News

RIVERSIDE – So many people have given up finding work or are off the unemployment rolls, the estimated number of jobless in Riverside County now approach 1 in 4. That’s worse than Detroit and New Orleans. About 793,000 people are working in Riverside County. About 128,000 are unemployed. That’s almost 14 percent of the workforce.

PALM DESERT – A warning hangs at the front gate at the Palm Lakes community in Palm Desert. Management say a man and women posing as potential home buyers stole a resident’s wallet, then tried to do it again a short time later. The suspects first got into the gated neighborhood by following a resident

DESERT HOT SPRINGS – Thousands of children in the valley take the bus to get to school “I ride the bus to Desert Hot Springs High School everyday,” says Rita Soto, Desert Hot Springs High School Junior. However, next year Rita’s ride and the ride for hundreds of other students may be over. This long

LA QUINTA – It starts in 1993 when Sharon Schumaier was arrested for embezzling $40,000 from State Farm Insurance where she worked. In 1995, she pleaded guilty to a felony. Her sentence: house arrest, one year wearing an electronic bracelet. But the electronic monitoring company says that she unplugged her bracelet. That landed her in

PALM DESERT – Substance abuse counselor Jennifer Mayes is all for legalizing pot. She says legalization doesn’t necessarily equal addiction. “You give the ok. Yeah, sure it’s gonna be used more but you’re talking about also the addiction part of it, I think, you’re talking about a totally different aspect,” says Mayes. It’s a decades

PERRIS — Budget cuts are hitting hard at the Riverside County Sheriff’s Coroner’s Bureau. It stopped weekend autopsies July 1st. Employees expect only minor delays, and no effect on criminal investigations. “When we come to Monday morning, we usually have a heavier caseload. Now, that we’re not doing autopsies on the weekends — if it’s

LA QUINTA – A Valley woman under suspicion for embezzling $108,000 from a local youth soccer league has been hard to find. She has not been arrested, but AYSO officials tried to contact Sharon Schumaier for months, asking what she did with their money. Now, in a News Channel 3 exclusive, we ask her the

RANCHO MIRAGE -Shelley Bishop has spent the last 25 years as an investigator with the Department of Alcohol Beverage Control, California’s vice unit. It keeps an eye on businesses with liquor licenses. For ABC investigators, it’s a dangerous job.They’re watching stores to make sure alcohol isn’t being sold to kids.They go undercover to bust drug

Palm Springs – With highs reaching 113 degrees on Tuesday, Valley residents looked for every option to be the heat. Some went to cooling centers others stood in line at 3:30p.m. for the midnight showing of Harry Potter the Half-Blood Prince. Amanda Hoffman took the day off of work to be first in line at

PALM SPRINGS – It looks like a watch. It could pass even for a bracelet. But this beeping device can save your lifeor someone you love. It’s known as “Project Lifesaver.” “The police are able to monitor people with a radar if they were to wander away,” explains Jeanne Reller-Brownstein, administrator of a Palm Springs

INDIO- Bug exterminators say this year is different from previous years. Scorpions, roaches, and spiders all seem to be hitting at once. Pest control seems to be one of the only growth industries in the Valley. Each employee at Rudy’s Pest Control responds to around 10 to 15 calls a day. “This has been an

PALM SPRINGS – Gladys Meloni has a green thumb. But in the last week she has watched 16 years of dedication, not to mention thousands of dollars, being hauled away in a dumpster. “I haven’t been able to sleep the last three or four days,” Meloni said. That is because the management at Meloni’s mobile

LA QUINTA – News Channel 3 confirmed Thursday the national AYSO (American Youth Soccer Organization) office suddenly replaced La Quinta’s regional commissioner. This comes after the league tried and failed to reach her and ask her questions about undisclosed accounting issues. News Channel 3 learned the former commissioner, Sharon Schumaier, co-owns Desert Cities Automotive in

THOUSAND PALMS – Demand is high and supplies are low. These economic times are trying for shelters. “We are struggling,” says Birgit Phillips, Safehouse Outreach Coordinator. Operation Safehouse is in need, the Riverside County Youth Commission is helping. A group of about 150 high school students launched “Operation Safehelp” a supplies drive benefiting Safehouse. “In

DESERT HOT SPRINGS – Bob Hersh owns a dog kennel and ranch near Desert Hot Springs. He wanted to cut his power bills, so he contracted a windmill construction company to build a small turbine in his large backyard. Several months and $12,000 in county fees, permits, and engineering studies later, Riverside County still will

THOUSAND PALMS – Operation Safehouse helps more than 1,000 at-risk teens in Riverside County every year. Butduring these tough times, though, they are the ones asking for help. A group of about 150 high school students is answering that call launching Operation Safehelp to gather donations for the struggling shelter. Operation Safehouse operates a shelter

PALM SPRINGS – They bare it all, take a plunge and swim to the world record. “This is my first time skinny dipping,” says Jacquelyn Bensinger. On Saturday at 12 p.m. Pacific Time, about 20 thousand people all around the country stripped down and set the Guinness Book of World Record for the most people

PALM SPRINGS – Investigators searched the home of a former La Quinta youth soccer official this week in a felony embezzlement probe involving more than $108,000 in local American Youth Soccer Organization funds, it was reported today. The warrants were served at Sharon Schumaier’s home and at Desert Cities Automotive in Indio, a business she

CATHEDRAL CITY – Residents of Cathedral Cove aren’t leaving it to chance when a wildfire or earthquake hits.On Thursday night,dozens took a proactive approach with the help of some Cathedral City firefighters. Firefighters say you need to make your house fire-ready.This means clear a 100-foot radius around your home of brush and dead vegitation. Cathedral

THOUSAND PALMS- More than two dozen cocker spaniels, whose owner was arrested on a felony warrant in Los Angeles County, were up for adoption Friday at the Coachella Valley Animal Campus in Thousand Palms. Nelli Olsen, 35, was arrested June 29 and taken to Los Angeles County, where she is facing a charge of grand