off against State Sen. Rosilicie Ochoa Bogh as she seeks to represent newly-formed State Senate District 19. Read the answers they both supplied to The Independent’s questions here.

But wait: If you can’t get enough about the State Senate race, make sure to read this in-depth article from the LA Times.

• If you haven’t registered to vote yet, make sure to do that here.