Investigations

According to state numbers obtained by NBC 7 Investigates, at least 201 healthcare workers and 418 residents inside local nursing homes have tested positive for COVID-19 since the beginning of the outbreak.

Longtime friend of a man who died from respiratory ailment says nursing home failed to act accordingly.

A nursing home in El Cajon now has an ominous distinction; the nursing facility in San Diego County with the most reported COVID-19 deaths.

Formal charges have been brought against a Carmel Valley doctor who is accused of defrauding thousands of patients by selling them hydroxychloroquine as a “cure” for COVID-19

Data from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) indicates the death rate since COVID-19 arrived in San Diego County is far higher than in previous years. The data provides a hint that the deaths for COVID-19 are likely far higher than the 209 confirmed COVID-19 deaths in San Diego County.

A city of San Diego employee allegedly accepted thousands of dollars in gifts from two vendors, in exchange for preferential treatment that helped that vendor land government contracts worth millions of dollars.

On the front lines of the fight against coronavirus is San Diego County’s Health and Human Services Agency (HHSA) The public health department is responsible for daily briefings and tracking on COVID-19 infection rates, hospital availability, and services for those who fall ill.

San Diego County law enforcement agencies have cited nearly 400 people for violating the county’s public health order since the beginning of last month, according to records obtained by NBC 7 Investigates.

Newly released data from the county of San Diego shows Hispanics have the highest rate of infections and neighborhoods with large Hispanic populations, such as those communities near the U.S./Mexico border has quickly become the epicenter for COVID-19 infections in San Diego County.

Questions are raised surrounding accuracy of COVID-19 tests.

Three days after a deputy fatally shot a man running away from state park rangers outside the county jail downtown, police are keeping an unusually tight lid on the investigation.

A San Diego company is inching closer to finding a vaccine to the coronavirus, but, as NBC 7 Investigates found out, there’s a hitch no one is talking about.

Inmate at Otay Mesa Detention in California center says more than 100 detainees and dozens of employees sick with COVID-19

President Donald Trump praised its potential as a cure for COVID-19, but hospitals throughout San Diego County are reducing the use of hydroxychloroquine on COVID-19 patients.

For the second consecutive weekend, San Diego County saw protestors calling for an end to county public health orders. One of the organizers says the protests are “organic” and “grassroots,” but NBC 7 Investigates looked deeper and found some campaign connections.

In March, as people were ordered to shelter inside and as businesses and industries canceled conventions in San Diego, the city collected just under $238,000 in hotel tax revenues whereas in February, the city deposited more than $16 million.

Seven East County businesses were sued over ADA violations. Lawsuits were filed as restaurants and bars were closing doors due to coronavirus outbreak.

A Carlsbad woman who paid $75 for a COVID-19 antibody test told NBC 7 Investigates she now has serious doubts about the accuracy of that test. “After I got home, I thought, OK, I think I just got scammed,” said Jennifer, who asked NBC 7 not to reveal her last name. Jennifer was tested Tuesday, April 14 at a Cardiff…

Public testimony reveals newly-acquired city highrise at 101 Ash was considered “functionally obsolete” by previous tenant, Sempra Energy.

NBC 7 Investigates found that March 2020 saw the highest number of reported deaths over the course of the past five years in the city of San Diego. In March, police officers took reports on 111 deaths, nearly double the amount investigated during the prior month, and more than the number of deaths in a single month that were investigated...

A city of San Diego employee allegedly accepted thousands of dollars in gifts from two vendors, in exchange for preferential treatment that helped that vendor land government contracts worth millions of dollars.

“Targeting unsheltered individuals is terrible public policy, and directly endangers the lives of thousands of San Diegans,” advocates say.

Detainees say it’s only a matter of time before infection spreads inside facility.

An NBC Bay Area investigation has discovered tens of thousands of U.S. residents, adopted as infants from foreign countries, and raised in the United States, now face possible deportation – because they are technically not citizens.

Technical glitches plagued the launch of the nearly $350 billion lifeline for small businesses last Friday.

In the days that followed President Donald Trump’s first mention of hydroxychloroquine, lupus and rheumatoid arthritis patients received notices from their healthcare providers and pharmacies that they will no longer get that medication.

Since the outbreak, county health officials have cautioned the public that the numbers of those infected with coronavirus are likely ten times the number of those who have tested positive. However, the hundreds of suspected cases in local hospitals shows that the severity of the illness might be much worse than previously reported.

The percentage of those who are infected by the coronavirus and in need of hospital care has dropped slightly over the course of the past two weeks, according to data provided by the county of San Diego.

While some counties in the state have chosen to release the number of tests administered, others, including San Francisco, Santa Clara, and Riverside Counties, to name a few, have decided not to. Meanwhile, the state has a backlog of pending tests that, according to the Centers for Disease Control, number more than 57,400.

In San Diego County, as of March 27, 341 people have tested positive for the deadly virus. Of those 341 people, 69 have been hospitalized. That represents a total of 20% of cases have required hospital care.

Men aged 20-39 have highest positive results for coronavirus in San Diego.

In response to a “worst case scenario,” San Diego County leaders said there are not enough ventilators for every intensive care unit hospital bed in the region if a surge of patients infected with the new coronavirus needed treatment.

Sheriff Bill Gore said gun shops provide a “valuable public service” during the coronavirus pandemic and will be allowed to remain open, even though they are not included in the state government’s list of “essential businesses.”

County health officials tell NBC 7 Investigates that there are 300 mechanical ventilators available for use if needed as of Monday, March 23.

More than 111,000 people have been tested for the virus in the 50 states and Washington D.C. Of those, 12,377 tested positive. The numbers do not show whether other factors, such as incomplete or defective test kits, contributed to the relatively low number of positive test results.

Hospitals in San Diego County don’t have anywhere near the number of beds needed to care for potential coronavirus patients should the virus infection rate reach projected numbers.

In addition to spending millions of dollars on a now vacant high-rise in downtown San Diego, the city will also spend thousands more to fight legal claims from employees who allege the city exposed them to high levels of asbestos without warning.

Since January 2018 the city of San Diego has paid $2.35 million in damages from broken water mains. The payouts will continue, as on Tuesday city crews rushed to fix two major water pipe breaks, one in Bay Park that forced 234 people to go without water and another which flooded homes and streets in North Park. The data, obtained…

San Diego county supervisors approved a $400,000 payment to the adoptive parents of a foster child who were not informed of their child’s sexually inappropriate behavior. That troublesome behavior was allegedly caused by sexual and physical abuse inflicted on the boy by his former foster parent.

A Camp Pendleton Marine whose disappearance prompted a nationwide search has been court martialed after investigators discovered he purchased a cache of weapons and ammunitions to allegedly hunt human traffickers along the U.S. and Mexico border.

The family of a mentally-ill man armed with a shovel who was shot and killed by San Diego Police Officers in August 2019 have filed a legal claim with the city of San Diego. Police officers Jose Mendez and Brad Keyes were called to a home on Adelaide Avenue on Aug. 24, 2019, after a woman called 911 to request…

Prosecutors filed new criminal charges Monday against a North County man accused of impersonating a doctor to sexually assault four women at Del Mar Cosmetic Contouring.

A controversial start-up company that compiles billions of photos for facial recognition technology was tested, then discontinued in San Diego among concerns about mass surveillance and privacy.

San Diego County’s highest-paid school superintendent now makes more than $425,000 in salary, benefits and other compensation.

A San Diego woman says she was sexually assaulted by a massage therapist at a world-class spa and resort in Del Mar and the resort’s management did nothing to prevent it.

The Medical Board of California wants to revoke the license of a La Jolla doctor who allegedly uses an unapproved and unregulated surgical procedure to lengthen and thicken his patients’ penises.

An engineer at the city of San Diego claims his supervisors ignored his warnings about asbestos contamination and fire dangers at a city-owned downtown high rise on Ash Street.

San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer’s office said it plans to “aggressively renegotiate” the city’s $30 million contract for LED lighting and camera sensors on streetlights throughout San Diego.

Four California law enforcement agencies have not provided enough privacy protections for hundreds of millions of images collected by automated license plate readers.

The city of San Diego’s “Smart Streetlight” program is plagued with cost overruns, lax supervision, and a lack of properly-trained staff, according to an internal city memo obtained by NBC 7 Investigates.

INSIGHT Episode 14 explores allegations from two women that a San Marcos dermatologist touched them inappropriately and his employer, Kaiser Permanente, did nothing in response.

Thousands of pounds of deadly hydrofluoric acid escaped into the atmosphere following the massive June 21 blast at the now-shuttered gas refinery in South Philadelphia, according to a new federal report.

NBC 7 Investigates looked at data from the last few years in San Diego and determined resisting arrest is a crime African-Americans are being arrested for at a much larger rate

On January 30, City Council President Georgette Gomez and council member Monica Montgomery requested that City Attorney Elliott recuse herself and hire outside legal counsel to help draft a new surveillance ordinance, according to a city memo obtained by NBC 7 Investigates.

On Superbowl Sunday, many people are watching the game and celebrating at their home, a bar or a party. But, here’s a sobering statistic: According to the California Highway Patrol, 1,130 people were arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs during the last five Super Bowl Sundays in California.

According to public records obtained by NBC 7 Investigates, police have been called to Peter’s Men’s Apparel located at 8239 La Mesa Boulevard in downtown La Mesa a total of 22 times since 2015.

INSIGHT Episode Twelve describes NBC 7’s year-long investigation into a San Diego porn company and the civil trial that ensued. The team describes the outcome of the civil trial and what could happen to the three men behind the scheme; all facing criminal charges, including one owner who remains a fugitive.

The police department’s access and use of the government surveillance have been an ongoing question from activists and the public.

A professional photographer is spending 25 years behind bars in California for sexually assaulting clients, some of whom were minors. But a newly filed lawsuit now puts blame on the modeling agency that once hired him for modeling shoots.

More than half of UCSD’s buildings are a “serious” or “severe risk to life,” according to an internal seismic safety survey obtained by NBC 7 Investigates.

City of San Diego Development Services Department (DSD) employees Friday afternoon received a memo advising that the city had made the decision to voluntarily evacuate the building located at 101 Ash Street for 30 days.

African-Americans in San Diego are approximately five times more likely to get prosecuted for minor drug offenses than Whites and Hispanics, according to data obtained by NBC 7 Investigates through a public records request.

In a report to the city’s Fraud Hotline, a former city employee accuses the San Diego Police Department of failing to release information regarding facial recognition to city council, the media and the public.

A 25-year-old woman joined a long list of alleged victims who claim owners of a San Diego-based porn website used lies and coercion to persuade them to appear in a pornographic video. The woman is now the 23rd woman to sue the men behind the website “Girls Do Porn.” Last week, as reported by NBC 7 Investigates, a San Diego…