NOTE: Since I knew someone who actually won the lottery for tickets to the Michael Jackson Memorial, I thought you might enjoy hearing what she had to say about the experience. Michael Jackson's Memorial Service at the Staples Center this morning was rife with amazing, heart-felt star performances, tributes, and sermons, but, in my book, the showstopping turn of the day belonged to--no surprise--Michael Jackson. A two or three minute clip of 10-year-old Jackson singing Smokey Robinson's "Who's Loving You?" on the Ed Sullivan show was as spectacular and mesmerizing a performance as I've ever seen.

The San Diego Port District has cobbled together financing for the first phase of the North Embarcadero Visionary Plan -- a new waterfront esplanade on San Diego Bay.

A San Diego pedicab driver has been charged with a felony in the death of a woman who fell from his cab this past weekend. KPBS reporter Katie Orr says the woman’s death could prompt the city to tighten its regulations on the pedicab industry.

The San Diego City Council voted to continue a 12-million-dollar recycled water project. The pilot project was reconsidered Tuesday because one councilmember raised concerns about the plan.

A new statewide poll shows overwhelming support for the idea of raising the tobacco tax by $1.50 a pack. The survey reveals seven out of ten California voters favor the tax to help balance the state budget.

Health officials in San Diego say a 50-year-old woman who died last month was suffering from swine flu. County Health and Human Services Agency spokesman Jose Alvarez says the woman had an underlying medical condition and the flu created extra medical stress on her body.

A 25-count federal indictment unsealed today charges a half-dozen people with corruption and fraud related to defense contracting at San Diego-based Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command.

These Days honors Michael Jackson with music from his "Off the Wall Special Edition" album featuring "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough."

Working to turn Russia from antagonist to ally, President Obama asked the Russian people Tuesday to "forge a lasting partnership" with the U.S. But he acknowledged after talks with Prime Minister Vladimir Putin that on divisive issues there won't be "a meeting of the minds anytime soon."

Gunmen shot up the Red Cross in Tijuana Tuesday morning. As KPBS Reporter Amy Isackson explains a Tijuana policewoman died in the hail of bullets.

California State University officials are preparing a plan to furlough 47,000 employees for two days a month to help offset sharp cuts in state funding. The CSU Board of Trustees is holding a special meeting in Long Beach Tuesday to discuss ways to close a projected $584 million budget shortfall for the 2009-10 fiscal year.

What's going on with the local real estate market? Local home sales are increasing, and housing prices are starting stabilize. But unemployment is still high, and another wave of foreclosures could be coming soon. We speak to local real estate broker Matt Battiata and reporter Kelly Bennett to get their take on what's happening in the local housing market.

Summer is a great time for cooking outdoors. In our monthly food segment, we'll explore all aspects of barbequing, from charcoal and gas, to peaches and pork.

With the county's jobless rate at 9.4 percent, many San Diegans have had to adapt to a life without work. We speak with a local psychotherapist about how people are coping with losing their jobs.

California lawmakers met again Monday to discuss how to solve the state's $26 billion budget crisis. And again, we don't have a deal. We're joined on Morning Edition by non-partisan Sacramento Political Consultant Leo McElroy.

Barricades were up, streets were closed and police were out in force, as Los Angeles braced for tens of thousands of Michael Jackson fans to crowd a downtown area for Tuesday's star-studded memorial service for the King of Pop.

IV drug users are at high risk of spreading blood-borne diseases like hepatitis C and HIV. To combat this threat, the City of San Diego has a mobile clean syringe exchange program that operates twice a week.

In the heat of the summer I have to confess that I sometimes get delirious and get distracted by the big, noisy summer blockbusters, and end up missing some of the smaller, more substantial films. So in an attempt to make up for that oversight, here is a pair of worthy documentaries that you can still catch in theaters: "Food, Inc." (still playing at Landmark's Hillcrest Cinemas) and "Under Our Skin" (currently playing at Reading Gaslamp Stadium Theaters).

Medical staff and other employees that work in health sciences at UCSD say proposed system-wide budget cuts don't make sense. Health science officials are asking the UC president for some flexibility.

"Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen" (opened June 24 throughout San Diego) hasn't quite been dethroned by "Ice Age 3," but the Autobots and Decepticons are being given a run for their money by those 3-D prehistoric beasts and dinosaurs. One of the KPBS Teen Critics explains why "Transformers" is still holding on to the top slot."