A group of young filmmakers who live near the Salton Sea are raising awareness about the environmental and public health crisis they and thousands of others live around every day.

Higher temperatures, more intense droughts and more damaging wildfires and floods are just some of the climate change effects already being seen in the California desert — and residents of low-income, minority communities in the Coachella Valley are most likely to suffer the consequences of those environmental stresses.

Officials at Coachella Valley Unified School District are supporting efforts to bring restorative forms of discipline to more schools while ending a contract that placed sheriff's deputies in schools."

Alexis Ortego of Palm Springs and Lynne O'Neill of Cathedral City write that as the Desert Healthcare District prepares to transition to zone-based elections, its board must decide how the new zones will be drawn to best represent our communities.

Manuela Ramirez of Thermal writes about why so many of her neighbors in the Eastern Coachella Valley live in fear.

A day before the second annual East Coachella Valley Pride festival, organizers were busy finishing the final preparations.

Rainbow flags, posters emblazoned with the word "pride" and beaded necklaces and bracelets in every color were on proud display Saturday afternoon at Veterans Memorial Park in Coachella for the first east valley LGBTQ Pride Festival.

Sylvia Paz, Special to The Desert Sun Published 10:27 a.m. PT March 24, 2016 | Updated 10:32 a.m. PT March 24, 2016

What are we doing to prevent gang violence?

Recently, there has been a lot of focus on gang violence in the city of Coachella and the need to increase policing to "eliminate the problem." Although, this approach may offer a temporary relief, it does not address the root of the problem. I pose the question: “Are local institutions doing enough to invest resources for our community to thrive?”