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VoteForUsas Your Favorite Cannabis, CBD & Ranking college Delivery Store football’s top QBs EXIT COOK RIGHT • RIGHT ON 111 • ONO THE LEFT @ LUPINE SPORTS, 1B Cannabis is legal for individuals 21 and older under California law, however it is illegal under Federal law. License #C10-00000-294-LIC FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2020 | DESERTSUN.COM PART OF THE USA TODAY NETWORK CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC Newsom issues 10 p.m. curfew One-month order affects counties in state’s pandemic restrictions, amid a drastic rise in Curfew FAQ COVID-19 cases. purple tier; enforcement unclear Non-essential work and gatherings must shut Everything you need to know about new rules. 9A down from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. in the 41 counties in Cali- Nicole Hayden, Christopher Damien, Melissa Daniels fornia’s purple tier, which includes 94% of the state’s is crucial that we act to decrease transmission and and Rebecca Plevin nearly 40 million residents. The order will be in effect slow hospitalizations before the death count surges. Palm Springs Desert Sun until Dec. 21, but could be extended if infection rates We’ve done it before and we must do it again.” USA TODAY NETWORK and disease trends don’t improve. The state, which hit the grim milestone of 1 million “The virus is spreading at a pace we haven’t seen coronavirus cases last week, has reported more than Gov. Gavin Newsom has announced a 10 p.m. cur- since the start of this pandemic and the next several 10,000 new daily cases four times since last Thursday. few that will start Saturday and last for a month in days and weeks will be critical to stop the surge. We are California counties that are in the strictest level of the sounding the alarm,” Newsom said in a statement. “It See CURFEW, Page 12A Pandemic exposes vulnerabilities in valley’s economy Melissa Daniels Palm Springs Desert Sun USA TODAY NETWORK The Coachella Valley’s dependence on tourism in- tensified the economic earthquakes brought on by the coronavirus pandemic. And to Coachella Valley Economic Partnership President and CEO Joe Wal- lace, this presents a chance to revamp the desert economy. This, he said, is a time for boldness and vision. “It is imperative for the Coachella Valley to come out of this crisis better and more sustainable than we See TOURISM, Page 2A Long lines reemerge and A heron takes flight in a managed wetlands area at the Sonny Bono Salton Sea National Wildlife Refuge in strain coronavirus testing July. JAY CALDERON/THE DESERT SUN With coronavirus cases surging and families hoping to gather safely for Thanksgiving, long lines to get tested have reappeared across the U.S. — a reminder Salton Sea bill seeks to hold that the system remains unable to keep pace. 9A feds accountable for funds MORE INSIDE PAGE 11A Mark Olalde Rep. Raul Palm Springs Desert Sun Ruiz’s bill USA TODAY NETWORK would force Southern California Democrats Rep. Raul Ruiz and the federal Rep. Juan Vargas introduced a new bill on Thursday government to that would force the federal government to take a take a more more active role in funding and managing Salton Sea active role in habitat restoration and dust suppression. the Salton Sea. HR 8775, the Salton Sea Public Health and Envi- MARK OLALDE/ ronmental Protection Act, would create an interagen- THE DESERT SUN cy working group called the Salton Sea Management Council to coordinate projects around the lake’s re- ceding shoreline. If passed, the bill would also commission a public “My bill will bring significant federal funding, health study, increase air quality monitoring require- streamline coordination, expedite projects, and ments and pull an undisclosed amount of federal ensure agencies follow through with their commit- ment to the Sea and my constituents.” A win for weed delivery See SALTON SEA, Page 5A U.S. Rep. Raul Ruiz In what could be a temporary victory for California’s legal cannabis industry, a judge has dismissed a desertsun.com Weather Volume 94 | No. 35 lawsuit that sought to overturn a state rule allowing SERVING THE COACHELLA ❚ home deliveries statewide. Subscribe: Access to all High 83° Low 60° VALLEY SINCE 1927 $2.50 QEAJAB-08201z RICHARD VOGEL/AP of our content every day. Sunny. Forecast, 18A HPE'S1STANNUAL Saturday, YARD SALE November 21st, 2020 Benefiting Well in the Desert & CV Rescue Mission Hot Purple Energy will be donating proceeds to Well in the Desert, a Home Furniture Office Furniture Tools Hardware Studio E Parking Lot local non-profit that provides Solar Equipment Clothing Housewares 810 N. Farrell Dr., Palm Springs, CA 92262 services such as food, clothing and shelter to those in need. LOTS OF BIKES & MORE Learn more @ hotpurpleenergy.com/events 2A | FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2020 | THE DESERT SUN mit, said the regions across America amount of new single-family houses Tourism that were hit the hardest were those commencing construction) are not par- with big hospitality sectors, such as Ha- ticularly high, which is usually an indi- Continued from Page 1A waii and Nevada. cator of a strong economy. In the Coachella Valley, the tourism “Having a lean supply drives up were last February,” he said. “The virus downturn fueled the high unemploy- prices,” Keil said. of the century is the opportunity of the ment rate — prior to the pandemic, century.” about one in four jobs in the valley were Regional plans to address equity The 16th Annual Greater Palm linked to hospitality. Springs Summit organized by CVEP These job losses are disproportion- Agricultural workers have been The keynote speaker at the summit held Thursday was virtual this year, mi- ately affecting low-wage workers: hos- deemed “essential” for the economy was Kome Ajise, who is the executive di- nus the buffet-style breakfast and hun- pitality jobs are among the lowest-paid during the COVID-19 pandemic. Many rector at Southern California Associa- dreds of handshakes that would typi- and most common work in the Coachel- are undocumented and have no safety tion of Governments, the regional plan- cally take place at the region’s premier la Valley. That sector is disproportion- net. OMAR ORNELAS/THE DESERT SUN ning agency for Riverside, San Bernar- economic forecast. ately people of color; in restaurants, for dino, Los Angeles, Ventura, Orange and And while last year focused on demo- example, more than 80% of chefs, near- Imperial counties. graphic trends and a few bright spots for ly 70% of supervisors and managers, These include: His presentation focused on the economic growth in the Coachella Val- and nearly 64% of waitstaffs at Califor- h Fostering a more comprehensive “Connect SoCal” plan that outlines eco- ley, this year centered on the myriad nia restaurants are nonwhite, according university system; nomic and development plans for the ways the coronavirus pandemic took a to the California Restaurant Associa- h Investing in state-of-the-art com- region through 2045, and “focusing on hammer to the local economy, and what tion. munication with better bandwidth and an inclusive economic recovery.” may be involved in the long, hard proc- Small business revenues in the hos- 5G technology; The plan aims to address challenges ess of rebuilding. pitality sector also plummeted. h Fostering competitive K-12 public that are widespread, systemic and per- Wallace said the pandemic has laid Keil said ZIP codes most connected to schools; sistent: 78% of people living in flood bare some of the biggest economic chal- hospitality saw the biggest drop in small h Putting a regional focus on “every- hazard areas are people of color. About lenges for the region: the dependence on business revenue — among the worst thing,” Wallace said, bringing together 21% of farmlands have been lost since tourism, for example, and the need for hit in the valley was 92262, the northern the nine cities for a stronger unit of 1984, while there are about 1,500 annual better technology so people can work or part of Palm Springs where small busi- around 500,000 people; traffic fatalities. go to school from home. nesses saw an 80% drop in revenue in h Investing in better transportation Goals of Connect SoCal include Meanwhile, there’s uncertainty April through May compared to the start options; adapting to climate change with a de- about the ultimate duration of the pan- of the year. h Devising a plan for the future of the crease of 19% in greenhouse gas emis- demic, when a successful vaccine may Keil said the Coachella Valley Music Salton Sea. sions in the next 15 years, diversifying be in circulation, if there will be more and Arts Festival was his “canary in the Also key to the recovery is re-estab- housing type to ensure working class federal aid, or whether more businesses coal mine” for how bad the pandemic- lishing the “cash cows” of hospitality people can afford homes, and as much will have to shut down in the face of un- induced economic downturn would be. and tourism, Wallace said. as $640 billion in widespread infra- controllable spread. Not holding the festival in October — structure projects. But the good news is that the desert’s and possibly not in the spring of 2021, On housing: Some ‘mixed signals’ Addressing the “digital divide,” or relatively affordable cost of living com- though it hasn’t officially been canceled lack of access to technology, is also a pared to coastal California is enticing — signals that the recovery is slow. A booming real estate market is con- priority, Ajise said. new people to move here, Wallace said. “Let’s hope it happens by October,” sidered a bright spot for the Coachella Ajise commended the work that local And he hopes that the challenges pre- he said.

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