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Thursday, April 30 | ☀️ 88°/64°
Welcome to Thursday, where if you're curious about how your vote actually gets counted (and you’re seeing this early enough) the Riverside County Registrar of Voters is opening its doors today for a public look at logic and accuracy testing of the voting system ahead of the June 2 Statewide Direct Primary Election. Testing begins at 10 a.m. at 2724 Gateway Dr. in Riverside, and it's a rare chance to watch election staff verify that every candidate and measure gets tallied correctly before a single real ballot is cast!
🎶 Setting the mood: "Sunshower" by Dr. Buzzard’s Original Savannah Band
Leading Off
Palm Springs home prices fall sharply, but market shows signs of strength
The median price for a detached home in Palm Springs dropped to $1.1 million in March, a 12.5% decline compared to the year before, according to the latest Greater Palm Springs Realtors Desert Housing Report.
Driving the news: Attached home prices also fell, dropping 8% to $433,000 compared to March 2025. Valley-wide, the median price for a detached home was $690,000, down nearly 3% year over year, while attached home prices slipped 2.6% to $500,000.
Coachella and Rancho Mirage were the only valley cities to see an increase in median price for detached homes; for attached homes, only La Quinta and Rancho Mirage posted year-over-year gains.
By the numbers: Palm Springs had 769 units on the market at the start of April, the second-highest inventory in the valley behind Palm Desert's 801 units — though both cities saw inventory dip compared to last year's figures.
Valley-wide, 3,557 units were for sale at the end of March, a decrease of 3% compared to the prior year.
Sales are up: Palm Springs recorded 137 home sales during the three-month period ending in March, an increase of seven homes compared to the same period last year — again ranking second in the valley behind Palm Desert.
What we're watching: Despite the price declines, Palm Springs homes are selling faster than anywhere else in the valley, with a median 43 days on market.
On average, homes are selling for 3% below list price — a smaller discount than the 4% below asking recorded last year, suggesting sellers are regaining some leverage.
📰 In Other News
Well in the Desert operates out of this building in Downtown Palm Springs. It’s now being asked to vacate. (File photo)
🏗️ A longtime Palm Springs homeless services provider — Well In the Desert — is being asked to vacate its lease, possibly to make way for a potential new city fire station. [The Desert Sun 💰]
💥 A driver was killed this week after crashing into a light pole on Highway 111 at Indian Trail in Rancho Mirage, also damaging the historic Elephant Car Wash sign. [NBC Palm Springs]
🚲 Get to know Jerry Alcorn — a paralysis survivor and Palm Springs bike-shop owner who epitomizes determination in this profile by Bonnie Gilgallon. [Coachella Valley Independent]
A MESSAGE FROM
PALM SPRINGS CULTURAL CENTER
Step into Spellbound, Alfred Hitchcock’s Oscar-winning psychological thriller, featuring surreal dream imagery by Salvador Dalí. Join Richard L. Edwards Friday at 7 p.m. on the Big Screen in the Historic Camelot Theatre. Come early for hot pizza and food trucks at 5 p.m.!
📆 Featured Events
Mahjong Meetup
12 p.m. | Market Market
Join other players for a weekly round of mahjong at Market Market. Two mats and sets are available, though bringing your own is encouraged when it gets busy.
"Arthur Elrod: Desert Cool"
5 p.m. | Palm Springs Cultural Center
This new documentary by Adele Cygelman and Alan Kraemer explores the work of Palm Springs interior designer Arthur Elrod, whose custom interiors complemented the groundbreaking midcentury architecture of the desert. Elrod's own home on Southridge Drive, designed with architect John Lautner, remains his enduring legacy. ($15)
Free Museum Admission
5–8 p.m. | Palm Springs Art Museum & Architecture and Design Center
Enjoy free admission to galleries and exhibitions at the Palm Springs Art Museum (101 N. Museum Dr.) and the Architecture & Design Center (300 S. Palm Canyon Dr.).
Hyatt Palm Springs | HooDoo – Thursday Night Live Music
6 p.m. | Hyatt Palm Springs
Live music returns to HooDoo every Thursday with handcrafted cocktails and downtown Palm Springs vibes.
Palm Springs VillageFest
6–10 p.m. | Palm Canyon Drive, Downtown Palm Springs
The weekly street fair features art, entertainment, shopping, and food along Palm Canyon Drive. Runs 6–10 p.m. October through May.
Cin Cin Presents: Black Market Jazz
7 p.m. | Cipolline Osteria
A quartet performs an international mix of jazz with drums, bass, keys, and guitar every Thursday in the lounge.
"Cockroaches"
7 p.m. | Revolution Stage Company
A Southern Gothic dark comedy following three sisters confronting their mother's latest theatrical crisis in their decaying childhood home. ($38–$75)
The Music of Billie Holiday feat. Doug MacDonald
7 p.m. | Agua Caliente Casino
A live musical celebration of the great Billie Holiday. ($20)
📌 Save the Date
Pick it up Palm Springs Cleanup on Friday at the northeast corner of Gene Autry Trail and Via Escuela
From Book to Stage pops concert on Sunday at Jewish Community Center ($30)
“Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope” on May 4 at the Palm Springs Cultural Center ($14)
Rock the Park: Listen to the Music (The Doobie Brothers Experience) on May 6 at Downtown Park
Harvey Milk Diversity Breakfast on May 14 at the Palm Springs Convention Center ($95)
Agave Paradiso Cocktail Party benefitting Palm Springs Animal Shelter on May 16 ($25-$250)
🚠 And Finally …
Two monumental bronze sculptures by internationally recognized artist J.D. Hansen have arrived in Downtown Palm Springs — fresh from a stint at the Four Seasons Hotel Firenze in Florence, Italy, and now gracing the front of the Kimpton Rowan Palm Springs Hotel.
Driving the news: The temporary public art installation, presented in collaboration with Grit Development and fine art gallery HOHMANN, features two works on loan from the artist: "Resonance," standing 10 feet tall, and "Family Group," which reaches approximately 10 feet in overall height on its base.
The artist: Hansen is considered one of the more compelling contemporary voices working in bronze, pushing the medium beyond its traditional boundaries through unusual surfaces and richly layered patinas. Her work is held in hundreds of private and institutional collections and has been exhibited internationally.
Worth knowing: The installation adds to a growing open-air sculpture corridor stretching through downtown between Tahquitz Canyon Way and Museum Way, which also includes works by David Černý, Julian Voss-Andreae, and Matt Devine.
Both sculptures are available for public viewing for a limited time. More information about the artist is available at hohmann.art/hansen.
In Case You Missed It
Recently published stories
🐕 Kendall’s dog Zelda is going out of town to get some more in-depth imaging done, so she’s going to have a lot of treats ready for her when she comes home.
🍃 Mark has a few wind apps to try out thanks to readers who weighed in yesterday. Thank you!
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