The Desert Sun from Palm Springs, California • 3

Gibson questions promotion plan funding loan with annual renewable clauses that will be paid back" is borrowed money that will be replaced by increased sales and hotel bed tax revenues" Cromwell said Using statistics from the Greater Palm Springs Convention and Visitors Bureau a city task force estimated a first-year investment of $225000 will yield $4 million in tourist spending in the second year the more than 50 spas City officials said $105000 will crane from redevelopment funds and $120000 from the hotel bed tax At a study session Thursday Councilman Bill Gibson said he supports the plan but doesn't want to spend so much redevelopment money on it can justify the $48000 for the salary but I see spending the money for his benefits and everything else" Gibson said The $225000 also will pay for advertising office space furnishings and travel The director is expected to be on the road 35 weeks a year the city have streets and houses in disrepair and using taxpayers' money on this" said Gibson He suggested the city use the total hotel bed tax revenues $360000 last year for the promotional plan All five City Council members approved the promotional proposal "in concept" last month The council is to vote on the fund allocations at its meeting Tuesday Councilman Richard Cromwell III a staunch supporter of the plan advised Gibson to think of the redevelopment money as short-term By KELLE RUSSELL Dtatrl Sw Staff Writer desert hot springs While the City Council has approved "in concept" a $225000 promotional plan one councilman is objecting to liberal use of redevelopment funds to finance it The plan calls for hiring a marketing director to attract tourists with plenty of spending dollars to LINED UP: Miss Califomia Countdown begins for title quest By KELLE RUSSELL Dctert Sm Suff Writer PALM SPRINGS More than 100 contestants from around the state are nearing the end of their quest fra the title Miss California USA Preliminary competition is tonight at 8 at Palm Springs Convention Center which also is the site of the finals Saturday night The finals which will feature interviews by judges as well as swimsuit and evening gown competition also begin at 8 The two-hour show will be telecast on a number of California stations appearing locally onKESQ Channels 3 and 42 Co-hosts are game show host Bob Eubanks and former Miss USA Kim Tomes Dutton After the 111 entries perform the opening number the final 15 contestants will be announced During Saturday night's telecast a five-minute videotape will showcase the "Playground of the Stars" spotlighting tourist attractions in the Palm Springs area Tickets for tonight's preliminary round are $20 while cost $40 to be in the audience Saturday night Information is available at the pageant office 778-4170 The new Miss California USA will sign autographs from 1 to 4 pm Sunday at Desert Fashion Plaza on Palm Canyon Drive Photo by Andy Gompwi finsle USA contestants line up for photos in preparation for Saturday mom among judges at Miss California USA beauty pageant Judges help make contestants feel at ease during interviews Tomfnie Juneau Dallas-based fashion designer Annette Munoz fashion coordinator for Stallion Boot Co of Ell Paso Texas which Jones said sells western boots to movie stars Kent Foster vice president and treasurer of Overseas Private Investment Corp The judges tonight will make their decision based on tonight's preliminaries on the 15 finalists In addition to the Miss California USA crown the winner will get a host of gifts cash and college scholarships and represent California in the 1989 Miss USA Pageant in February The reigning Miss California USA Diana Magana will be featured throughout the competition Magana of Rancho Los Palos Verdes was first runner-up to this Miss USA Courtney Gibbs Rehearsal started around 7:30 am yesterday and most of us had personal interviews with the judges Contestants 1 through 72 were interviewed yesterday and numbers 73 through 111 will be interviewed today I was the 35th person interviewed yesterday It was nice and the judges were easy to talk to Actor Sylvester mother was one of the judges I am comfortable talking to people one mi one so I wasn't nervous But I was anxious to get it over with The questions were not too hard but I say what they asked about because the judges might be planning to ask the other girls some of the same questions today Before the interview we had a preview for the judges and we By JACK ROW ALEC DcwrtSw Staff Writer PALM SPRINGS Sly be there but his mom wilL Jacqueline Stallone Sylvester mother is one of nine judges tonight and Saturday for the Miss California USA pageant at the Convention Center a character from what I hear" said Loch Jones public relations spokesman for Hyatt Grand Champions Resort in Indian Wells where the pageant's contestants judges and guests will be treated to a "countiy-French brunch at 10:30 am Saturday "She can be extremely outspoken sometimes according to people I work Jones said Other judges in the contest also have some claim to fame They include: Christy Fichtner Miss USA 1986 and former hostess for the "Disney Channel Miss Califomis-USA hopefuls offer beauty tips: D-1 Henry Polic a stage film and television star who is Uncle Jerry on ABCs Jones said Bob Scribner director of makeup for West Coast operations whom Jones described as Johnny makeup artist for the "Tonight Show Paul Ryan former TV host for "Mid-Morning and host of the new game show "Travel "He also did the NBC special said Jones Randy Miller president of Original New York Seltzer and former stuntman involved in high falls cars motorcycles horseback and mountain lion stunts IndiotDesert Sands school board 7 pm Tuesday central office board room 82-879 Highway 111 Desert Hot Springs: council meeting 7 pm Tuesdsy City Hall 11-711 West Drive Mere leeal news A-8 Georgia resident dies in 1-car crash PALM SPRINGS A Marietta Ga woman died Thursday at Desert Hospital shortly after a car in which she was a passenger overturned northwest of Palm Springs at Windy Point Two others in the car were critically injured The dead woman whose name had not been released by this morning was a passenger in a car driven by Miream Bro-bender 47 of New York City said Tom Granger of the California Highway Patrol Brobender was southbound on Highway 111 about 4:45 pm when the car drifted to the side of the road and as she tried to get it under control it hit a concrete drainage ditched and overturned Granger said Brobender and another passenger Debra Jinn in gs 34 of Palm Springs were listed in critical condition this morning at Desert Hospital Palm Springs man accused of burglary PALM SPRINGS A Palm Springs man was arrested Thursday afternoon and accused of burglarizing a condominium where an off-duty Palm Springs police officer was sleeping Joseph Mark Bailey 26 apparently entered the condominium at 280 Avenida Caballeros about 12:50 pm through an unlocked sliding glass door taking two wallets on the kitchen cabinet and then opened the door of a bedroom where Officer Don Fallon was sleeping according to a police report Fallon saw the man standing in the doorway and drew his gun but the man ran from the condominium the report said Bailey was arrested walking on Avenida Caballeros and booked into Palm Springs Municipal Jail on suspicion of burglary School district hires two administrators THERMAL Two people have been hired to fill administrative positions in Coachella Valley Unified School District and a third administrator has had his contract extended William Meister a teacher at Oasis School last year and former principal of Bobby Duke Middle School in Coachella fills the central office position of director of student services Cal Gunther a Holtville Unified School District administrator was hired as principal at Mecca School Information sought in shooting death CrimeStoppers will pay $1000 for information leading to the arrest of George Avilez also known as Edward Sierra Avilez is wanted in the June 12 shooting death of college student Roger Lee Farmer Jr in Palm Springs Anyone with information can call 323-6000 anonymously The reward will be paid as soon as Avilez is arrested For the record The Lotto 649 numbers in edition carried an incorrect date The numbers were actually chosen in Wednesday night's drawing The policy of The Desert Sun is to correct errors of fact promptly and courteously If you have a correction or clarification please call our city desk at 325-1666 Council limits mobile home Bed tax increase will go before voters Pageant Notebook lytopiilrTS Contestant Angela Bryns 19 of Palm Springs is giving Desert Sun readers a daily account of the sights and sounds of the Miss California USA pageant showed them our evening gowns and swimsuits Miss San Fernando Valley Christina Marie Faust was chosen the winner of the swimsuit competition We rehearsed some more but we pretty much had free time to relax while the girls were being interviewed It was a ling day We left rehearsal around 8:30 pm rent hikes the fiscal year after the election Several other cities also are asking voters fra bed tax increases1 Palm Desert from 6 percent to 8 or 9 percent La Quinta from 8 to 9 percent and Indio from 8 to 10 percent Jim Wilmer director of advertising at Mission Hills Resort said the 1 percent increase would not affect business "If (customers) are going to spend the kind of money asking them to spend here in the valley they aren't going to balk at a 1 or 2 percent tax Wilmer said He added that a 9 percent tax would keep the city on a par with other tourist areas Autumn's Siqueiros said she voted fra acquittal I a hun- dred percent sure that he was the ne in the of the incident Downing was disappointed but said that predicted that would happen" recognized that the testimony was all over the Downing said "Had the victim been a 25-year-old adult and given more of a description maybe the outcome would have been Neither Scherotter nor High who did not show any reaction to the outcome would comment Officer admits just too hot to stop all COACHELLA Police Sgt Joe Murrillo contends motorists should see a bright side to the current hot spell Speeders in Coachella he says aren't getting as many tickets as they would in cooler weather Every so often traffic of Beers have to leave their regular patrol routes and drive around to co (A their engines "They stop traffic back-to-back like used to Murrillo said "Their cars are An officer making a traffic stop turns off the air conditioning but leaves the car engine runnning- "The car is left idling fra 10 to 15 minutes while the officer fills out the Murrillo said this say three times and it overheats the car" RANCHO MIRAGE The City Council gave final approval Thursday to amendments to the rent control ordinance limiting mobile home park owners to one rent increase per year By a 4-0 vote the council adopted the amendments that incorporated suggestions by a Sacramento rent control law specialist and Mike Cirillo owner of Rancho Mirage Mobile Home Park Councilwoman Lee Karr who proposed the amendments abstained because she lives in a mobile home park The main amendment will prevent a park owner from seeking a rent increase within 12 months of receiving either a hardship increase or the annual Consumer Price Index increase to which owners are entitled Other amendments will: Limit the time of year owners can apply for a hardship increase and residents can apply for relief from an increase to Oct 1 to March 1 Clarify the Mobile Home Fair Practices responsibility to comply with the open meeting law and expand the commission from five to seven members tolndude non-voting representatives of the residents and the park owners RANCHO MIRAGE Voters here will decide in November whether to increase the city's transient occupancy (hotel bed) tax from 8 percent to 9 percent The City Council voted Thursday to place the proposal on the ballot According to a staff report the measure is intended to offset possible state legislation that would prevent bed tax increases in future years The bed tax is the single largest revenue source for the city projected to raise $29 million this fiscal year at the 8 percent rate Passage of the measure would increase that amount about $180000 during the remainder of by driving past his apartment was I'm suggesting to you is that Autumn Payne might be he told the jury Downing responded that the girl focused on certain key things" during the brief incident but that police did a analysis of the case" before arresting High High denied ever seeing Autumn Jurors very animated discussion" Siqueiros said "There was a little bit of She said the jurors at length what we thought were reach verdict in attempted kidnaping trial Jury By MARLENE MORGENSTERN DncrtSaa Staff Writer INDIO A mistrial was declared Thursday after a jury was unable to agree on a verdict in the trial of a Palm Springs man accused of trying to kidnap a 10-year-old girl last November jurors told Indio Superior Court Judge James Herrin late Thursday afternoon that they would not change their votes which added up to seven for conviction and five fra acquittal A new trial fra defendant Randolph Allen High was requested by screamed and struggled and he fled she said Autumn said she memorized the license number as the car drove off The number was traced to High But defense attorney Gary Scherotter pointed out apparent discrepancies between the initial statements and those she gave later to police and in court on matters such as the color of the assailant's shorts his race his hair style and the type of car he drove Scherotter argued that the way police showed High and his car to Autumn fra possible identification Deputy District Attorney David Downing It was set tentatively fra Sept 23 "We went in there and made a decision and no willing to change that decision" jury foreman Yolanda Siqueiros told the judge Autumn Payne identified High as the man who tried to coax her to his car as she walked on Avenida Palos Verdes toward her school Nov 2 When she ran she said he pursued her and grabbed the hood of her coat causing her to fall He tried to pick her up but she.