After my interview (listen above) with Jan Goldsmith late in the afternoon of his second day as city attorney, I had a flashback memory. I remembered the feeling I had at the beginning of each new school year during my early education at P.S. 62 in Ozone Park, Queens, New York. As I entered my second or third grade classroom, I felt ready to tackle whatever scary challenges lay in store because I was equipped with a brand new, unsullied, untouched, pristine pencil box. Inside were my fresh, not-yet-sharpened No. 2 pencils with no tooth marks from nervous gnawing. With that kind of preparation, I was eager to confront the beat-up desk, tattered schoolbooks, chipped chalkboard, and scribbled-on walls left behind by last year's class.

Sarah Brightman in Repo! The Gentic Opera (Lionsgate)

I've watched some great movies in the last couple of weeks and thought I'd make some recommendations.

San Diego city’s pension actuaries have released their analysis of the state of the city’s pension fund. It includes good news and bad news for next year. KPBS reporter Alison St John has more.

New San Diego city attorney Jan Goldsmith says he assessing whether to continue to fight the legal battles picked by former city attorney Mike Aguirre, or let them drop. KPBS reporter Alison St John has more.

A budget vote before Christmas…. That's what state Democratic legislative leaders promised Thursday as they emerged from a meeting with Governor Schwarzenegger. The Governor's office has confirmed that the state's budget deficit now tops 41-billion dollars over the next year-and-a-half. It's nearly fifteen billion in the current fiscal year alone. Democratic Assembly Speaker Karen Bass says she's not ruling out the possibility of a lockdown in the Assembly chamber to get the Republican votes necessary for a plan.

University City Neighborhood residents will get a chance tonight to ask questions and get information about this week's crash of a military fighter jet in San Diego. KPBS reporter Katie Orr has more.

Marine Corps Generals defended the decision to try to land a disabled jet at a San Diego military base. Military investigators are still combing through the neighborhood wreckage. Two infant girls, their mother and grandmother died when the jet slammed into their home.

The state has fined energy company Kinder Morgan $222,000 for exceeding pollutant limits in the water it dumps into Murphy Canyon Creek. It's the third time fine for the company on its discharges into the creek. KPBS Reporter Amita Sharma has details.

San Diego civic leaders are struggling to find a way to expand Lindbergh Field, without building a new multi-story concrete parking garage on the edge of San Diego Bay. KPBS reporter Alison St John has more.

Have you been experiencing problems sleeping lately? Do you lie awake for hours at night, and end up feeling tired the next day? What are the common causes, and most effective solutions to sleep-related problems? Host Tom Fudge speaks to a pair of guests from UCSD about sleep deprivation, napping, and the overall importance of getting enough sleep.

The battle between drug cartels in Tijuana has been so gruesome and so brazen recently, at times, it seems like something out of a movie. Some of the vehicles people have begun driving, in attempt to stay safe south of the border, also seem like they're straight off the big screen. KPBS Border Reporter Amy Isackson joins us this morning to talk about these cars that people on both sides of the border are buying.

A battle's been brewing in Tijuana for years - it's the drug trafficking war. But the battle has escalated recently as more than 350 people have been died in Tijuana since September in drug-related deaths. We'll take you behind the scenes of the devastating drug war along our border with Mexico as part of a special KPBS-TijuanaPress.Com series "Border Battle: Bringing Home the Drug War."

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger had some harsh words for lawmakers in a hastily called news conference Wednesday. He says the current year deficit has grown and he chastised lawmakers for not fixing the problem. Jenny O'Mara reports.

A state agency approved plans that would offset environmental damage from a proposed desalination plant in Carlsbad. Several legal challenges remain, but the company building the plant doesn't expect any delays. KPBS Environmental Reporter Ed Joyce has details.

If someone were to ask me what movies would make good musicals, never in a million years would I say the 1980 film