I-Team Archives

I-Team Exclusive: An inside look at the team fighting child exploitation in Riverside County

August 31, 2021 8:49 PM Karen Devine, KESQ News Team

Reports of crimes against children in Riverside County are up tenfold since the beginning of the pandemic according to Wade Walsvick, Supervising Investigator for the Riverside County Child Exploitation Team/RCCET. The Child Exploitation Team is led by the District Attorney’s Office Bureau of Investigation and is tasked with investigating CyberTips from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

I-Team: What you need to know before visiting a nursing facility

August 12, 2021 12:39 PM Karen Devine, KESQ News Team

The mandate from the state that all health care workers get vaccinated by September 30th, including those working in nursing facilities, has some scrambling to meet the deadline. Some are concerned they’re going to lose a portion of their workforce, while others are ahead of the mandate, already implementing the new rules. I-team reporter Karen Devine masked

Palm Springs Police Chief Bryan Reyes looks back at his career & what’s next as retirement nears

July 27, 2021 5:34 PM Peter Daut, Jesus Reyes

Palm Springs Police Chief Bryan Reyes is set to retire at the end of next month, ending a nearly three decade long career with the department. Reyes, 51, has received multiple recognitions and awards throughout his 27 years at the Palm Springs Police Department, including Officer of the Year back in 2000. “It’s never about

I-Team goes in-depth on EDD unemployment payment delay

June 30, 2021 9:19 PM John White

Hundreds of thousands of Californians continue to wait to get unemployment benefits that they are owed. Valley resident Nicky Faeth was one of them. “I felt like I was a guinea pig and I went through all of the hurdles in order to just make things happen,” Faeth says. Faeth found out her benefits had

I-Team: Daycare Crunch

June 14, 2021 5:18 PM Peter Daut, KESQ News Team

A different kind of desert is emerging across the valley affecting families from nearly every background and experts warn if things don’t change soon the problem will continue to get much worse. Even before the pandemic, finding good child care was a challenge for many parents. but things got much tougher.. when many day care

I-Team takes an inside look at the Coachella Valley Arena land agreement

June 8, 2021 4:46 PM Peter Daut

When the Oak View Group recently broke ground on the new, $300-million privately-funded arena, it did so on land owned by the Berger Foundation. The private, non-profit foundation decided to lease the 43-acre-site to Oak View Group after the company’s partnership with the Agua Caliente tribe to build an arena in downtown palm springs dissolved.

I-Team: Will drive-thrus ever be allowed in Palm Desert?

June 3, 2021 4:37 PM Peter Daut, KESQ News Team

Drive-thru ordering surged over the last year as the pandemic closed indoor dining and made customers wary of going into restaurants. Now, many fast-food chains are ramping up investments to make drive-thru lanes more efficient. But in Palm Desert, drive-thrus remain a sensitive issue. For years they’ve been banned on Highway 111 but now is

I-Team: Dogs and Dollars

May 25, 2021 2:51 PM Karen Devine, KESQ News Team

In 2019, the I-Team uncovered documents that showed the president of the Humane Society of the Desert was reimbursed tens of thousands of dollars after making charges to credit cards issued to the nonprofit. Including luxury hotel stays, meals at local restaurants, a Louis Vuitton purse and even cosmetic surgery. Malinda Bustos was suspended and

I-Team: Cost of COVID

May 20, 2021 4:40 PM John White

The costs continue to mount for Riverside County over a year into the pandemic. News Channel 3 obtained records showing a list of contracts executed under emergency contracting authority because of the pandemic. The county had spent over $137 million through the end of April of this year. The Assistant Director of Riverside County Public

Palm Desert council meeting takes a heated turn over ‘privilege’

May 17, 2021 9:04 PM Peter Daut, KESQ News Team

During Thursday’s Palm Desert city council meeting, councilmember Karina Quintanilla discussed what she calls a desperate need for a new human-rights commission. “After having some very impassioned conversations with residents and also with Mayor Kelly about some very unsettling experiences that were held by families of color in the city of Palm Desert,” Quintanilla said.

I-Team takes a look at who’s behind the new Coachella Valley Arena

May 10, 2021 8:51 PM Peter Daut, KESQ News Team

It’s one of the biggest and most expensive projects the Coachella Valley has ever seen. Construction is underway on 43-acres of unincorporated land near Palm Desert just north of the I-10 freeway next to the Classic Club Golf Course. Renderings show what the $300-million, privately-funded arena is expected to look like once it’s completed by

Riding Forward: An update on CV Link construction in Palm Desert. Hint, It’s almost complete

May 4, 2021 1:00 PM Jeff Stahl

CV Link construction is plowing ahead around the Coachella Valley to the tune of more than $52 million dollars. That’s more than half the project’s total cost. In late March, News Channel 3 showed you a groundbreaking event at the border of Indio and La Quinta where a new CV Link bridge will soon connect

I-Team takes an in-depth look at Project Room Key

April 7, 2021 8:01 PM John White, KESQ News Team

Riverside County is working to open communications with the City of Palm Springs after Police Chief Bryan Reyes blasted a program that places homeless people who need to quarantine in a hotel in the city. In March, Reyes raised concerns after finding out about the program that places at-risk homeless people, some who are released

I-Team: One Year in Lockdown

March 22, 2021 5:18 PM Karen Devine

We’re getting a clearer picture of the damage done to the Coachella Valley’s economy, one year after the beginning of multiple shutdowns. Tonight Karen Devine goes indepth in her I-Team report “One Year in Lockdown” to show you how billions of dollars have been lost in tourism revenue, a shrinking workforce and the uncertainty of

I-Team: Students earning D’s and F’s surges during distance learning

March 9, 2021 1:02 PM Jeff Stahl

A lot of Coachella Valley students are failing or barely getting by in their classes during these times of distance learning. And when it comes to D’s and F’s in school, there’s a very good chance your kid might be getting them. Report cards are giving educators a concrete indicator of just how much learning

I-Team: Riverside County Registrar accuses District Attorney of interfering with election

March 4, 2021 5:53 PM Peter Daut, KESQ News Team

A clash between riverside county’s top elections official and the county district attorney over the security of ballots. In emails and letters uncovered by the I-Team, the Registrar of Voters Rebecca Spencer accuses District Attorney Mike Hestrin of voter suppression during the recent election. Spencer wrote in an email to the board of supervisors in

I-Team goes in-depth on EDD fraud & what’s being done to stop it

March 3, 2021 3:23 PM Peter Daut, KESQ News Team

The state agency that pays out unemployment-insurance to millions of Californians has admitted that losses during the pandemic could climb into the tens of billion dollars. The i-team has heard from dozens of viewers outraged with how the unemployment department, or EDD, has left them hanging with confusing applications, jammed phone-lines and payments that never

I-Team: Future of the Date Festival

February 9, 2021 8:18 PM John White, KESQ News Team

The Riverside County Fair and National Date Festival would have opened Friday for its 75th anniversary. This year’s fair is canceled because of the pandemic and now there are questions about the long term future of the fair. The Riverside County Board of Supervisors approved $1.6 million in funding for the fairgrounds in November of

I-Team: Family sues local school district and its busing company for child’s sexual abuse by driver

February 3, 2021 1:00 PM Jeff Stahl

A Coachella Valley family is seeking damages against the Palm Springs Unified School District and the busing company it contracts with to drive students to and from its campuses. The action follows a bus driver molesting a special needs student aboard a school bus. The criminal case has already gone to court and the driver,

Vaccine Void: Confusion over local COVID vaccine distribution leaves some seniors scrambling

January 26, 2021 7:20 PM Karen Devine, KESQ News Team

Confusion over the distribution of the coronavirus vaccine led to a broken promise to get some of our most vulnerable citizens the shot first. In I-Team Reporter Karen Devine’s special report “Vaccine Void” she spoke with community members who said the rollout plan by the state left some people out and scrambling to get the