A Pizza Hut in Palm Springs was robbed last night. The robbery happened at 9:30 p.m. on North Palm Canyon Drive. Officers say a black man took out a handgun, threatened the cashiers and demanded money. After taking some cash, the suspect ran to a nearby car and sped away. The suspect is described as a black man, between the ages of 20 to 30 years old. He's about 6 feet tall and was wearing dark clothing and a ski mask. Police believe he was driving a dark colored sedan. The same Pizza Hut was held up on February 1st. If you have any information on either of the robberies, call Valley Crimestoppers at 760-341-STOP.

Look out for a road closure in Palm Desert Thursday. The far right lane next to the curb on Washington Avenue will be closed for work on the sidewalk at the intersection of Washington and Avenue 41. The road will be closed from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Insurance providers in California are now allowed to charge customers based on mileage. That means for Golden State residents, the less you drive, the less you pay. So far, State Farm has jumped on board with its "Drive Safe and Save" program. Other big name insurance companies are expected to introduce similar programs soon.

A state lawmaker has introduced a bill to regulate the amount of chromium-6 in tap water. The chemical was found in the drinking water in the town of Hinkley, which inspired the movie "Erin Brockovich." Assemblywoman Nora Campos' bill would set a standard level of the C-6 in California drinking water. A recent study found chromium levels in multiple cities exceeded the amount advised by the Public Health Department.

California is one of 31 states that owe the federal government money. The state's 10-Billion-Dollar debt stems from borrowing money to pay unemployment benefits. Though the Golden State isn't alone, it is much more dependent on the feds than other states. Interest on the multi-billion-dollar loan will be about 250-Million-Dollars. However, the Obama administration says the state can get out of paying that if lawmakers raise employer-paid unemployment taxes.

A bill has been introduced that would fire the board members of California's high-speed rail project. The legislation was proposed by State Senator Alan Lowenthal, who has been critical of their lack of planning and accountability. He wants the members replaced with experts who don't have a stake in the project but instead make better decisions on what's best for the Golden State instead of their local community.

Charles Manson's high profile attorney wants President Obama to set his client free. Giovanni Di Stefano says that Manson has been made out in America to be the Satan of the criminal justice system and he doesn’t deserve the title. He told TMZ dot com that he recently sent a fax to the President asking for mercy. Di Stefano believes Manson should get a new trial because his sixth amendment rights were violated. He was assigned a public defender after the judge became frustrated with Manson's antics while acting as his own attorney. Di Stefano says at worst Manson is guilty of telling his followers to do something "witchy," but never specified murder.

Indio Police Chief Bradley Ramos has announced a $10,000 reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible for the shooting of a 5-year-old boy. The child was hit by a stray bullet when two cars exchanged gunfire Monday night. The shooting happened just before 6 p.m. on Monte Verde Street, about a block away from the Indio Fairgrounds. Doctors at Loma Linda University Medical Center upgraded the boy's condition from “critical” to “serious” yesterday morning. Officials are looking for a blue truck and a dark colored Chevy Blazer suspected of being involved in the drive-by.

Former President George W. Bush will headline a March 5th fundraiser for the parish school at Sacred Heart Church of Palm Desert. About 800 people will attend the sold-out church benefit at the Renaissance Esmeralda Resort & Spa in Indian Wells. On the same night at the same hotel, Laura Bush is scheduled to give the keynote address at the Bermuda Dunes-based Desert Christian Academy's annual auction gala. George Bush will return to the Esmeralda on March 7th to speak at Indian Wells' sold-out Desert Town Hall series.

Police are on the lookout for a robber who held up the Payless Shoe Source on Highway 111 Tuesday in Indio. It happened about 6:30 p.m., when a man dressed in a black shirt and blue jeans with a bandana over his face walked into the store and pointed a gun at the clerk. He demanded money and took off after the clerk obliged. He escaped with an unknown amount of cash. This isn't the first Payless to be robbed recently in the Valley. The Cathedral City store was hit in October. Call police if you have any information.

Palm Springs Mayor Steve Pougnet will welcome more than 100 Olympic athletes from around the world to Valley Wednesday during the opening ceremonies for the U.S. World Cup 2011 Modern Pentathlon. The ceremony features The Young Americans and the Marine Corps Combat Band. It’ll kick off at 5 p.m. at the Agua Caliente Casino Resort & Spa. More than 180 athletes from more than 30 countries are expected to compete in the four-day competition of athletic events in Palm Springs and other cities throughout the Coachella Valley. Modern Pentathlon is an Olympic sport comprised of five disciplines that includes fencing, swimming, equestrian show jumping and a combined run and shooting event.

The non-profit charity American Friends of our Armed Forces will hold a rally for the troops on Wednesday. It’s at 3 p.m. at the Lakes Country Club in Palm Desert. The rally is expected to draw 250 Valley residents to hear Brigadier General Herman S. Clardy and Master Sergeant Davey Lind. General Clardy is the Commanding General of the Marine Air Ground Combat Center at Twentynine Palms. Sergeant Lind is located at Camp Pendleton and is a 2007 double amputee during the Iraq War. Veterans and active duty military personnel will be recognized. Friends of our Armed Forces has raised more than $1 million to assist troops deployed in combat zones and their families remaining at home.

The trial of two men accused of killing a convicted child molester will start in April. An Indio judge set an April 7th trial date for both Stephen Banister and Travis Cody. The two are accused of killing Edward Keeley, whose body was found in the background of his Palm Springs ranch back in 2009. Both men face life in prison without parole if they’re found guilty.

Drivers taking the eastbound 10 freeway through Rancho Mirage will have a 20-minute detour to deal with for the next two nights. The stretch from Date Palm Drive to Ramon Road will be closed from 11 p.m. to 5 a.m. Wednesday and Thursday. Drivers will be routed around Caltrans crews working on a freeway interchange. The project is part of the new eight-lane Bob Hope Drive freeway overpass near the Agua Caliente Resort Spa. The $25 million project should be done by early next year.

An Alhambra man pleaded not guilty Tuesday to a charge of exposing himself to a 16-year-old boy in the sauna of a Palm Desert resort. It happened on December 10th at the Marriott Shadow Ridge Resort. 51-year-old Arturo Lucela is charged with indecent exposure and molesting a child. If convicted, the charges would force him to register as a sex offender. Lucela posted $3,500 bail on December 21st. He’s scheduled to appear in court March 22nd for a pretrial hearing.

A San Diego based destroyer, the USS Sterett, found itself in harms way during a faceoff with Somali pirates this week. The Sterett had been following a 58-foot sailboat hijacked by pirates last Friday. When the pirates fired a rocket-propelled grenade at the warship, Navy SEALS boarded the hijacked boat only to find four civilians had already been killed. Nobody aboard the Sterett was injured by the grenade.

Only a small number of Americans absorb enough vitamin D from the Sun each day to ward off cancer and other diseases. That's the bottom line in a newly released study from the University of California San Diego's School of Medicine. Researchers say only about 10 percent of us get the amount of vitamin D necessary to reduce the risk of everything from multiple sclerosis and Type 1 diabetes to breast and colon cancers. For those unable or unwilling to spend time in the Sun, vitamin D can also be found in high amounts in fish oil and cod liver oil, raw oysters and salmon.

The California Highway Patrol is looking for the person who stole a car and then evaded police on February 16th. 29-year-old Miguel Irac Villanueva of Mecca is suspected of driving a stolen 1993 Honda. When police tried to pull over Villanueva, he sped off. That's when a short pursuit happened, but the suspect was able to get away. Villanueva is described as being 5'11, 230 pounds, with black hair and black eyes.

The Riverside County Fair and National Date Festival beat its old opening-weekend attendance record by nearly 10,000 people. More than 151,700 people attended the fair between Friday and Monday. Despite the opening musical act being rescheduled for Monday because of inclement weather, more people turned out for the festival than ever before. Third Eye Blind and former “American Idol” contestant Kellie Pickler also performed over the weekend. And the band Switchfoot will play Saturday night. Several demolition derbies will take place over closing weekend. Admission for the fair is $8 for adults, $6 for kids, and you can ride all the rides you want with a $25 wristband.

Former Bell City Manager Robert Rizzo and three other current and former Bell officials had a preliminary hearing Tuesday on charges of misappropriating city funds. The prosecution's first witness, Roger Ramirez, testified about Rizzo denying his high salary at a 2008 Bell City Council public hearing. He said he told Rizzo that he'd been hearing rumors that Rizzo made $400,000 a year. Ramirez said Rizzo told him that if he were making that much money, he wouldn't be working in Bell and there was no truth to it. Prosecutors argued the salaries for Bell officials and their loan program were a “straight misappropriation of the public's funds.”