Coachella Valley Weekly

By Haddon Libby The stock market got off to its worst two-week start to a New Year in HISTORY.  Does this indicate the start of another stock market crash on par with 1929 or 2008? The short answer is ‘no’.  If you want to understand more, feel free to email me at hlibby@winslowdrake.com.  I have an investment advisory firm that helps...

By Dale Gribow TOP 10 ways to hurt your case: Insurance: Many locals DO NOT HAVE AUTO INSURANCE. You need more than the minimum insurance on your car with elevated UM. Without more than $15k you are taking your life in your own hands. From December 2015 to January 2016 two of my clients died in separate accidents and the at...

Did you know that there are over 5000 fires and explosions in gas stations each year says Fire Chief Sam DiGiovanna. Almost two-thirds involved vehicles. Make sure when you pull up and prepare to pass gas to your vehicle, gas can or other source from the pump, you turn off your vehicle engine. Put your vehicle in park and set the...

Slated for Sunday, Jan. 24. Register to Become a “Moon Walker”. Get Healthy Palm Springs! The City of Palm Springs will present the 5th Annual Mayor’s Race and Wellness Festival on Sunday, Jan. 24, in partnership with Desert Healthcare District, Desert Regional Medical Center and the United Way of Desert. Register to become a “Moon Walker” and join Mayor Robert Moon and friends...

Week of January 21 © Copyright 2016  Rob Brezsny ARIES (March 21-April 19): The next four weeks could potentially be a Golden Age of Friendship . . . a State of Grace for Your Web of Connections . . . a Lucky Streak for Collaborative Efforts. What can you do to ensure that these cosmic tendencies will actually be fulfilled? Try...

By Bronwyn Ison Growing up I often heard, “time on task.” Translation: Time on task is the length of time spent actively involved on a task.  Most of us are easily distracted in our fast paced society.  We are derailed by some of the most miniscule of things and it obfuscates our concentration.  Generally, I am interrupted numerous times while...

Dear Jenny, I have been with my boyfriend for four years.  We have been happily living together for three years.  We have moved across the country together, we are absolutely in love.  I have noticed though, he doesn’t do the same things he used to do.  He used to be so much more romantic.  He would give me gifts and...

By Sunny Simon You’ve just been awarded a leadership role in your firm. By proving yourself as a savvy player who delivers on time and under budget you earned it. After a celebratory night on the town, you walk into your new office smiling and humming a catchy little tune. As you sort through many emails marked “urgent,” and “needs...

SHOPPING, SHOPPING, SHOPPING… Something For Every Woman Grab your tote and join us for the 8th annual Desert Woman’s Show Saturday, January 16 and Sunday, January 17 from 10am – 4pm daily at the Agua Caliente Casino Resort Spa in Rancho Mirage.  With over 60 displays, daily fashion presentations, interesting guest speakers plus food & wine tasting, this Show has...

Planning on staying in town for the first big three-day weekend of the year coming up in observance of Martin Luther King, Jr.? Start it off right by meeting up with friends and family for a casual, sun-filled day of Art Under the Umbrellas at Old Town La Quinta on Saturday, January 16, 2016. The event runs from 10...

BEST IN THE FEST: The Assassin                             Parched                                      Viva                                             Women He's Undressed           Baba Joon                                  The Carer                                    Umrika                                         The Witness                                 The Fencer                                  Last Cab to Darwin                    Rams                                            The Birth of Saké                        Miss Sharon Jones!                    Home Care                                   My Internship in Canada             Mustang                                        Everything is Copy                      Labyrinth of Lies                          Thithi                                              1944                                                A Heavy Heart                               Ixcanul                                            The Brand New Testament          A War                                              Searchdog        ...

Celso García - Mexico’s Emerging Filmmaker By Heidi Simmons Filmmaker Celso García studied communication at Iteso University in Guadalajara, Mexico.  That’s where García discovered how to convey visceral information through sound and images. García made his first short film Up Without Wings (Arriba Sin Alas) in 1998 based on a Charles Bukowski story, which got the attention of filmmaker and fellow Guadalajaran,...

By Heidi Simmons When David Gray, PSIFF Volunteer Coordinator, says he dislikes drama, he is not referring to a film genre.  He is referring to how he manages over 800 film festival volunteers. One of the many great attributes of the PSIFF is the high-quality, good-natured and easy-going volunteers.  You have seen them all around the festival.  They are the busy...

By Scott Reeder I’ve been asked to contribute a few quick words on Lemmy, just as the music world is also being blindsided by the passing of another icon, David Bowie. It’s difficult to put the feelings I have into words… When I was playing in bands in our desert’s punk scene in the early 80’s, Motörhead’s infamy was already rapidly...

By Lisa Morgan David Bowie was "The Man Who Fell to Earth".  Since 1969, he was unlike anyone we'd ever known in music or otherwise.  While others played safely in the confines of success that had been forged and defined by their predecessors, Bowie nonchalantly and unabashedly opened ominous closed doors and danced right through them.  He had omnipresence even...

DAVE LOMBARDO, WITH DEAD CROSS, SET TO PERFORM ALONG WITH WHISKEY & KNIVES AND HARTER ATTACK By Noe Gutierrez Dead Cross Distinguished drummer Dave Lombardo has performed at Coachella twice; once with The Locust and again with Fantomas and Mike Patton. He performed at the Empire Polo Grounds with Slayer as part of The Big Four show with Metallica, Megadeth and Anthrax in...

Bringing The Laughs To Fantasy Springs In February Comedian, actor, and impressionist Frank Caliendo has been making people laugh his entire life, and he’s set to make audiences laugh at the Special Events Center at Fantasy Springs Resort Casino on Valentine’s Day, Sunday, February 14th. Frank Caliendo is well known for his impressions of famous actors Morgan Freeman, Al Pacino, Robin...

Shania Twain, Michael Bublé, Celine Dion and Paul Anka tribute artists will perform in “O Canada” at the Indian Wells Theater at Cal State San Bernardino’s Palm Desert Campus on Friday, Feb. 5, at 7 p.m. Tickets are $40 and can be purchased by calling the Indian Wells Theater box office at (760) 341-6909. Parking is included in the ticket...

By Patte Purcell Jazz is coming back in a big way out here in the desert! A number of concert series are taking place building on earlier successes along with the best places to hear it. Here's a run-down on some of the best Jazz Happenings this season. The new Celebrity Jazz Jam Series (monthly begins Monday Jan. 18, 5-8 pm...

By Lola Rossi Get ready Motown Fans, this Friday, January 15, 2016, The Four Tops and The Temptations take the stage in The Special Events Center at Fantasy Springs Resort Casino at 8 p.m. “The thing about and The Temptations and The Four Tops, is that it’s the perfect contrast of groups. The type of material we sing, they don’t sing...

By Eleni P. Austin Chances are your first encounter with Chris was in 1991 on MTV. There he was, in an arty black & white video; bravely, holding back the tears on a beach, clinging tightly to a topless supermodel, lamenting her wicked ways. Why is this oh-so-handsome man so sad, you thought? And...wait a minute, is he yodeling? Isaak seemed...

By Rebecca Pikus From the age of 11, Tony Rizzo started shooting his first stars in the streets of New York, and began selling his photos to movie magazines at the age of 14.  In 1968, he moved to Hollywood to pursue a career in photography, covering the Hollywood night scene as one of the first 10 “Hollywood Paparazzi” that...

  By Janet McAfee I recently met up with Wayne Karson and the handsome rescue dog he named “Lucky”.  Lucky was gorgeously groomed, and happily bonded to his human.  He scarcely resembles the thin bedraggled dog I rescued four years ago in the parking lot of the Devore San Bernardino County shelter.  Wayne gratefully told me, “You know how much you...

By Rick Riozza With the ever great and growing popularity of Pinot Noir, it seems that almost every pinot producer, not only in the Pacific states but around the world, is a “star” to be reckoned with, and, the competition to sell it all is on! In Burgundy, the indigenous ancestral home of pinot noir (pinot is Red Burgundy) they’ve been...

Take a trip back in time and enjoy an adult version of milk and cookies at the all-American restaurant with Firestone’s Nitro Merlin Milk Stout and cookies from Brown Butter Cookie Company. Guests are invited to take a trip down memory lane on Wednesday, January 20, 2016 by joining Eureka! for Steal The Glass. Every Wednesday at 6 p.m. the...

By Robin E. Simmons     YOU CAN’T TAKE IT WITH YOU From Columbia Pictures archives, Frank Capra’s classic screwball comedy finally makes its much-wanted Blu-ray debut thanks to Sony Pictures Home Entertainment.  Mastered in a stunning new 4K restoration, the disc package includes a nice 24-page “digibook” collectible that showcases rare photos along with an insightful new essay from film historian Jeremy...

By Heidi Simmons It’s award season!  We all assume that means awards for movies.  The most exciting award shows are aired on television.  A few award shows are celebrated privately by industry guilds with the results quickly shared before the next award event. Whether movies are significant or not, every year we look forward to the glamour of the runway and...

Presented by Desert Theatreworks at the Arthur Newman Theatre beginning January 29, 2016. Playwright Neil Simon got his first big break in the early 1950s as a staff writer on Sid Caesar's fabled television series Your Show of Shows, and this comedy takes a fictionalized look at the backstage chaos that went into producing one of the landmarks of television's golden...

In Old Town La Quinta. Portion of proceeds to Desert Classic Charities The City of La Quinta in partnership with CareerBuilder Challenge, and Old Town La Quinta is hosting the 19th Hole Block Party on Friday, January 22nd from 4pm to 11pm. This will be a free event and open to the public. The party will take over Main Street in Old...

By Andrea Hanson Carter Fundraiser Benefiting Betty Ford Center Children’s Program to Recognize the Late First Lady’s Daughter and Feature Entertainment by Howie Mandel The Betty Ford Center is pleased to welcome the return of Susan Ford Bales to the desert on Saturday, January 30, 2016 for a very special honor at the fourth annual ‘Beamer Awards.’ The event, which will begin...

After 30 years, Keith McCormick is celebrating three decades in the car auction business with a new and larger location for the Palm Springs Collector Car Auction. Starting with the February 26-28, 2016 auction, the new location will be a six-acre site at the Palm Springs Convention Center near downtown, about four blocks from McCormick’s showroom located on Indian Canyon...

Last week, initial jobless claims fell to the lowest levels since 1973 and the unemployment rate dropped to 5% - a level that used to mean full employment.  While this was going on, the stock market got off to a resounding thud by declining 7%. What does this all mean? Let’s start with jobless claims.  Given that so many of the...

By Dale Gribow SHARON from Palm Springs asks: In 2015 you stated that law is an information gathering game. Why is that true for an auto accident? In my radio show “Accidentally Yours” I informed my listeners to memorialize all the facts as to how the accident happened and what was hurting them from the top of their head to the bottom...

  Fire – Fitness Fact: Did you know that 80 percent of the calls Firefighters and Paramedics respond to are Emergency Medical Service (EMS) related? It’s true and across the country, millions of these calls could have been avoided if individuals engaged in some type of a healthy lifestyle with proper nutrition and exercise. I go to a lot of gyms...

By Julie Buehler The Cincinnati Bengals had the lead and the keys to their first playoff win since 1990 until a running back coughed the ball up. The Steelers 2nd year linebacker Ryan Shazier levied the hit and Jeremy Hill lost the football. Bengals fans and football fans in general shook their head in amazement at what transpired. The Bengals had scored...

Dr. Peter, I exercise regularly, eat right and feel I get enough sleep, but in the past few years I’ve noticed increasing fatigue, loss of sex drive and sometimes feeling depressed. I’m only 42, is there such a thing as “male menopause”? - Terry, Indio Terry, by definition, no, men do not go through menopause. But as men get older, their...

Week of January 14 © Copyright 2016  Rob Brezsny ARIES (March 21-April 19): You love autonomy. You specialize in getting the freedom and sovereignty you require. You are naturally skilled at securing your independence from influences that might constrain your imagination and limit your self-expression. But here's a sticking point: If you want the power to help shape group processes, you...

By Bronwyn Ison Six-pack abs appears to be a fascination with Americans.  Possessing rock-hard washboard abs is the goal amongst many.  Truly one should be thinking, how do I maintain the muscles “springy and elastic,” in a well honed state?”  A healthy muscle has this consistency.  Many people get caught up in how many crunches or abdominal exercises they can...

By Sunny Simon You know the idiom, getting the rug pulled out from under you, right? It means you’ve suddenly been knocked off balance by an event you did not see coming. You lose your job, your boyfriend called it quits or your business partner wants to go off on his own. How do you rebound from something that was...

Annual Event Welcomed Host Mary Hart and Festival Honorees Kicking off Awards Season, the 27th Annual Palm Springs International Film Festival (PSIFF) Awards Gala was held Saturday, January 2, 2016 at the Palm Springs Convention Center hosted by Mary Hart.  Honorees were presented with an original Chihuly Glass Sculpture designed by Dale Chihuly or the John Kennedy “The Entertainer” statue. ...

A Prophetic Voice? By Heidi Simmons There is always a buzz in the PSIFF Hospitality Suite at the Renaissance Hotel.  Filmmakers, media and industry professionals gather to network, grab a bite to eat or meet up before screenings. Sitting alone is a distinguished, handsome man who –- although he doesn’t seem aware of it -- radiates an aura.  He is tall, has...

By Heidi Simmons Every year the PSIFF gathers a world of culture to show the Coachella Valley.  The 27th annual festival has 176 films from over 60 countries that range from Africa and Australia to Palestine and Poland. These movies don’t just arrive in the desert without thought and consideration.  A team of programmers meticulously curate films and design programs that...

By Robin E. Simmons If you’re reading this today, January 6, there are still seven days of great movies that will screen at various venues in the Palm Springs area. Here are some cool films worth catching. (Actually, it’s hard to go wrong even with random picks.) And then of course there’s the “Best of Fest!” screenings all day Monday,...

By Dee Jae Cox Once upon a time in a land far away, someone once said that women just aren't funny. And so it became the guiding rule of film and television that only men could write comedy. Greats like Lucille Ball, still had those such as comedian Jerry Lewis, denying she was funny simply because she was female.  But...

After waiting for almost three years for the amateur rights to be released, Theatre 29 has received one of the first opportunities in the United States to present the Broadway production of “Disney’s THE LITTLE MERMAID”. Auditions for the second production of Theatre 29’s 2016 season have been scheduled for Monday, January 18, 2016 at 6:00 pm on the Theatre...

Here’s what you need to know about Modernism Week in 2016: CAMP, Modernism Week’s ‘Community and Meeting Place’ and headquarters for tours and events, will move to an architecturally significant venue in downtown Palm Springs – the former 1957 J.W. Robinsons Department Store by Pereira & Luckman located at 333 S. Palm Canyon Drive. Introduced in 2015 as the central...

SET TO SPIN AT THE LEGENDARY CLUB SKIRTS DINAH SHORE WEEKEND By Mona Elyafi Celebrity DJ Samantha Ronson is about to tear the decks at the biggest lesbian event on the planet of its kind: The Dinah. She’s selling out clubs around the world and has become celebrities’ “it” girl when it comes to putting the needle on the hottest records and keeping...

By Judith Salkin Over the past three years Palm Springs-based L-Fund has provided emergency funds to lesbians living in the Coachella Valley to help them through short-term personal financial crises. Lucy and Gail will receive the Bobreta Franklin Community Service Award. On Saturday, February 20, L-Fund’s Gumbo Gala Dinner Dance will highlight the outstanding, award-winning seafood and vegetarian gumbos created by Chef...

By Lola Rossi Celebrating their 30th year touring as “The Golden Boys” Bobby Rydell, Fabian and Frankie Avalon will perform this Friday, January 8, 2016, in the Special Events Center at Fantasy Springs Resort Casino. (800) 827-2946. “In 1985, a guy named Dick Fox had an idea to put three Italian ‘Teen Idols’ from South Philly together for a Summer Tour,”...

By Patte Purcell Some musicians play in the inner circles of the smooth jazz field. One of those is 'A List' bass player Darryl Williams. From Euge Groove to Peter White, Darryl Williams plays bass for them all. San Diego born bassist Darryl Williams began playing bass at the age of 13. Within 2 years he was playing at local clubs...