With its vast farm fields, quiet roads, and sparsely-populated communities, it’s almost hard to believe that Imperial County, with only 180,000 residents, has the highest-per capita infection rate of coronavirus in all of California. According to its public health department, the county has had about 6,200 cases among 30,700 people tested, a positive rate of
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The ripple effects of coronavirus and the economic shutdown may be felt for a long time to come here in the Coachella Valley. Last week we reported that plans for a new sports and entertainment arena in downtown Palm Springs are on hold. Now, we’re learning about other projects in the Coachella Valley. The Delano
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The California Department of Public Health’s website shows which counties meet the state’s threshold criteria for coronavirus and which do not. Visit KESQ.com/Coronavirus for more local coverage A green check means a county meets the criteria for a certain category, which includes “elevated disease transmission,” “increasing hospitalization,” and “limited hospital capacity.” For example, San Bernardino
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We learned on Friday that nearly half of the combined staff and residents at Vista Cove at Rancho Mirage, an assisted care community, have tested positive for coronavirus. That a total of 15 employees and 27 residents. News Channel 3’s Karen Devine takes an in-depth look at the facility in an I-team exclusive. Karen Devine
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Riverside County health officials still expect the number of people diagnosed with coronavirus to grow in the coming weeks. As of Friday, June 12, the county has had 10,490 confirmed cases of coronavirus, with 383 deaths related to the virus. More than half of those infected have already recovered. Go to KESQ.com/Coronavirus for daily updates
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The coronavirus pandemic has financially impacted nearly everyone. including city governments. From police to firefighters, to libraries, museums, parks, landscaping and so much more the pandemic is taking a financial toll on services throughout the Coachella Valley. The Coachella Valley, which relies heavily on tourism, has been hit especially hard. Palm Springs is facing a
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The coronavirus is proving to be a deadly threat to nursing home communities. The disease, spreading quickly through the vulnerable population. The government has taken notice, moving to stop the escalation, working to keep seniors and healthcare personnel safe. While new layers of protection have been introduced, the Ombudsman Program, around for nearly 30 years,
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The coronavirus pandemic and state health emergency orders have changed the way just about everything is getting done around town and at local businesses. It’s no different at city halls around the desert where elected leaders and city staffers are operating in new and unfamiliar roles. Palm Springs City Hall is normally a busy place
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It’s widely known that opioids such as fentanyl are driving our nation’s drug overdose deaths. But more people are abusing the powerful stimulant methamphetamine around the desert, according to the Drug Enforcement Agency. Other law enforcement agencies will tell you it’s a drug problem that’s never really gone away. The Coachella Valley is in the
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The John J. Benoit Detention Center in Indio will give Riverside County nearly 1,300 new jail beds to keep criminals off the streets. Eventually. Completion of the new jail is now running more than two years behind schedule. In August 2018, Rob Field, Assistant County Executive Officer, told us there had been, “A couple of
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For the first time we are hearing from Rebecca Modrall’s young daughter Ryan. Modrall has been missing for over a year, last seen in La Quinta. The Riverside County Sheriff’s Department is treating this case as a homicide. “I really want justice for my mom cause I know that’s what she would want,” says Ryan,
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2019 was a year marked by a surge in violent deaths around the desert. 32 people were killed this year, up double from last year’s total and a decade high. The previous high was back in 2014 with 31. There were six homicides this year in Palm Springs, One in Indio, Seven in Cathedral City,
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The growing number of mulch fires in the east valley has caught the attention of local government officials. I-team reporter Karen Devine rode along with a newly formed county task force focused on reducing the risk of fires stemming from illegal dumping of green waste. “For the first time we are actually doing something joined
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“I’m asking if you would like to f*** her.” That’s the opening line meter reader Alfonso Cruz says a supervisor used in October 2016 about his own wife. The woman was a fellow employee and senior human resources specialist at the Coachella Valley Water District. A lawsuit filed in March in Riverside Co. Superior Court
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Los Angeles County is deploying health care workers to homeless encampments trying to reverse a troubling trend. New statistics show the number of homeless people dying in L.A. County nearly doubled in 5 years — starting in 2013. In Riverside County, the coroner’s bureau didn’t start keeping track of homeless deaths until the beginning of
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Experts say new technologies might kill some jobs, but would also create new ones. Could your job, or next job, be taken by a robot? Roughly half of the Coachella Valley’s jobs are connected to tourism and hospitality in some way. In an I-Team report, we find that technology and automation are changing what these
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The attorney representing former Rancho Mirage plastic surgeon David Morrow says if a petition expected to be filed with the Israeli Minister of Justice is denied, he will consider taking the case to the Israel Supreme Court. Reached overseas on Friday, Nick Kaufman added that his client, “helped many. Judge Josephine Stanton (Morrow’s sentencing judge
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“It started coming down really bad. Hailing, thunder. Lighting. You could see the lightning a good hundred yards away.” Gregory Jenkyns was working at Mountain View Middle School on May 22, when a severe spring storm started dumping rain and hail right around pick up time. The school security guard was struck by lightning, suffering
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The man convicted of shooting and killing Palm Springs police officers Jose “Gil” Vega and Lesley Zerebny will be sentenced Friday morning. John Hernandez Felix faces the death penalty if the judge goes with the jury’s recommendation. Justice has taken nearly three years and millions of dollars. “It takes a lot of money to run
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The new county jail in Indio, the John J. Benoit Detention Center is almost complete nearly two years behind schedule. Assistant County Executive Officer, Robert Field, says “The day it’s completed will be the day the Sheriff’s Department signs off on it.” He took us through the facility for a second time along with Riverside
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