New food court now in session in Palm Springs

Stefanie Frith

The Desert Sun
November 22, 2006 November 22, 2006

Everyone wanted Japanese food. Everyone except Janeth McDaniel.

So the four Palm Springs Unified School District employees went to the Terrace Eateries fresh food court that is now open in downtown Palm Springs.

Unfortunately, Samurai II isn't open yet. But Fernando Cabeje said there were enough choices that even McDaniel was happy.

"The variety is good," said Cabeje, as co-worker Will Carr dug into a wood-fired pizza from Tutto Pasta Gourmet XPress.

There's even good music, said Carr as a Billy Joel tune pumped into the outside patio.

The food court, on North Palm Canyon Drive near Alejo Road, is the first to open in downtown Palm Springs - just in time for holiday shopping trips.

A soft opening took place recently, and the final three restaurants will open after Thanksgiving, said developer and co-owner Steve Lyle.

"We see the primary customer as the local," said Lyle Friday, sitting at one of the mint green tables inside the food court. "The tourists are icing on the cake."

The concept is simple. There are eight restaurants, including Tutto's (an offshoot of Kalura Trattoria - also in downtown Palm Springs), Tacos La Plaza (an offshoot of Taqueria El Sinaloense in Palm Desert), Bombay Grill (from the owners of Delhi Palace in Palm Springs) and Nathan's Famous hot dogs.

There are tables inside and on the patio, which features lime-green umbrellas, a waterfall, whimsical tile, strings of lights, heaters and misters.

Joan Smith of Palm Springs was sitting down to a mustard dog and salad from Nathan's Friday and marveled at how great the location was for tourists and locals.

"I've been watching them build this and wondering what it's going to be," said Smith.

Lyle said it took a long time to open the food court because the facade was built first. This is a rarity in the development business he said, because banks always want to see store leases first.

But this kept fast food joints from attempting to get a piece of the $5 million project, said Lyle.

"Merchants, the city all said 'Please don't bring fast food chains,'" said Lyle.

Instead, each restaurant brings at least 20 years of experience and an upscale, yet casual atmosphere to the table, he said. Quick, casual places for lunch were almost nonexistent in downtown Palm Springs before the food court, he said as a line began forming for Nathan's Famous.

"This will give people the chance who don't have time to go to (Kalura) to get some healthy Italian food," said Tutto's owner Pino Amodeo.

Ed Gustafson of Palm Springs agreed as he enjoyed rigatoni. He said he might have been Tutto's first customer last week.

"This needs to be here," said Gustafson. "It really fulfills a need."

Tahquitz Creek to get cleanup

Stefanie Frith 

The Desert Sun
November 18, 2006 November 18, 2006

The Tahquitz Creek bed is dry, with patches of muddy water. The weeds are overgrown. The pathways above are cracked.

But there are signs of what could come. The smell of fresh paint. A scrubbed-clean yellow and green bridge.

And several residents looking to make a difference.

Today, those residents are hoping to inspire others to help clean up the Tahquitz Creek in an effort to transform it into a parkway.

"It looked so blighted," said April Hildner, a member of the Tahquitz River Estates Neighborhood Organization. "It's been neglected for so long."

Recently, the Tahquitz Creek bridge at Camino Real and Riverside Drive was repainted - the outside by the city of Palm Springs and the inside by residents from the Tahquitz River, Warm Sands and Deepwell neighborhood organizations.

Hildner said a group calling themselves the Tahquitz Creek Yacht Club is working with the city and the county to create a scenic park with desert landscaping and new trails that would link mountain trail heads, cultural centers and downtown.

"I wondered why wasn't somebody wasn't doing something about this," said Jim Lundin, who lives in the Deepwell neighborhood.

Max Davila from Warm Sands said volunteers from the surrounding neighborhoods will keep an eye on the bridge.

Years ago, Tahquitz Creek was a natural stream where people picnicked, waded and even floated in inner tubes.

Eventually, the creek was dammed just below the Tahquitz Canyon Visitor Center to protect residents from flash floods caused by mountain runoff and storm water from city streets.

Hildner said she is working with the city, including Mayor Pro Tem Ginny Foat and Councilman Steve Pougnet, to help find funds to fix up the creek bed.

So far, the city has replaced the "No Dogs Allowed" signs with ones that require dogs to be on leashes, installed trash bins and put in doggie sanitation stations.

As for further renovations, City Manager David Ready said the City Council will look at additional improvements in the next couple months.

"We want to raise community awareness so they (the city and the community) support us," said Hildner.

 Pollack's career has been wide-reaching success

Bruce Fessier

The Desert Sun
November 20, 2006 November 20, 2006

Sydney Pollack could be an honoree in several categories at the Palm Springs International Film Festival Awards Gala.

He's been an actor, director, producer - and that was just in "Tootsie."

He'll accept the Patron of the Arts Award from the Screen Actors Guild Foundation at the Jan. 6 gala mainly because he loves actors. He started as an actor in the 1950s, began directing them in the '60s and started producing them in the '70s.

He's also had notable achievements outside of the industry. When Tom Cruise presented him with the John Huston Award on behalf of the Directors Guild of America in 2000, he called him "a warrior" as a defender of artists' rights.

He talked about what it means to be a patron of the film arts in a recent telephone interview.

QUESTION: The late producer Hal Wallis called his autobiography, "Starmaker." Do you see yourself as a star maker?

ANSWER: No. Not at all. Sometimes you luck out and you cast somebody that isn't as well known before the film as they are after. I think "The Way We Were" changed Redford's career. He would have been a star with or without it and he was a star, but he wasn't quite the same romantic star before that film as he was afterwards.

Q: You started as a director in TV.

A: I did, in the time just before the directors were all coming in from film schools. At the time I was coming in, (TV) that's where the directors were coming from.

Q: What was it like to work for Bob Hope on the "Chrysler Theatre"?

A: It was good. The most interesting part was directing the various people's lead-ins. You'd get to do lead-ins with Bob Hope. On the "Alcoa Hour," I got to do lead-ins with Fred Astaire.

Q: What was the turning point in your film career?

A: I was never any kind of an overnight sensation. I just slowly worked and the films got more and more recognition. I would say the first film that got a lot of important international recognition was "They Shoot Horses, Don't They?" That was my first Academy Award nomination and the film got very good press around the world.

Q: "Tootsie" got you recognized as a triple threat.

A: In a way, yeah. There were some big successes before, but not to that size. "Jeremiah Johnson" was a huge success at Cannes and became quite successful here. "Absence of Malice" got about four Academy Award nominations.

Q: You've been a big supporter of the Motion Picture TV Fund. Is that because you feel a connection to the people you got to see coming up?

A: It's because I'm in a business that's the most fickle business in the world. You can be doing very well for a year or so and then not be able to pay your rent. So we have an organization the motto of which is, we take care of our own. They do. There are people in that home that I saw as a kid who were famous and then came upon hard times. There's something heartbreaking about that.

Q:Does your early work inspire your film preservation philanthropy?

A: It's not philanthropy to me. It's pure selfishness. I don't want these films that are part of our history to be destroyed. You can tell so much from a film - not just about what we looked like and who we were, but also how we felt about who we were.

Q: Being a founding member of the Sundance Institute indicates your interest in developing new filmmakers. Again, you went from the studios to the forefront of the independent film movement.

A: It's the only alternative to the economic insanity of what happens at major studios, where you have to reach billions of people and do astronomical figures to be successful. The alternative is independent films.

Q: You must have been to Palm Springs over the years.

A: Oh, yeah. I'm a pilot and that was a great little trip for me in my little single-engine propeller plane. I used to go down and hang out for the afternoon and go home at night. Sometimes I'd go to a spa and stay for a weekend with my wife. I haven't been there in a while, so I'm looking forward to going.

Palm Springs council votes to 'open up' airport

Colin Atagi
The Desert Sun
November 16, 2006 November 16, 2006

The Palm Springs City Council on Wednesday voted 3-1 to modify membership on the Palm Springs International Airport Commission to give three Coachella Valley cities better representation.

City Councilman Mike McCulloch cast the dissenting vote. Councilman Chris Mills was absent.

As of Jan. 5, Coachella, Indio and Desert Hot Springs will have permanent seats on the commission instead of rotating a single seat.

"(The council) believed it was a good outreach to the rest of the valley," Palm Springs City Manager David Ready said after the meeting.

The commission, which meets on a monthly basis, will also have 19 representatives - up from 15. Palm Springs will now have two more representatives, for a total of 10, while other Coachella Valley cities and Riverside County will each have one.

Fashion Plaza progress spurs cautious optimism
Partnership lifts hopes for new, dynamic era

Stefanie Frith

The Desert Sun
November 15, 2006

Joy Brower doesn't know developer John Wessman. But she knows of him.

And she said she knows that Wessman has enticed the town with plans to redevelop the Desert Fashion Plaza - the desolate former mall in the center of downtown - since he bought it in 2001.

So she's "cautious(ly) hopeful" about Wessman's announcement Monday that he has partnered with Chicago-based Enterprise Cos. and has hired Irvine-based Thomas P. Cox: Architects Inc. to design the proposed mixed-use development.

"It has been empty far too long ...," she said. "I've seen (his) projects come and go (but) he seems to like paying property taxes more than he likes building."

Still, the 50-year Palm Springs visitor and resident is looking forward to a possible bookstore and maybe an upscale grocery store.

And the idea of breaking up the monolithic mall into several buildings with retail on the bottom and residential units on top seems like a good idea, she said.

"This could be the revitalization that is necessary," she said.

Ed Torres, president of the Palm Springs Economic Development Corp., said the future redevelopment of the Fashion Plaza is "opening up the floodgates to downtown prosperity."

The town is changing and becoming more eclectic, he said, thanks to the influence of developers from New York and Chicago. Palm Springs is evolving and becoming more exciting: still a village but with touches of urba

"It's like a nice bottle of wine that has aged to a new level of perfection," Torres said.

And it is encouraging that Wessman is teaming with the Enterprise Cos., he said.

"Both these developers are very strong in their own components ...," Torres said. "John has said mixed use is not his cup of tea."

He added that after several years of waiting for Wessman to move forward with plans, the partnership with Enterprise brings "validity" that Wessman is "serious" about the project, which could include 500 to 600 condos and up to 250,000 square feet of retail space.

"There is nothing wrong to say 'I want a partner in this,'" said Torres. "It doesn't mean John can't do it. It just means he's a wise businessman and that it's good to bring someone in to help (him)."

Development of the Fashion Plaza is still a ways off, however. Wessman said he would submit preliminary architectural plans to the city of Palm Springs in the next three to five months and would start demolition in summer 2008. Demolition of the Town and Country Center across the street would start a little after that, he said.

That announcement Monday left Peter Moruzzi, a member of the Friends of the Town and Country Center, "disappointed." Moruzzi, who is also president of the Palm Springs Modern Committee, has been working to save the 1946 modern-designed Town and Country Center from becoming part of Wessman's plans for a new street connecting Indian Canyon Drive to the Palm Springs Art Museum behind the mall.

Moruzzi said the argument that there needs to be a connection from the Palm Springs Convention Center to the Spa Resort Casino to the Fashion Plaza to the art museum doesn't make sense because it's not a direct thoroughfare. Redevelopment of the mall, however, should commence, he said.

"There is no reason why an important part of Palm Springs history (should be demolished)," said Moruzzi.

But something needs to be done to bring more business downtown, said Jennifer Edwards, who owns Strawberry Patch Kids, one of the few businesses at the Desert Fashion Plaza.

However, Wessman's plans for an open-air shopping district and promenade may not be the answer, she said. Part of the development needs to be enclosed to keep visitors cool, she said.

"Open space won't help us in the summer ...," Edwards said, adding business has been slow since she moved from Palm Desert's shopping strip, El Paseo, to downtown Palm Springs in May. "People want to shop and relax where it's cool."

Tribe, governor sign compact

Debra Gruszecki
The Desert Sun
August 9, 2006

SACRAMENTO - The Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians on Tuesday signed one of the richest Indian gaming compacts ever negotiated with Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.

"This not only secures a bright future for the tribe, but for local communities and the state,'' Agua Caliente Tribal Chairman Richard Milanovich said of the $1.8 billion deal that allows the tribe to operate 5,000 slot machines and open a third casino on its Coachella Valley reservation.

He added that the tribe has "no plans" to build its third casino at this time.

"We're still building our second one,'' he said, of the $210 million hotel that is rising from the desert floor near Rancho Mirage. "We just wanted to secure the right to expand in the future."

At 5,000 slots, the Agua Caliente would have the most machines of any California tribe, and local economic experts say the increase in gaming could have a ripple effect, boosting jobs and the local tourism economy.

The deal, at its maturity, would funnel $81.9 million a year from the Agua Caliente gaming interests to the California General Fund.

That's about $70 million more a year than the tribe currently contributes to a Special Distribution Fund.

"This compact will provide millions of dollars to the state's General Fund every year for the next two decades - money that will go to education and other pressing state needs," Schwarzenegger said of the amendment to the 1999 compact the tribe originally negotiated with Gov. Gray Davis, the 15th Schwarzenegger has negotiated with California tribes.

"I recognize that each tribe is unique and this compact reflects that. The compact that I signed today benefits the state, the tribe and the local communities," Schwarzenegger said.

For the Agua Caliente, Milanovich said, the amended compact represents the culmination of five to six face-to-face meetings with Schwarzenegger and countless telephone calls that began after a longstanding stalemate was broken earlier in the year.

Schwarzenegger and the tribe signed the document with silver-plated pens provided by the tribe in private.

But the Agua Caliente did invite a Desert Sun reporter and local lawmakers, who included Sen. Jim Battin, R-La Quinta, and Assemblywoman Bonnie Garcia, R-Cathedral City, to join them just before the compact was signed.

Conversation was light. Their mood, jubilant.

"Voters approved Proposition 1A to bring Indian gaming to the state, and our valley has benefited from that,'' Garcia said. "This is a continuation of a great partnership between governments."

Big dividends for valley

William Thompson, a public administration professor with the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, said this new compact could pay big dividends for the Coachella Valley.

"We're playing a game called, 'Build it and they will come.' The natural market is not there, so it requires a simulated market, and simulation always works," Thompson said. "You're going to have an advertising blitz that's incredible."

The tribe employs more than 2,300 people in the Coachella Valley. The addition of another casino would increase both traffic to local hotels and employment levels, experts say.

While greater Las Vegas isn't likely to be nervous over the expanded slots, Thompson said the deal could have casino interests in Laughlin, Nev., and downtown Las Vegas "shaking in its boots."

"Their opportunity for growth has pretty much reached its limit," he said, alluding to the wide-open desert in the Coachella Valley.

A 'watershed' moment

Generally, tribal governments have said the signing of the Agua Caliente compact has potential to be a watershed moment for tribal gaming in the region, as well.

It represents the first solid sign of progress since the tribes asked for face-to-face meetings with Schwarzenegger, and got them in May.

Tribes, including Agua Caliente, had said they felt stymied previously because talks were occurring through third parties.

But on Tuesday, their mood had changed dramatically as they walked to the state Capitol.

The tribal council and its chief executives arrived in Sacramento about 1:30 p.m. for the signing ceremony.

An hour before, they huddled first in the office of lobbyist Barry Brokaw, who, along with a team of lawyers, picked over every word to ensure the document passes muster with the Legislature.

"Nothing is done spur of the moment,'' Brokaw said. "The important thing here is there no longer is a cookie-cutter approach to negotiated compacts. We are forging our own individual path."

Before Milanovich headed into the governor's Cabinet Room, he said the compact represents a true change because Schwarzenegger is dealing with each tribe on an individual basis.

Help for tribes, cities

Another sticking point dealt with the tribe's local contributions, he said, noting that the tribe will continue to contribute to neighboring communities and will quadruple its contribution to non-gaming tribes to $2 million a year, up from $550,000.

The tribe will no longer contribute to the Special Distribution Fund to which it had funneled more than $11 million last year. That fund provides municipalities impacted by Indian gaming to seek offset of public safety or other costs.

Those local impacts will now be addressed through grants individually negotiated with cities and municipalities.

Tribal Alliance of Sovereign Nations declined to comment on the compact at this time.

"It's more of a logistical issue than anything else,'' said Jacob Mejia, a spokesman for TASIN. "It's a big development, and we want to hear from everyone before we put anything out."

Airport lines moving faster

Staff and wire reports
The Desert Sun
August 12, 2006

Despite heightened security regulations at airports around the world, it was business as usual at Palm Springs International on Friday with travelers arriving and departing at their scheduled time.

As of 4:45 p.m., all flights were scheduled to arrive on time, with one United Express flight from Los Angeles expected to come in 15 minutes early.

The story was similar at the major airports in the state, where long lines and lengthy delays evaporated the day after emergency restrictions on carry-on luggage brought travel to a near standstill.

"We're getting our rhythm," said Larry Fetters, the Transportation Security Administration's federal security director at Los Angeles International Airport.

Security at airports statewide was at its tightest in years, as harried passengers were told they couldn't have in their carry-on luggage any liquids or gels, including toothpaste, shampoo, beverages or contact lens solution.

The restrictions were instituted Thursday after authorities uncovered a plot to blow up airliners from Britain to California and other destinations. British and U.S. investigators, describing plans on the scale of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, said terrorists sought to use common electronic devices to detonate liquid explosives hidden in items like shampoo bottles and toothpaste tubes.

Ken Cleveland flew in to Palm Springs from San Francisco on Friday afternoon. Not only did he arrive on time, but he said he got through security at San Francisco International Airport without any problems.

"I was just amazed at how short the security line was," he said. "I was holding my breath."

It didn't hurt that Cleveland only carried in his hands a newspaper, magazine, his glasses and a wallet. "I purposely did not have a carry-on," he said.

Few trash cans at the Palm Springs airport contained water bottles or cups, unlike Thursday when the bins were filled with such items.

"Just check it in - no problem," said Cathedral City resident Anthony Smith, who was waiting for a flight to Los Angeles. "It's not like I'll need toothpaste on the flight."

Some California airports, including Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego and Ontario, welcomed National Guard troops, deployed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger for extra security.

At LAX, about 200 unarmed Guard troops in camouflage uniforms were searching passengers' carryon luggage at random gate checks. James Butts, the airport's deputy executive director of law enforcement and protective services, said his crew wouldn't have been able to break Thursday's bottleneck without them.

"We just don't have the personnel for these random baggage screenings," he said.

In San Diego, there were long lines in the morning but by afternoon there was little or no waiting at security checkpoints. "We are going to help do some screenings, and we will be helping with crowd management," said National Guard Capt. Jorge Hernandez.

Fetters praised the traveling public for its cooperation.

"They were very, very tolerant and patient ," he said.

Not that everyone was happy about it. "This is a stupid measure," Jose Magana of Guadalajara, Mexico, said in Spanish. "The Americans complicate everything."

Bill and Yvonne Pyles, returning home to New Jersey from their vacation, were worried about carrying their 6-month-old baby's bottle onto the plane.

Authorities say baby formula is allowed but parents must taste it before they get on the plane to prove that's what it really is.

"I hope I don't have to taste it," said Yvonne Pyles. "It doesn't taste good. I'll tell you that."

Homeless 'city' in Chino Cone
Plague concerns prompt county, state to order tests

Stefanie Frith
The Desert Sun
August 10, 2006

A local ecologist who stumbled upon a homeless camp in Palm Springs also found evidence of a certain kind of squirrel known to host fleas that carry the deadly bubonic plague.

Jim Cornett, president of JWC Ecological Consultants in Palm Springs, was doing survey work in the Chino Cone (a huge area of open desert leading up to the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway) Monday when he found dozens of plastic storage bins, mattress springs and pieces of furniture about a half mile off Highway 111 and Tramway Road.

While he was "shocked" at what he calls the largest homeless camp he has seen in the more than 30 years he has done environmental work, even more disturbing was the massive amounts of Beechey ground squirrels and their burrows. The squirrels carry fleas that can carry the bubonic plague.

"It's just a matter of time before they (the homeless) are bitten and they come down with it (the plague," said Cornett before he took a short hike into the Chino Cone Wednesday to see the camp.

State and local environmental and vector control officials said Wednesday after an inquiry from The Desert Sun they will conduct testing on the site.

"We will definitely look at it," said Branka Lothrop, scientific operational manager of the Coachella Valley Mosquito and Vector Control in Indio.

Bubonic plague is nothing new. Perhaps the best-known case took place in the mid-14th century when the "Black Death" infected 237 million victims in Eurasia.

In recent years, regular testing of squirrels locally in the San Jacinto Mountains have come back negative for the plague, officials said.

But recently, three human cases in California caused the California Department of Public Health to issue a press release warning people to beware of feeding animals such as squirrels and chipmunks and to be cautious when camping in the wilderness. Campgrounds in Idyllwild have also been shut down in the past due to the high numbers of squirrels that can carry the disease.

"We know the plague is endemic to the San Jacintos," said Keith Jones, supervisor of the Riverside County Environmental Health Vector Control.

Most people are able to stay away from rodents and protect themselves from the risk of flea bites by wearing long pants and the insect repellent DEET. Not so with the homeless who sleep on the desert floor.

Homeless camping in the desert is nothing new, said Wayne McKinny, president of the Well in the Desert, which provides food and resources to the homeless in the Palm Springs area. Now that the city is sweeping Sunrise Park and cracking down on loitering and illegal camping there, McKinny said it is only natural the homeless would be forced to turn to the desert, where they are bit by snakes, brown recluse spiders, ants and fleas.

"They are human beings and they shouldn't have to sleep in the desert and run all the risks that go along with it," he said Wednesday, adding he was unaware of the homeless camp in the Chino Cone.

As Cornett hiked around the massive homeless camp Wednesday, he marveled at its organization. More than 50 blue and green 18 -gallon plastic storage bins lined the desert floor. Some were filled with plastic and brown paper bags. Others old sheets. Another a set of red Encyclopedia Britannica books.

Broken chairs laid on their side. A couple of rusted mattress springs were covered with cardboard for makeshift beds.

And then there were the dozens of mason jars. Some were empty. Others contained sunflower seeds and dried corn kernels.

"Of course," said Cornett, picking one up. "This is what they (the squirrels) are feeding on."

The ecologist figures the homeless are feeding the squirrels, drawing them down from the San Jacinto Mountains and onto the desert floor. There were a couple of empty pet food trays and sunflower seeds scattered around the homeless camp, seeming evidence of his theory.

"There are densities (of burrows) here you won't see anywhere else in the Coachella Valley," he said.

Pageant keeps up hot pace

Michelle Mitchell
The Desert Sun
August 13, 2006

Even on Saturday the 51 contestants in the Miss Teen USA pageant didn't get a break.

The casually dressed teens - one wore a bathrobe over her clothes to stay warm - sang songs by Shania Twain and Will Smith as they waited for the cue to begin rehearsal at the Palm Springs Convention Center.

The contestants' schedules are very tight as the end of the pageant nears, and the 12 contestant supervisors, who are in charge of getting the girls where they need to be, are feeling the tension, too.

"We're ready to go home," said Ann Straughan of Georgia.

She and most of the other supervisors came directly to the desert from a pageant in Los Angeles. It's been six weeks since the supervisors were home.

They sat in a corner of the mostly empty auditorium as the contestants rehearsed.

The contestants wear their state sashes all the time unless they are in their secured hotel floor, which is a great help to the supervisors who keep track of four to six girls apiece.

"We depend on those sashes," Straughan said.

Afterward, the teen queens were whisked off to lunch before beginning the rest of their busy afternoon.

Supervisors and parents alike said their main suggestions are for the girls to be themselves and have fun.

"She says, 'Mom, I'm having the time of my life,' so what more can a mom want?" said Lonnie Ledbetter, whose daughter is Miss Missouri Breanna Huellinghorst.

Downtown gets lift from Web site

Stefanie Frith
The Desert Sun
July 29, 2006

There's a new Web site in town designed to save downtown - saveourdowntown.com.

The aim is to educate the public about revitalization issues for downtown Palm Springs, which is experiencing an influx of interest from developers looking to design mixed-use buildings - retail on the bottom floor, condos on top.

And to do that, the Web site points to the award-winning Downtown Urban Design Guidelines, approved by Palm Springs City Council last year.

The Web site comes from the Save Our Downtown Coalition, which includes the Palm Springs Chamber of Commerce, Main Street (the downtown business owners association), Palm Springs Hospitality Association and the Palm Springs Economic Development Corp.

"We want to support what's already been adopted," said Tamara Stevens, executive director for the Palm Springs Economic Development Corp.

The Web site follows recent controversy about the Downtown Height Limit Act, which seeks to limit building height to 30 feet with an additional 5 feet allowed for architectural features.

The initiative, led by Roxann Ploss and Frank Tysen, was disqualified recently for not following the California Elections Code. But Ploss refiled the petition Wednesday and is waiting for verification from the city attorney before she starts the signature-gathering process over again.

The Urban Design Guidelines allow up to 60 feet in three sections of downtown. While they are not part of the city's General Plan, they provide direction for developers like John Wessman, Lawrence Rael and Brian Linnekens, who are planning mixed-use developments on Palm Canyon Drive.

The guidelines were created by a mix of architects and community leaders, including Main Street President Joy Meredith.

Analysts: Governor on right trail

Keith Matheny
The Desert Sun
July 29, 2006

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's public appearances in Palm Springs on Friday - and his meeting with The Desert Sun's editorial board - are exactly the kinds of things he should be doing for his gubernatorial campaign, political analysts say.

A TV ad from Democrat Phil Angelides, his opponent on Nov. 7, urges voters to "elect a leader, not an actor."

"They're still trying to say that maybe (Schwarzenegger) isn't up to the job," said Allen Hoffenblum, a Los Angeles-based Republican political analyst and publisher of the "California Target Book" that tracks and analyzes state political races.

"So what does he do? He goes to all of these editorial boards and says, 'Ask me questions.' I think it's a good strategy."

His Hollywood charisma and name recognition - after 40-plus movies - will always give him an advantage over other politicians when he interacts with the public, said John Woolley, a political science professor at the University of California, Santa Barbara.

Schwarzenegger leads Angelides by no less than 8 points in two polls this week. He also leads financially, with at least $10 million more than Angelides.

But Schwarzenegger was dealt a humbling defeat in November, when he called a costly special election in which voters rejected four initiatives he pushed to reform California. That proved voters "can differentiate between the star and the substance," Woolley said.

He "really stumbled," Hoffenblum said. It was likely the result of "really bad political advice."

"Anybody who has spent time with Arnold and worked with him knows he's very intelligent and on top of the issues," he said.

"When he (started) 'The Terminator' thing - 'girly men' and 'I'm going to kick their butts' - I think some people began to doubt if he had what it took to be governor."

Schwarzenegger so far "is running a pretty smart race," Woolley said. "He's positioning himself in the middle, which is where you need to be in California."

He has proven adept at moving to the center on social issues without alienating conservative Republicans, Hoffenblum said.

"When it comes to taxes, when it comes to pro-business, that's what unites all Republicans. He always reminds them that he's there for them on those issues."

Governor speaks to the issues
Keith Matheny
The Desert Sun
July 29, 2006

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger gave his take on where the state's been since he was elected in October 2003, and where it's headed as he seeks re-election this November, during a meeting with a panel of reporters, editors and readers of The Desert Sun at the newspaper's office Friday.

His governorship

"I am having the greatest time in this job. Every day is a learning experience."

Spiraling energy prices

"The important thing is for people to conserve. It's all about supply and demand."

The governor urged further use of solar energy and instituting reverse-metering, where homes that generate their own power feed it back to the electrical grid, running their meters in reverse and providing homeowners cost savings.

Immigration reform

"The federal government has failed. If they would secure the border, and reform immigration as quickly as possible so more people can come here legally, work, come and go, it's doing it the right way, and it diffuses the tension."

Not raising taxes

"(Some) think there is an endless amount of money available out there, but there's not. If it raises taxes, the rest of it is irrelevant. You have to be very strong - there's only so much money you can take from the private sector."

Pensions, retiree health-care costs for state workers

(The cost to taxpayers has increased by billions of dollars in recent years and is continuing to rise)

"I think Californians should be very concerned about it. I think politicians in Sacramento should be concerned about it. And I think local governments should be concerned about it because it's affecting them, too, in cities like San Diego.

"We have a huge amount of unfunded liabilities. ... We cannot continue promising what we cannot deliver."

Schwarzenegger said he would put together a bipartisan commission this summer to study what to do about the spiraling pension and health-care costs.

"We all know it's not working," he said.

Palm Springs

"I love Palm Springs. Ever since I came to this country, I've been coming to Palm Springs."

Sonny Bono, late congressman and former Palm Springs mayor

"I visited his restaurant many times and met with him many times. He was a guy who came from outside politics, which was one similarity that we had.

"He didn't see things as complicated as some people sometimes make it. He had a tremendous will and courage. I think he could have gone far had he not had his tragic accident. ... He had good ideas and was always optimistic."

U.S. Rep. Mary Bono

"Mary Bono is doing a terrific job. I hope she continues and has a great future."

Recent high desert wildfires

"Great improvements have been made in the last 2½ years."

Suggestions by a blue ribbon commission started by former Gov. Gray Davis and Schwarzenegger were used in this month's Sawtooth and Millard complex fires and saved homes, Schwarzenegger said. Among the changes were using less-flammable building materials and clearing vegetation from a perimeter around homes.

"People actually helped themselves," he said. "The firefighters had better equipment, more manpower. ... The federal, state and local governments were extremely fine-tuned. They all worked together."

The transformation of his political philosophy

"I was a much more hard-core Republican. But when I started working with Special Olympics, with after-school programs, seeing how parents are struggling. ... You say, 'The parents should take care of their children.' Well, some things are easier said than done."

Voters will get to decide fate of Shadowrock

Stefanie Frith
The Desert Sun
July 27, 2006

The issue of whether or not a development agreement for a luxury hotel and golf course in the Chino Cone should be extended will be submitted to voters in November 2007.

Shadowrock would be under the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway.

Earlier this year, the Palm Springs City Council decided to extend a development agreement 10 years for Shadowrock, which has been in the works for 22 years.

The election is the result of residents' efforts to gather enough signatures to qualify a referendum that they hope will overturn the council's decision. Save Our Mountains Chairman Jono Hildner submitted nearly 3,000 signatures last month.

Hildner says the city should never have extended the agreement because it expired in 2003.

"Times and values have changed in 13 years (since the development agreement was first made in 1993)," he said during the meeting.

The developer, Mark Bragg, contends that a series of lawsuits and bankruptcies have prevented him from starting the project.

Two weeks ago, another lawsuit socked Shadowrock. The Sierra Club and Center for Biological Diversity are challenging the city's decision to allow the development agreement extension.

The lawsuit, however, could overthrow any need for a public vote.

For example, if the court concurs with the Sierra Club and Center for Biological Diversity, it would force the city to rescind its action to approve the development agreement and complete any additional environmental work the court might require.

Under these circumstances, the election would not be required, City Attorney Doug Holland said. He expects a court decision in the spring.

The City Council voted 5-0 Wednesday to put the matter to voters at the next regular municipal election Nov. 6, 2007, costing the city $7,500 instead of $20,000 to $55,000 at other elections in November, March or June.

This will allow the lawsuit to play out and possibly produce results that would negate the need for an election, Holland said.

Mayor Pro Tem Ginny Foat said she would rather see the city rescind its decision, but voted for the referendum.

Funds OK'd for airport tower

Nicole C. Brambila
The Desert Sun
July 19, 2006 

Palm Springs International Airport could get some much-needed federal money to build a new control tower.

The Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Tuesday approved $2 million to help fund a new $20 million control tower, as reported on thedesertsun.com. The bill now heads to the full Senate Appropriations Committee.

"This new tower is needed to accommodate the growing traffic at the airport and to ensure the safety of our citizens," Sen. Barbara Boxer said in a written statement.

Built in 1967, the airport's six-story tower sits in a gulch that prevents air traffic controllers from seeing the end of the runway. The airport has grown significantly since and now serves more than 1.5 million passengers a year.

Boxer - who sits on the Committee on Commerce Science and Transportation and the Subcommittee on Aviation - wrote a letter to the Federal Aviation Administration earlier this month requesting it "prioritize" new control tower.

"The tower must be relocated and built taller before a tragic accident occurs," wrote Boxer, who has a home in Rancho Mirage.

The subcommittee's approval of $2 million toward rebuilding should not be taken as an indication that "Palm Springs has been bumped up on the priorities list," Natalie Ravitz, a spokeswoman for Boxer, said in an e-mail.

Rep. Mary Bono, R-Palm Springs, was the first in working to secure this $2 million for a new tower. She included it earlier this year in the House Transportation, Treasury and Housing and Urban Development Bill.

She also helped secure $2.3 million last year.

Wessman moves to buy property near Palm Hotel

Stefanie Frith
The Desert Sun
July 18, 2006 

Developer John Wessman offered Monday to purchase property that could help him limit the height of his proposed four-story Palm Hotel in Palm Springs by stretching it over two lots.

The Frances Winter property, named for a woman who once owned it, sits between the Casa Cody Bed & Breakfast Inn (owned by Frank Tysen) and Wessman's nearly one-acre parcel at the corner of Cahuilla Road and Tahquitz Canyon Way.

"John Wessman made an offer today to purchase the Winter's property from Frank Tyson," Wessman Development Co. vice president Michael Braun said in an e-mail Monday.

He declined to say how much the offer was for or how it would affect hotel plans.

Tysen could not be reached Monday for comment.

The potential sale of the Winter property is the result of recent dispute over the height and size of Wessman's proposed 51-room luxury hotel. The City Council is expected to vote Wednesday, July 26 on the project - the third delay since the hotel reached the City Council.

Some residents have complained that the four-story height with additional fifth-story cabanas is too tall for the quaint Historic Tennis Club Neighborhood. A demonstration with cranes and ropes strung to show the height and size of the project took place last week.

"I do like the project," said resident Nickie McLaughlin. "But it's the wrong location, whether he (Wessman) uses the Winter property or not."

About two years ago, both Tysen and Wessman competed for the Winter property. But Winter had agreed that when she sold the property, the city would have the first crack at it because of city plans to renovate that area of the Historic Tennis Club Neighborhood. The city didn't want to choose between Tysen and Wessman and Councilman Mike McCulloch said he was able to drum up a deal.

Tysen won the land and the historic Winter house, buying it for $425,000 and later spending more to renovate and incorporate it into the Casa Cody hotel.

Wessman was then allowed to pitch his project at a higher density and height, as if he owned the Winter property too, said McCulloch.

"Everyone was talking about what a wonderful deal it was," said McCulloch on Monday. "We preserve the property and get the hotel."

McCulloch said the hotel is the same project Wessman pitched two years ago, yet the same people who toasted the deal with champagne at the Winter property two years ago are now complaining the hotel is too tall and massive.

"The people that wanted to preserve the Frances Winter property want their cake and make Mr. Wessman eat it too," said McCulloch. Planning panel kicks Cone rules to city council

Stefanie Frith
The Desert Sun
July 6, 2006

Development standards for the Chino Cone advanced Wednesday when the Palm Springs Planning Commission approved a draft zoning ordinance.

Although some commissioners said they would rather not see development in the Chino Cone, a wide area of open space leading up to the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway, they voted 3-1 for the ordinance. Commissioners Leo Cohen, Jon Shoenberger and Larry Hochanadel were absent.

The ordinance will go to the city council for a study session next week, with further discussion and a possible vote July 26.

"My conscience says we should not be developing that area," said Commissioner Toni Ringlein, who voted against the ordinance.

Ringlein said the city and its boards and commissions should be looking at ways to buy the land back from developers such as Century Vintage Homes, which plans to build several hundred homes in the Chino Cone.

Commissioner Rick Hutcheson said that because the Chino Cone is the first thing visitors see when they enter Palm Springs on Highway 111 from Interstate 10, it's a difficult area to discuss.

"The objective is to strike a reasonable balance, and I think we did that today," he said.

For example, although the staff report suggested one home per acre in the area known as Snow Creek, the commission agreed that development there should be more rigid and voted to approve one home per 20 acres there instead.

VARYING VIEWS

On Wednesday, the Palm Springs Planning Commission voted to approve a draft ordinance that would outline how development should proceed in the Chino Cone. The draft ordinance addresses nine areas of the Chino Cone and varies slightly from other plans that have been discussed by the city and citizen groups. The draft ordinance would do the following:

• Planning Area 1 (Tramway): one unit per 40 acres
• Planning Area 2 (Shadowrock): two units per acre
• Planning Area 3 (Indian Land): two units per acre
• Planning Area 4 (Tramway South): two units per acre
• Planning Area 5 (Visitors Center): six units per acre
• Planning Area 5A (Visitors Center): 25 percent Floor Area Ratio for commercial dwellings (can be built on one-fourth of a lot)
• Planning Area 6 (Chino Canyon Gateway): 1.5 units per acre
• Planning Area 7 (Chino Creek): one unit per 40 acres
• Planning Area 8 (Highway 111 Corridor): two units per acre
• Planning Area 9 (Snow Creek): one unit per 20 acres
  
  The Citizens' Task Force for Mountain and Foothill Preservation and Planning, which was charged by the city with bridging the gap following Measures B and C (which sought to limit development in the Chino Cone last year) came up with the following guidelines:
• Planning Area 1: one unit per 40 acres
• Planning Area 2: The Shadowrock project
• Planning Area 3: two units per acre
• Planning Area 4: two units per acre
• Planning Areas 5A: 50 percent floor area ratio for commercial dwellings.
• Planning Area 5B: four to six units per acre.
• Planning Area 6: 1.5 units per acre with encouraged density transfer (to move all units off the area).
• Planning Area 7: Watercourse, no units.