FREE
Man suspected of kidnap attempt on teen girl to stand trial on felony charges
Riverside County average gasoline price drops after rising 12 times in 13 days
PG 02
PG 20
MONDAY, JANUARY 08- JANUARY 14, 2024
VISIT CORONANEWSPRESS.COM
Palm Springs Film Festival gets underway with red carpet, awards
T
he Palm Springs International Film Festival got underway Thursday with a red carpet event leading into the festival’s film awards. The festival got underway after 4 p.m. as attendees were greeted and directed to the guest red carpet, which featured 20 check-in stations at the end, according to festival officials. After being checked in by a host, attendees were given a table card and directed to the lobby of the Palm Springs Convention Center. As attendees settled in, a cocktail hour began at 5 p.m. Thursday, about an hour prior to when the show will begin, festival officials said. The honorees include Martin Scorsese, Leonardo DiCaprio, Lily Gladstone, Emma Stone, Cillian Murphy, Da’Vine Joy Randolph, Greta Gerwig, Jeffrey Wright, Carey Mulligan and Colman Domingo. “Sprawling in scope, this year’s lineup spotlights programming from both international and domestic communities, including first-time filmmaking from American stars, impactful documentaries from abroad, and the very best in contemporary cinema for our Coachella Valley audience,” Artistic Director Lili Rodriguez said in a statement. “The Palm Springs International Film Festival programming team committed the past year to searching and scavenging the world for the films which compose this Festival’s lineup.” The opening night for screenings on Friday featured the U.S. premiere of the comedy mystery “Wicked Little Letters,” which was attended by director Thea Sharock. The screenings will close out Jan. 13 with the comedy “Ex-Husbands.” Writer and
VOL. 8,
Inland Empire lawmaker seeks to rescind health care for undocumented residents
By City News Service director Noah Pritzker was expected to attend with the movie’s stars, Griffin Dunne and Miles Heizer. The festival will feature screenings of 179 films from 74 countries at the Palm Canyon Theater, Camelot Theatres, Regal Cinemas and Annenberg Theater in Palm Springs as well as the Mary Pickford is D’Place in Cathedral City. “The varied screenings at the 2024 edition will unite family entertainment, critical commentary, dramatic excellence and, most importantly, the community for cinematic conversation which meets every year in beautiful, sophisticated Palm Springs,” Rodriguez said. On Jan. 15, juried awards for films in competition will be announced for seven categories. The complete lineup of films can be found at psfilmfest.org. “Killers of the Flower Moon” gets Vanguard Award The Vanguard Award was presented to “Killers of the Flower Moon” Thursday evening while Eric Roth, a co-writer of the film, received the Creative Impact in Screenwriting Award Friday at Variety’s annual 10 Directors to Watch and Creative Impact Awards brunch. Director Martin Scorsese, Leonardo DiCaprio and Lily Gladstone were presented with the Vanguard award Thursday night at the Palm Springs Convention Center. Roth received his award Friday at Parker Palm Springs. “’Killers of the Flower Moon’ is a powerful and important film not only for its cinematic poetry, but also as a complicated story about the suspicious murders of members of the
NO. 154
By City News Service
A
Riverside County lawmaker introduced legislation Thursday that would bar undocumented state residents from accessing taxpayer-funded health insurance amid the yawning state budget deficit. Assemblyman Bill Essayli, R-Norco, said that the goal of Assembly Bill 1783 is to end universal health insurance for all undocumented foreign nationals, which became the law on Jan. 1 under provisions negotiated as part of the 2023-24 fiscal year budget. California is first in the nation to establish the allowance. “It is unconscionable to spend billions of taxpayer dollars to give universal health care to illegal immigrants when our own citizens cannot afford their own health care on top of historic inflation and the highest cost of living in the nation,” Essayli said. “The state budget has a $68 billion deficit, insurance premiums are going up across the board and consumer prices remain 19% higher than pre-pandemic levels.” Undocumented immigrants 26 to 49 years old are able to See Undocumented residents Page 19
| Image courtesy of the Palm Springs International Film Festival
Osage Nation, one which fully illustrates the evils of racism and corruption,” said Palm Springs International Film Festival Chairman Nachhattar Singh Chandi in a statement. The Vanguard Award has previously been presented to such films as “Green Book,” “The Shape of Water,” “Belfast,” “La La Land,” “Little Miss Sunshine,” “The Fablemans” and “The Trial of the Chicago 7.” “Roth’s oeuvre is the stuff of legends and the legends seek him out, as exhibited by this year’s mighty truelife contender, ‘Killers of the Flower Moon,’” Steven Gaydos, Variety’s executive vice president of content said in a statement. “A huge canvas and a See Film Festival Page 20
major production, telling a vital story about America’s appalling treatment of our indigenous peoples required a uniquely skilled voice, so directing legend Martin Scorsese called on Eric Roth to bring ‘Moon’ to the screen.” Danielle Brooks receives award for ‘The Color Purple’ Danielle Brooks received the Spotlight Award, Actress for her performance in “The Color Purple” Thursday evening, while the film’s director, Blitz Bazawule, was honored Friday at Variety’s annual 10 Directors to Watch and Creative Impact Awards event. The award was presented to Brooks Thursday night at the Palm Springs Convention Center and Bazawule
Man shot dead by neighbor after allegedly breaking into Menifee home By City News Service
A
n armed man who holed up in his family home and threatened to harm himself, then broke into a neighboring home as flames engulfed his family’s garage, was shot and killed by the neighbor, police said last week. Officers from the Menifee Police Department responded around 3:30 p.m. Dec. 30 to a report of a man with a gun in the 27000 block of Early Dawn Road, the department said. According to police, the man’s mother told officers her son was armed with a handgun and threatening to harm himself. Police identified the man as 40-year-old Robert Strauss, and said he was possibly under the influence of an unknown substance. All of Strauss’ family members were able to leave the residence safely, and Strauss was the only person believed to be in the home, police said. Around 5:05 p.m., as officers attempted to contact Strauss via loudspeaker in hopes he would come out of the home peacefully, smoke was spotted billowing out of the garage, and the home soon became engulfed by flames. Then, around 5:11 p.m., officers received a second call from a neighboring home from a man who said he had shot a man who broke into his home. See Menifee home Page 02