Some California lawmakers want to set up an alert system to help find senior citizens who wander away from home. It would work much like the Amber Alert, where the public is notified about a missing child.

Hundreds of veteran teachers in two San Diego county school districts have taken a financial buyout plan in exchange for retiring early. But it's unclear whether that'll translate into big savings for their districts.

California's teen birth rate has fallen to the lowest level on record. State health officials say there's been a big decline in teen births since 1991.

Poirot is un-enthusiastic when a Mrs. Todd asks him to find her a cook. He is positively insulted when she proceeds to dismiss him from the case with a one guinea fee for his services. There's no mystery too small for Hercule Poirot, and once he agrees to take on a case he sees it through to a conclusion. Poirot has also realized that there is a great deal more to the cook's disappearance than meets the eye.

Every weekend in San Diego, photographers are making images and capturing the city's energy. Culture Lust showcases the best of the photographs tagged "San Diego" on Flickr.

An astronaut who earned her doctorate at UC San Diego was blasted into space today aboard the space shuttle Atlantis, which took off from Kennedy Space Center in Florida for a mission to make improvements to the Hubble Space Telescope.

State lawmakers are considering legislation that would require motorcycles to pass smog checks starting in 2012. State Senator Fran Pavley says motorcycles create greenhouse gasses linked to global warming and owners make the problem worse by altering the engines of their bikes.

One of the most high-profile players in the National League West has been suspended 50 games by Major League Baseball. And San Diego State Pitcher Stephen Strausberg is making a name for himself in a better way.

Wildfires can strike in the West at any time, as Santa Barbara is currently demonstrating. We'll get a look at how the conditions are shaping up for wildfires in the San Diego region for summer and fall and how the county is preparing to combat them.

A wildfire that destroyed dozens of homes is 70 percent contained and firefighters are mopping up hot spots before nightfall when moderate winds are predicted.

The California state Assembly has passed legislation intended to reduce litter from plastic bottle caps. KPBS Reporter Ed Joyce tells us the idea is to recycle the caps and keep them out of the ocean.

Coronado is considered a paradise by many. But as traffic clogs the streets, the city is now looking at options like a new toll on the bridge to alleviate congestion on it streets.

Oceanside may temporarily suspend medical marijuana dispensaries from opening until the city council decides how to regulate them.

Technological advances have helped many disabled people perform normal functions again. Helping blind people to see is beyond today's technology. But tomorrow's technology may be able to do it. A researcher at San Diego's Salk Institute is trying to create a prosthetic device that can restore sight. KPBS health reporter Tom Fudge explains.

California is in its third year of drought, and many farmers in the state's crop-rich Central Valley are looking at dusty fields, or worse, and are cutting down their orchards before the trees die.

The Hubble Space Telescope is about to get a long-awaited makeover, as NASA astronauts head out on a final mission to repair the aging but beloved observatory. Space Shuttle Atlantis blasted off Monday just after 2 p.m. ET.

Living in Downtown San Diego’s East Village means being close to a lot of the city’s main attractions. But the urban lifestyle also brings with it several challenges. KPBS reporter Katie Orr attended an East Village community forum during the weekend to hear the concerns of residents and business owners.