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Garcia, who represents Imperial County and the eastern Coachella Valley in Riverside County, said the bill would advance California's fight against climate change in a way that spurs economic development in one of the poorest parts of the state. He sees geothermal, as well as solar, wind and bioenergy, as key to his region's economic future.

INDIO — The much-beloved, go-to staple of authentic Mexican food is the family-owned Arriola Tortilleria on Wilson Avenue. While in October 2015, the city of Indio recognized the multi-generational business during National Hispanic Heritage Month, never has the eatery been honored beyond the city limits — until now.

PALM SPRINGS, Calif.- AB 2439 is a piece of potential legislation which would designate Cathedral City's LGBTQ Veterans Memorial as the state's official LGBTQ memorial.

AMVETS Commander Thomas "Tom" Swann Hernández and officials from the Palm Springs Cemetery co-hosted an event discussing the progress of the bill today at noon at the American Legion Hall at 400 N. Belardo Rd. in Palm Springs.

The memorial, which resides at Desert Memorial Park in Cathedral City, would become the nation's first state-designated LGBTQ Veterans Memorial if AB 2439 passes.

For nearly two decades, a local veteran has been leading the fight to recognize members of the LGBTQ community who served in the military, but his efforts are now paying off even with plenty of roadblocks on the way.

The commander of American Veteran Post 66 in Palm Springs, Tom Swann Hernandez, is a former marine and now an openly gay veteran. He led the fight to build the LGBT Veteran Memorial inside the Desert Memorial Park in Cathedral City back in 2001.

State Assemblyman Eduardo Garcia understands that, for LGBTQ veterans in the Coachella Valley, recent political news, such as the proposed ban on transgender members of the military, has been discouraging.

“It doesn’t seem to be getting any easier for our LGBTQ community to continue to fight for the inclusiveness that you – the men and women in uniform – have fought to ensure,” the Coachella Democrat told a group of veterans and local politicians Friday at the American Legion Hall in Palm Springs.

EL CENTRO- Senator Ben Hueso and Assembly Member Eduardo Garcia announced at the El Centro City Council chambers a $40,388,000 state budget allocation to the California Highway Patrol (CHP). The funds will provide for the design-build phase of the CHP El Centro Area Office Replacement Project. The allotment will pay for construction of a new 27,481 square-foot single-story building to be used by the El Centro California Highway Patrol.

The Comite Civico del Valle, an organization providing services to disadvantaged communities in the Imperial Valley, has received a $500,000 grant from the California Air Resource Board to expand its air monitoring program.

Together with State Senator Ben Hueso of San Diego County, Garcia also pointed out the unique challenges faced by the two only counties in California that share an international border with Mexico.

Currently, six out of nine California regions face a dire primary care shortage. California ranks 23rd in the nation for the number of physicians it has per resident.

“Half of Californians live in a community where they do not have adequate access to necessary healthcare services. This issue disproportionately affects rural areas like those in my district. These funds to expand the UC graduate medical education program are critical to helping alleviate the severe physician shortage that exists in Imperial County,” Garcia said in a prepared statement.

EL CENTRO - The fate of the Salton Sea and health concerns from dusty playas has long been a problem for residents of the Imperial Valley as state and county officials seem to have made little progress. 

But California Sen. Ben Hueso and Assemblyman Edwardo Garcia spoke to stakeholders of the Imperial Valley Friday morning about plans that have been set in motion for the restoration of the Salton Sea.

SACRAMENTO — Indio resident, Reginald "Reggie" Powell was honored Wednesday as the 56th Assembly District’s 2018 Veteran of the Year. Democratic state Assemblymember Eduardo Garcia, D-Coachella, presented Powell with the award.