5 Things to Know: Wednesday, November 18

By
Casey Dolan
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Welcome to 5 Things to Know – a daily rundown of things you might want to be aware of if you live in, visit, or just like being aware about what’s going on in Palm Springs and the Coachella Valley. As always, thank you for your continued support of Cactus Hugs.

1) The Coronavirus

Riverside County reported 912 new cases and 9 new reported deaths since Tuesday. There have been 1,383 reported deaths from coronavirus this year in Riverside County.

Here is the latest on what’s going on in the desert:

 

More:

  • The Riverside County Sheriff’s Department has been fined nearly $18,000 after Cal/OSHA cited the department for multiple COVID-19 violations at a Murrieta detention center. The department says the plant to appeal.
  • Assemblyman Chad Mayes is defending his decision to attend a conference in Hawaii with other lawmakers saying it is necessary to “collaborate on ways we can reopen our economy in a safe manner.”
  • Everyone continues to be very mad at Gov. Gavin Newsom for attending a dinner party.
  • Nationally, things have gone from very bad to worse:

Be safe.  Wear a mask. 

2) Home sales are still booming

Southern California home sales were up 17% in October and median home prices up 14% from the previous month. In Riverside County 4,350 homes sold in October with a,  up 17.8%, with a median price of $445,500, up 14%.  Real estate folks credit record low interest rates in driving sales.

3) The Election

Yeah, I know, you are tired of hearing about the election at this point.  Most of us are.  But here we are, still talking about it as you know who refuses to admit he lost.  One local note, ballots are still being counted, but as of today, Joe Biden may win Riverside County by a greater margin than Hillary Clinton did four years ago. In 2016, Clinton beat Trump by just over 60,000 votes. As of Wednesday, Biden leads Trump in the county by over 77,000 votes – though you may not want to tell your Uncle about that during your Thanksgiving Zoom dinner, unless you want to hear an earful about crazy conspiracy theories about fraud and rigging the votes.

4) Dutch Bros Coffee set to open next month in La Quinta

The desert is getting its first Dutch Bros coffee, likely by mid-December, according to the Desert Sun. Things are under construction on the coffee joint at Jefferson and Fred Waring.

The chain offers up coffee, cold brew, energy drinks and more.  You can check out the menu here.

5) Gift Guide: Day 3

What the??  It’s already time to start shopping for the holidays!…even though it was 90 freakin’ degrees today in the Coachella Valley!  2020 is quite a year.   Over the next couple of weeks, Cactus Hugs will feature a few items you might want to pick up for yourself or as a gift for a loved one.  Some items will include affiliate links, which would mean that Cactus Hugs gets a small commission if you happen to buy something, but the price is still the same.

Local gift cards!  Now more than ever, a gift card to a local store, restaurant, brewery, or wherever makes a rad gift.  Sure, it may not seem as personal as an actual thing, but it pumps money into local shops during a pandemic and who hates a gift card??? No one…well, unless it comes without noting the amount so you have to ask first or find where the hell online you can enter like a zillion digits to find out.  What I am saying is, always tell people how much is on the dang card!!!

Stay safe.  Stay smart.  Practice Social Distancing.  Wear a mask.  

Have a nice weekend.

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