Free Republic

Spa Resort with more...and nothing at all Clothing optional has become a marketing trend in upscale resorts popping up across America . For a growing number of resort goers, the option of checking their clothes at the door has become an attractive way to relax and retreat. Nestled in the hills of the desert community overlooking Palm Springs and the Coachella Valley is Living Waters Spa that has served the clothing optional market for over six years. By giving its guests the option to stay nude, it is thriving while other area hotels have been pounded by financially challenging times....

Investigating Voter Registration Fraud By Dean Gray, August 13, 2008 Desert Hot Springs, CA, August 13, 2008 – Riverside County Democrats are calling for an investigation of what they are calling voter registration fraud. A local democrat club says that fraud extends to Desert Hot Springs. In a press release issued today by the Riverside County Democratic Party, the organization says it has discovered unexpected and suspicious increases in Republican voter registration numbers. An August 11, 2008 Registrar of Voters registration report revealed what Democrats say is an inexplicable gain in new registrations for Republicans in eastern areas of the...

School Budget Cuts Derail English Language Program By Dean Gray and Jackie Devereaux Coachella Valley, CA – An important English reading fluency program is threatened to end due to severe budget cuts to this year’s school budget. The Valley Partnership, is at the end of a three-year program, funded by an annual grant of $329,000. Without the matching funds the program is at risk and over 20 people lose their paid volunteer positions. Fundraising efforts are still trying to raise $55,000 by August 3rd to meet the target start-up date. The sponsors are asking for donations by philanthropists and charitable...

By Wiley Smith; July 24, 2008 Just saw that Los Angeles banned plastic bags and will charge 25 cents for each paper bag the store supplies to customers. Three percent of the bag fee will be returned to the retailer (0.045 cents), 3 percent (0.045 cents) will go to the state, and the rest (0.16 cents) will go back to the city to fund an education campaign. Of course, some enterprising individuals likely will be selling the bags for less, buying them at a landed cost of 0.05 cents and doubling their money for a sell price of 0.10 cents...

While the city of Desert Hot Springs continues to faithfully support one of its largest developers, D.R. Horton, the company’s lenders are growing less willing to prop up the housing industry giant. And at least one supplier to the nation’s number one homebuilder says late payments by D.R. Horton contributed to it having to file bankruptcy. D.R. Horton, a Texas-based builder, said on Tuesday its credit line with Wachovia Corp has been reduced to $1.65 billion after renegotiating the facility for the fifth time since 2005. The company had to renegotiate yet again because it couldn't meet its obligations under...

SHANGHAI -- The city's banks have been told to exercise caution on mortgage lending to help combat speculation and stabilize property prices. Shanghai's banking regulator said on Sunday all local banks must abide by strict mortgage lending policies and spot checks will be conducted. The statement is a response to recent media reports that domestic banks were lowering lending standards to second-home buyers to boost mortgages, which bring a large share of bank profits. Analysts said the government will stick to its tightening policy to cool the overheated property market, although an investment slowdown and housing price dips have been...

Raising a question here without the answer. But no better place than FR to give a picture a look-over for authenticity. Has this photo been photoshopped to make Clinton look heavier?

From three o'clock in the afternoon onward, the mob moved along Yutuo Road, Beijing East Road, and Duosenge Road, smashing businesses and setting fires. They stormed into shops, hospitals and news agencies. Nearby public facilities, transportation and electric power lines were damaged. Seven banks operating within the area failed to escape the mob. Rioters smashed ten ATM machines to pieces leaving those branches in a complete mess. Rioters set fires in the areas around the Jokhong Temple, Ramoche Temple and the Chomsigkang Market. In the city centre, fires started in the Si Fang supermarket, Lan Dun Plaza and Wen Zhou...

Buckley's primary intellectual achievement was to fuse traditional American political conservatism with libertarianism, laying the groundwork for the modern American conservatism of U.S. Presidential candidate Barry Goldwater and U.S. President Ronald Reagan.bttt

brillant article by Krauthammer. There is no better, brighter political commentator. http://jewishworldreview.com/cols/krauthammer021508.php3

Another large earthquake has rocked Mexicali.

Following Sunday's SuperBowl loss to the New York Giants, the New England Patriots called for a rematch, but this time eliminting the Giants from the competiton. Instead, the defeated Patriots called for a rematch against the Sun City Streaking Geezers. Said Patriots Line Backer Number 58 Pierre Woods (shown below in game 8 against the Streaking Geezers), "I know we can win. we just need a different team to play."

As first reported by CelebTV.com, Britney Spears and paparazzo Adnan Ghalib were spotted near Palm Springs, Calif., the same day the pop star was released from Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. The pair looked cozy as they playfully shared a lollipop, with Spears smoking, outside a bungalow in Desert Hot Springs, about 120 miles east of L.A. Following Spears' emergency hospitalization for a mental evaluation, Ghalib apparently whisked her away for some private time. The British-born pap has a home in the desert community, according to public records.

In California, thousands of homeowners are having their assessments reduced under a decades-old state law, and lower tax revenue because of the weaker housing market is likely to start placing a strain on state and local governments. A study last month by the U.S. Conference of Mayors predicted that California would...

Go to Google and you will find candy canes and bows adorning the website's logo. Go to China Daily and behold glad tidings of a Merry Christmas wish. Merry Christmas to All!

<p>Photo by Ryan McFadden: Reading Eagle Erin Dickinson, 7, was mauled by a pit bull May 24 near her south Reading home.</p> <p>I'm sure you have read the accounts of how a 7-year-old girl, above, was attacked by two dogs near her home on the south side of Reading.</p>

If one of the more extreme responses to global warming comes true, driving a sports car anywhere but on a racetrack might be relegated to history's dustbin. Fast, powerful cars within a few years may be outlawed in Europe, an idea that has been raised ostensibly because Ferraris and Porsches produce too much carbon dioxide. For those who abhor sports cars as vulgar symbols of affluence (along with vacation homes, furs and fancy jewelry), such a ban could be a two-fer: Saving the planet while cutting economic inequality. Who are these people anyway who decide on behalf of everyone what...

Whe I come across a website that is downloading code, my anti-virus acts in one of two ways: (1) It grays out the screen and tells me a site is trying to download code, then gives me the option to accept or not. (2) It grays out the screen and tells me a site is trying to download code...but gives no option. Just blocks it and that is it. Three times now I have gone to Drudge and I was not given the option to proceed. My anti-virus viewed the content as so hostile it was number 2 only. What's...

Former City Manager Hanson Sues Desert Hot Springs DLN Legal Eagles 25.JUN.07 Former Desert Hot Springs City Manager Jerry Hanson who retired amid controversy over the money he was paid by the city in 2004 – over $320,000 – has filed suit against the city for breach of contract. After his retirement, Hanson entered a consulting agreement with the city. Under that consulting agreement, Hansen was to be compensated as follows: “Effective August 1, 2005 the employee/consultant shall be paid a fee of $150.00 per hour not to exceed 960 hours in a calendar year ($144,000 per year) but not...

Coachella Valley Mosquito and Vector Control general manager Donald Gomsi receives a $150,000 per year in salary. He also receives a company automobile, 60 vacation days per year and a $100,000 life insurance policy. Gomsi is entitled to the same retirement plans offered to all full-time district employees. He also gets a 401(a) retirement plan to which the district contributes 4 percent of the required contribution. Gomsi receives this pay for managing a district with 49 employees and a budget of under $9 million per year. In comparison, Coachella Valley Unified School District Superintendent Foch "Tut" Pensis makes less -...