A new group of same-sex marriage supporters want to boycott valley businesses that supported Proposition 8. Organizers of the Palm Springs Task Force for Marriage Equality will release a marriage equality index at noon today that lists the donors to the Yes on 8 campaign and also those who that opposed the ban on same-sex marriage. The list is based on donor information released by California Secretary of State’s office. The online list will only include the names of donors but will not include organizations just because an employee within the company donated.

The San Francisco Bay Area may be on its way to becoming the nation’s electric car capital. The mayors of San Francisco, San Jose, Oakland and other cities in the region announced a partnership with startup company Better Place to pub battery powered automobiles on the road in 2012. They will probably offer incentives and standardize the company’s infrastructure in an effort to offer prices similar or below standard cars. In an interview, BP chief executive Shai Agassi said the charging stations would cost about one billion dollars.

Authorities are investigating the collision between a Metrolink train and a freight train yesterday in Rialto that injured four people. The Metrolink website says, Metrolink Train No. 306 bound for San Bernardino from Los Angeles, came into contact with a Burlington Northern Santa Fe freight train about 11:30 a.m. A Metrolink spokesperson said four of the 15 passengers aboard the Metrolink train were slightly injured and taken to a hospital. The contact between to the two trains is being called a minor sideswipe.

Negotiations between Desert Sands Unified School District and teachers have once again stalled. The teachers say they are looking for better working conditions so that they can focus more on teaching. Officials of the school district have now met teachers ten times since May to improve teacher working conditions and health care plans. Desert Sands Teacher’s Association president Tom Burbank says teachers are faced with increases in class size and have been working with no contract since June 30th. The district says they are willing to work with teachers but inceasing wages are just out of the question.because of the tight budget. The hard economic times and the recent news of the governor proposing a two billion dollar education cut makes reaching agreement crucial.

The new superintendent of the Riverside Unified School District has promised to collaborate with district employees. Superintendent Rick Miller was hired during a morning school board hearing on Tuesday, after interviewing five other candidates. Miller currently leads the Oxnard School District, a 15-thousand-student K-through-8 school district in Ventura County. The 59-year-old also has served as superintendent of K-through-12 districts in Idaho and northern California. The "Press Enterprise" reports Miller will begin work in Riverside on January 2nd and will earn a salary of 210-thousand dollars per year.

A 26-year-old parolee who got away from Hemet police last month was arrested Wednesday after a foot chase. Investigators spotted Levi John Roe about 6 p.m. in the 700 block of South State Street where he was riding in a car with 2 women. Roe was wanted on a parolee-at-large warrant and considered armed and dangerous. Officers stopped the vehicle, but Roe jumped out and ran. Police caught up with him, he ditched a loaded gun, brass knuckles and a knife, and was taken into custody after a brief struggle. Rose was booked into the Robert Presley Detention Center for alleged weapons violation and resisting arrest. He’s being held without bail. The female driver was questioned and released, but the 2nd woman was arrested for drug possession and aiding and abetting a fugitive.

The U.S. Geological Survey reports a magnitude-3.2 earthquake struck five miles north of Banning Thursday afternoon. It hit at 1:17 p.m. There were no reports of any damage. A Banning police dispatcher said there were no calls related to the quake, which was described as barely noticeable.

More than 50 new and used home buyers gathered at the Riverside County Education Center in Indio Tuesday to discuss problems over adjustable rate mortgages and depreciating home values across the valley. The Alliance for Homebuyer Justice said its examination of mortgage data in sectors of the county that had explosive home building growth show some large home builders in the Coachella Valley repeatedly issuing adjustable rate mortgages. More than one-third made by builders in 2006 involved five-year ARMs that will reset in 2011. Because this could put even more homes in distress, Indio Mayor Lupe Ramos Watson said the city opened the Indio Housing Resource Center to help residents get through these housing issues. The Alliance plans a moratorium on builders issuing loans and a ban on binding arbitration.

The city of Indio is joining La Quinta in partnering with the Coachella Valley Water District in the pilot program to offer its residents up to $1,000 for lawn conversion. The Water Smart Landscaping Rebate Program offers homeowners $1 per square foot of grass for converting their front lawn to a desert-friendly oasis. Water officials say it’s more important than ever to take advantage of water conservation programs with the valley’s water source in overdraft. Indio’s program has been in effect since July, and has become quite popular. Indio Water Authority official says homeowners have to wait 3 to 4 weeks to get an agency representative out for an audit.

A man suspected of being involved with a graffiti crew that has been tagging walls around Desert Hot Springs with the initials “BOSW” was arrested on suspicion of vandalism Thursday. Police stopped Miguel Cortes about noon Wednesday while driving away from the scene of a fight at a fast-food restaurant in the 13,000 block of Palm Drive. Desert Hot Springs Detective Larry Essex says Cortes had five or six cans of spray paint in his car and 25 to 30 pieces of paper with graffiti on them that match graffiti all over the city. Essex says there are five or six different tagging crews vandalizing the city and it's hard to say who's who, but they're always looking for suspects.

Investigators have released the name of a woman suspected of starting a fire that damaged a Palm Springs apartment complex and displaced more than two dozen people last month. 53-year-old Nancy Mohr allegedly started the October 20th fire at the Andalucia Apartments on South Sunrise Way. A report says Mohr, who was a tenant at the complex, was lighting a cigarette with a barbeque match. The match fell into some pillows and caught fire. Mohr apparently thought the air conditioning circulation would blow the fire out. When the blaze grew, she left without calling for help. The fire displaced 60 people and badly damaged 16 units. Mohr was detained for a mental evaluation right after the incident. After being released, she returned to the apartment and threatened some residents. She’s now in jail, charged with reckless arson and making terrorist threats. Bail was set at $500,000.

Two armed men robbed a Perris deli Wednesday, stealing employees’ personal possessions and an undisclosed amount of cash. Riverside County Sheriff’s deputies say it happened at La Favorita Meat Market at 546 Indian Circle. Two men with bandanas over their faces walked in brandishing handguns and demanding money. Employees handed over cash, a wallet and two cell phones. Sprint operators tracked one of the phones to a Perris Address where one of the suspects tossed it. One suspect’s described as in his mid 20’s, 6 feet, with a thin build, wearing a black-hooded sweatshirt, white pants and a blue bandana and carrying a chrome revolver. The 2nd was 6 feet, thin, wearing a black hooded jacket with a white stripe on the back and a red bandana. He was carrying a semiautomatic pistol. Anyone with information should call police.

Police are asking for the public’s help in identifying any possible victims of a man indicted this month who may have possessed child pornography. Riverside County Sheriff's Deputies arrested Jorge Algony in September in Palm Desert on suspicion of possession with the intent to distribute methamphetamine. The investigation led police to federal search warrants of a Palm Desert hotel room where they found several items consistent with pornography. If you suspect your child or any child may have had contact with Aglony, you're asked to call the FBI at 310-477-6565.

Some desert auto dealerships say something needs to be done for the big three automakers. Others say bankruptcy might be a better solution so they can cut their costs and become more competitive again. Robert Hewlett, general manager at Dodge City Chrysler Jeep in La Quinta says he wants a rescue deal to get done and hopes it would help customers when it comes to financing. If just one of the auto giants were to go belly-up some estimates put U.S. job losses next year as high as 2.5 million.

The man who was involved in a long standoff with police after threatening his landlord Wednesday morning has been identified. Riverside police say 49-year-old Bobby Clint Pankratz threatened his landlord with a knife about 5:15 a.m. and then holed up in his trailer. It happened in the 5100 block of La Sierra Avenue near Norwood Avenue. Police surrounded Pankratz’s trailer while the landlord and his family shut themselves in their home for protection. Pankratz surrendered shortly before 11 a.m. after officers threw a can of pepper spray inside the trailer. He was booked into the Robert Presley Detention Center on charges of assault and making terrorist threats. Bail was set at $25,000.

The second of two inmates who escaped from a prison near Blythe last week has been caught. California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation officials say 29-year-old John Nolan escaped last Thursday from a minimum-security portion of Chuckawalla Valley State prison along with another prisoner, Stephen Lloyd Gumpert. Gumpert was serving a 2-year sentence for auto theft. He was recaptured Monday in Monterey Park and has been transferred to the prison’s administrative segregation unit. Nolan was serving a 4-year sentence for burglary. He was caught Thursday in Fontana and is also being held in the segregation unit. Both inmates are expected to face new charges related to the escape.

Prices at the pump tumbled once again around the nation. They’re at their lowest level in almost four years. Here in the valley people are rushing to one gas station in particular. The Apple Mart in Thermal has regular unleaded self-serve for $1.99 a gallon making it one of the cheapest if not the cheapest around town. The new price started at the beginning of the week and people are taking notice. The average price for regular unleaded self-serve gas in California is $2.37 a gallon.

The holiday season is right around the corner and food banks across the Valley are trying to stock up for what’s shaping up to be their busiest season ever thanks to the tough times. Well in the Desert serves three meals a day and nobody is turned away despite the bad economy. The Fill the Bus food drive is going to help them serve those meals. The bus will be at Ralph’s Market and Wal Mart in Palm Springs Thursday and Ralph’s Market in Bermuda Dunes and Wal Mart in La Quinta Friday.

Santa has arrived early for some victims of the destructive Montecito wildfire, which incinerated 210 homes during a wind-driven run across 1,900 acres. Developer Nick Narang has been giving wildfire refugees temporary stays in six condos in his just-built Lavender Court complex in Carpinteria. He's furnished the empty units and stocked refrigerators and cupboards with food. Narang says he simply wants to help them through the holidays. His Craigslist posting read, in part, "The offering of a rental at no charge ... for the unimaginable losses taking place right now in our community."

The Screen Actors Guild and Hollywood studios plan to hold their first contract talks in four months Thursday and will negotiate this time with the help of a federal mediator. Expectations for a deal to be struck are low. Some observers expect the talks to be a formality before the guild asks its members for a strike authorization vote before the awards season early next year. Thursday’s face-to-face meeting will include SAG's chief negotiator, Doug Allen, and J. Nicholas Counter III, lead bargainer for the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers. It comes after weeks of shuttle diplomacy by federal mediator Juan Carlos Gonzalez, who has met with each side separately. Both sides have declined to comment ahead of the meeting.