Month: February 2010

LA QUINTA – Francisco Linares is one busy man. “You got tokeep track of each box–who it belongs to–so they could get paid,” he says. “IfI mess up, they don’t get paid, and they’ll be mad at me.” 20 fruit pickers are stationed outside Rancho La Quinta, gathering the citrus that surrounds the gated community.

LOS ANGELES -A lawsuit has been filed in Los Angeles against Toyota Motor Corp. asking the automaker to expand its recall for models not equipped with a brake override system. The lawsuit was filed Thursday on behalf of the family of Noriko Uno. The family’s attorney, Garo Mardirossian, says Uno was killed in August in

CAMP VERDE, Ariz. -Motivational speaker James Arthur Ray has pleaded not guilty to three counts of manslaughter at his first court appearance since being charged with causing three deaths at an Arizona sweat lodge ceremony he led last year. Ray was indicted and arrested on Wednesday for the deaths at an Oct. 8 ceremony intended

NEW YORK -The New York Attorney General’s office is filing civil charges against Bank of America and its former CEO Ken Lewis, saying the bank misled investors about Merrill Lynch when it acquired the Wall Street bank in late 2008. Civil charges were also being filed against Joe Price, the bank’s former chief financial officer.

LOS ANGELES -A lawyer for Michael Jackson’s personal physician said in remarks reported today that the Houston-based doctor is in Los Angeles and prepared to surrender if authorities file charges against him over the death of the pop star. “I don’t have any specific information that leads me to believe he is going to be

WASHINGTON -Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood now says he misspoke when telling owners of recalled Toyotas to stop driving then. Instead, LaHood says take them to dealerships to get them repaired. LaHood told reporters it was “obviously a misstatement” when he told a House panel earlier Wednesday that he would advise owners not to drive recalled

PALM SPRINGS -The Palm Springs City Council is expected to finally adopt relaxed rules for medical marijuana collectives, today. The rules would allow a dispensary to open slightly closer than the minimum 500-feet from schools, churches, homes and parks. The council could also award two permits to four finalists looking to open dispensaries within the

INDIO -Jurors are expected today to begin their first full day of deliberations in the trial of a documented gangster and a teen accused in the death of a fellow gang member who was killed by California Highway Patrol officers during a pursuit in Desert Hot Springs. Anthony Paez, 20, and Edgar Flores, 17, are

TWENTYNINEPALMS –An active marine stationed at 29 Palms marine base didn’t want to be named, but was willing to accept whatever happens. “Doesn’t really bother me just as long as it doesn’t cause any constraints out in the field. That’s all I care about.” Defense Secretary Robert Gates met with the Senate Armed Services Committee

Do you have a passion for merging journalism with theonline community, including websites, social media, and more? We’re looking to helphone your skills, while you learn on-site. KESQ-TV and KUNA-TVare looking for an intern to help keep our Spanish-language websites fresh with the current news. Qualified candidates will work together with the Digital Content Director

CATHEDRAL CITY – The re-call notice is in the mail. Toyota has mailed lettersalerting people to bring their cars into their local dealershipsto have the gas pedal issue resolved. Here in the valley, Toyota of the Desert says there’s no reason to wait for the letter to arrive. If you have a vehicle involved in

PALM SPRINGS – A group of South Koreans will be going homewith some ideas about business opportunities here in the desert. The 13 member delegation from Asan City, South Korea got a look at how Palm Springs has positioned itself to become a force in the renewable energy industry. The city showed off College of

BANNING – Bernie Gartner drives a lot. “I have an ‘ 06 truck and it’s got 247,000 miles on it. So, does that give you some idea on how much I drive.” He’s all over Southern California helping install cell phone towers. And, he doesn’t have much time to check road conditions. “If the road

DESERT HOT SPRINGS -A man was arrested today on suspicion of his involvement in the Nov. 6 robbery of a man whose car broke down in Desert Hot Springs, police reported. Robert Steinruck, 34, was arrested on King Street in Indio about 10:15a.m. on suspicion of robbery, Desert Hot Springs police Sgt. Dan Bressler said.

BEAUMONT – An accident in which a big rig overturned has blocked all eastbound lanes of traffic on Interstate 10 in Beaumont, creating a back up that stretches miles. The accident happened at 3:45, this afternoon, at Oak Valley Parkway. A SigAlert has been issued, and all eastbound traffic has been diverted onto Oak Valley

LAS VEGAS -Police say two casino patrons are dead and six people are hurt after a vehicle crashed through the entrance of a hotel in the southern Nevada resort town of Laughlin. Las Vegas police Officer Barbara Morgan says authorities believe the 70-year-old driver suffered what she called a “medical episode” before the 9:30 a.m.

PALM DESERT – Movie Gallery Inc., owner of the Hollywood Video movie rental chain, has filed for Chapter 11 protection and plans to close 805 stores – about a third of its total. Two of those stores are located here in the Coachella Valley. Today is the last day forvideo rentals, and starting tomorrow the

RANCHO MIRAGE – Local small business owners got a taste of their economic future inside the Agua Caliente Casino & Spa’s Cahuilla Ballroom. Shannon Lichliter, co-owner of Main Stream Aquatics, said, “We’re not rolling in the money. I’m not ready to retire or to give up my day job at this point in time. But,

KESQ.com News Services INDIAN WELLS -A single-engine plane that crashed landed Jan. 25 in a field in Indian Wells lost power when the pilot switched fuel tanks, a preliminary federal report shows. The low-wing, two-seater — a CZAW SportCruiser registered to a Palm Springs flight school — went down before 3:30 p.m. that Monday in

PALM DESERT – CalTrans tells News Channel 3 that road crews will once again be out on Interstate 10, this week, repairing stretches of roadway. On Monday, commuters faced massive delays as crews shut down two lanes on the eastbound side on the interstate to repair roadway that was damaged by the recent storms. Thursday,