Desert Star Weekly Jan. 17, 2022 issue!

Page 1

Your adjudicated newspaper for Riverside County

desert

STAR W E E K L Y

PRESORTED STANDARD US POSTAGE PAID

Director George Clooney (center) set up a bar scene in his coming-of-age film “The Tender Bar” see page 5.

Desert Hot Springs, CA PERMIT NO 00005

January 19, 2022 Vol. 18 No. 5

“Super Bowl LVI” SoFi Stadium Wants to Reinvent the Super Bowl Experience By Desert Star Staff It’s exactly 25 days until Super Bowl LVI, and I’m on the mezzanine at SoFi Stadium, sitting in front of six of the executives who are responsible for making sure America’s

most popular live sporting event goes off without a hitch. Katie Keenan, senior director of event operations at the NFL, is espousing the benefits of hosting the contest in Los Angeles and at this

“amazing facility” in particular. In the past few months, the $5 billion stadium — which opened its doors to NFL fans for the first time in September 2021 — has been the site of everything from The

Rolling Stones concerts to youth football championships course, Los Angeles Rams and Chargers games. It’s all part of a more considerable 300-acre development, surrounded by towering palm trees, called Hollywood Park, much of

By Desert Star Staff Palm Springs, CA 2022- This Spring, DAP Health will unveil its harm reduction program with two components. First, Overdose prevention and a Syringe Services Program (SSP) will include health services and behavioral health support to combat the rise in preventable overdoses and the increase in new HIV cases. The multi-layered program will focus on education for the community, HIV and Hepatitis C testing, distribution and collection of syringes and referrals to support folks through their addiction journey. Additional services to be provided: Naloxone/Narcan to reverse an overdose and prevent death, and Fentanyl test strips for testing drugs before use to decrease the

likelihood of overdose. In the latest preliminary data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 100,000 people in the U.S. died from overdoses during the 12 months from April 2020 through April 2021 In Riverside County, there has been an 800 percent increase in fentanylrelated deaths since 2016, according to Rivco.org. Palm Springs has an overdose death rate 300 percent higher than the state average. Palm Springs Police Department Chief Andy Mills reviewed the harm reduction program and was impressed with how complete it is. “It’s important to remember the dynamics that go into a program like this,” Mills

says. “That’s what excites me. Not only is DAP Health looking at helping people, but genuinely helping people so they are not destructive to

themselves or our community.” DAP Health is only the second state-certified Syringe Services Program (SSP) in Riverside County,

which is still under construction but, when completed, will host about 2,500 residences, a retail district, a hotel, and public parks, among other attractions. Before the development, the area was

the 10th most populated county in the United States. Because of the rising

Continues on Page 3

DAP Health rolls out harm reduction program

Continues on Page 3


Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.