Investigative Archives

Broken Budget: CVUSD leaders plan $44 million in budget cuts to prevent deficit and state takeover

November 21, 2024 9:02 AM Jeff Stahl

Out of money. That will be the case for The Coachella Valley Unified School District if leaders don’t cut spending dramatically, according to a financial warning from the Riverside County Office of Education. News Channel 3 has secured the first interview with the District’s Superintendent Dr. Francis Esparza since learning of the $44 million budget hole. I-Team Investigator Jeff Stahl

DSUSD employee files race discrimination lawsuit agaist the district

September 24, 2024 6:36 PM Peter Daut, KESQ News Team

The only black instructional coach at the Desert Sands Unified School District has filed a race discrimination lawsuit against the district. She alleges the district refused to accommodate her during the Covid pandemic. DSUSD said it does not comment on pending litigation. News Channel 3 I-Team investigator Peter Daut met with the plaintiff, Dr. Ashley

I-Team Exclusive: Palm Springs Mayor Pro Tem, others named in Christy Holstege public records request

September 17, 2024 4:17 PM Peter Daut

Check Out Peter’s full, in-depth interview with Mayor Pro Tem Ron deHarte Palm Springs Mayor Pro Tem Ron deHarte and several others were recently named in a public records request from councilmember Christy Holstege. They said she is targeting them in light of the Riverside County District Attorney’s investigation into whether Holstege has been living

I-Team: Theft for Hire

July 24, 2024 5:19 PM Peter Daut

Thousands of dollars of personal belongings stolen after a valley resident used a service she thought she could trust. “I didn’t think I had to worry about that” News Channel 3 I-Team investigator Peter Daut goes deeper into the ongoing investigation. Watch the special report Theft for Hire, Thursday at 6:00 p.m. on News Channel

Understand costs and other impacts of Talus La Quinta with online Timeline as troubled project faces next city deadline

June 28, 2024 11:52 AM Jeff Stahl

Confusion comes to mind for many people when thinking about the twists and turns of La Quinta’s Talus luxury resort project. Sunday is the latest big deadline facing the mountainside development, initially named SilverRock Resort but rebranded in 2022 due to years of delays. Instead of a prosperous job and tax-generating resort, Talus is an unfinished collection of roads and buildings wrapped in

I-Team: Latest on possible litigation between Palm Springs and Section 14 group

May 15, 2024 3:25 PM John White

The City of Palm Springs is moving forward with what it’s calling “equity efforts” for Section 14. Section 14 is an area of land next to downtown Palm Springs that is part of the Agua Caliente Indian Reservation. The City of Palm Springs participated in clearing Section 14 in the 1960s after the various landowners

I-Team: Foreclosure auction delayed for TALUS La Quinta’s resort land. Parcels set to be sold to satisfy loan obligations

May 16, 2024 12:02 PM Jeff Stahl

Editor’s Note: A previous version of this story incorrectly included the on-screen logo of Silver Rock Development Inc. It has no affiliation with the SilverRock Development Company, LLC, Robert Greene, or any associated companies. Some of the partially developed land at the City of La Quinta’s TALUS luxury resort development was set to be sold at auction

I-Team investigation ‘Half a Year After Hilary’ reveals continued struggles and lessons learned

February 17, 2024 6:00 AM Jeff Stahl

An I-Team investigation reveals the daily struggles some Cathedral City residents still say they face six months after Tropical Storm Hilary and their reactions to the city’s storm response. “So at this point, we’re still living out of bins in our bedrooms and in our bathroom,” said Beatrice Toledo whose Cathedral City home was flooded by a mudflow

I-Team: Hazardous Haze poses threat to Coachella Valley’s health and economy

January 20, 2024 10:17 AM Jeff Stahl

Coachella Valley air quality has diminished dramatically since the end of August due to the impacts of Tropical Storm Hilary. Local experts now say they are worried about the valley’s wind-borne dust problem, which has intensified since the storm, and whether this could become a permanent hazard to our health and local economy. Riverside County Supervisor Manuel Perez

I-Team: Local 911 connection failures concern local emergency operations managers now working to prevent future outages

December 4, 2023 11:48 AM Jeff Stahl

It was a dramatic 911 call during Tropical Storm Hilary. An emergency dispatcher’s “Hello” was answered by a caller’s panic. A man shouting, “The house is getting flooded!” That call in Cathedral City August got through despite traditional 911 connections being down throughout the Coachella Valley during the height of the storm. We all know to

I-Team: Long-delayed TALUS La Quinta luxury resort development still searching for financing as city talks litigation

September 26, 2023 6:00 AM Jeff Stahl

The City of La Quinta’s long-delayed TALUS luxury resort development remains in limbo as money troubles continue to plague the Robert Green Company project. Formerly known as SilverRock, TALUS missed the city’s latest 60-day mid-July deadline to secure its financing and present a plan to move forward with construction. Without a financing breakthrough, the project could be headed toward litigation. It’s a topic

I-team: State safety inspections reveal conditions of buses transporting local students

August 26, 2023 5:51 AM Jeff Stahl

Approximately 19,000 students are bused to and from classrooms each day on school buses around the Coachella Valley, and an I-team investigation reveals the information every parent or guardian needs to know about the safety and maintenance of those buses. All three local school districts earned ‘satisfactory’ marks on their two most recent California Highway Patrol Terminal Inspections. However, CHP

I-Team: Most local school buses are now air-conditioned but students aren’t guaranteed a cool ride home

August 5, 2023 6:00 AM Jeff Stahl

Students are returning to classrooms around the Coachella Valley this month as our summertime desert temperatures remain well-embedded in the triple digits. For parents with children who ride school buses to and from school each day, concerns about hot buses have long been a reality. Those who ride school buses at the start and end of their

I-Team: Nationwide shortage of qualified teachers creating challenges for local school districts

August 1, 2023 7:57 PM John White

Local school districts are about to start the new year and one of their big challenges is making sure they have enough teachers. There is a teacher shortage nationwide, and especially in California. There will be more than 250 new teachers on the job in the Coachella Valley’s three school districts this fall, after months

I-Team: Coachella Valley has more fentanyl-related deaths than anywhere in Riverside County

July 19, 2023 4:12 PM Karen Devine

Our extensive coverage on the fentanyl crisis continues with some explosive new information from the Riverside County Sheriff’s Office. So far this year, there have been more fentanyl-related deaths in the Coachella Valley than in any other part of Riverside County. I-Team Reporter Karen Devine speaks with the people on the front lines of the fentanyl fight

I-Team investigates dangers of ‘gas station heroin’

July 5, 2023 1:39 PM Peter Daut

It’s marketed as a dietary supplement to help you relax. But it’s also highly addictive, and in some cases, deadly. The street name is “gas station heroin,” and as News Channel 3’s Peter Daut uncovered, it’s very easy to get. The capsules are sold under names like “Zaza Red,” “Pegasus,” and “Tianna.” The drug is

I-Team: City of La Quinta issues 60-day deadline as Talus resort developer claims essential construction financing secured

May 30, 2023 11:45 AM Jeff Stahl

An I-Team Investigation reveals developers still cannot say precisely when La Quinta’s Talus resort development, formerly known as SilverRock, will get the money needed to complete its construction. Construction crews have made little progress on the main resort since last summer. And the city has now issued a 60-day deadline. The Robert Green Company promises

I-Team digs into what really happened in the forced removal of Section 14 families in Palm Springs

May 19, 2023 1:39 PM John White

The debate over racial reparations continues to intensify in Palm Springs. It’s centered on one square mile of land known as Section 14 next to downtown Palm Springs which was cleared for new development over 50 years ago. The attorney representing Section 14 families and their descendants pointed out that Palm Springs apologized for its role in the

Fatal Flaw: I-Team investigates efforts to combat local efforts to combat Fentanyl crisis

May 1, 2023 1:11 PM Karen Devine, KESQ News Team

Riverside County District Attorney Mike Hestrin says weak California laws are partially to blame for an epidemic killing people right here in Riverside County. Reporter Karen Devine’s I-Team Investigation shows how severe the problem is and asks what it will take to make changes to this “Fatal Flaw.” Jennifer Loza of Bermuda Dunes lost her

I-Team update: Valley surgeon surrenders medical license

May 1, 2023 5:42 PM Karen Devine

Years after an I-Team investigation spotlighted concerns about a local doctor, that Coachella Valley surgeon has now surrendered his license. It was in 2019 when I-Team investigator Karen Devine shared the story of one former patient, who said procedures by Dr. Craig Ball left her scarred and dealing with post-operative complications. That woman’s complaint is