Giancarlo Ruiz is a filmmaker whose films I've admired for years. I showed some of his shorts at Film School Confidential and now his new short "St. Jacques" is making its way to Cannes. Join him Friday April 30 at 6pm at the Media Arts Center San Diego (921 25th Street) for a fundraiser to help send him to France.

While the number of illegal crossings at the border has plummeted dramatically — roughly half the number than during peak years — just as many people are dying. Meaning for those coming into the country illegally, it is now more deadly, more lethal, than at any time in recent U.S. immigration history. Don’t miss the third installment of NEED TO KNOW’s award-winning Border Patrol series

Filmmaker David Fresina tells San Diego’s tragic story of the 1978 crash of PSA Flight 182 from the point of view of those who witnessed it first hand and those who had to spend days at the crash site cleaning up. Hear the stories of the people who lived and still live in the surround neighborhoods and from the families of the victims and the great people who worked for PSA.

Councilwoman Marti Emerald was fined $3,000 today by the San Diego Ethics Commission for two campaign disclosure violations that she claims were mere paperwork mistakes.

The California Assembly has passed a resolution urging the federal government to fix an immigration system some lawmakers say is broken. It arose as criticism of the new immigration law in Arizona intensifies.

The City of Chula Vista is working to resolve the last hurdles, before approving a Master Plan for 500 acres of waterfront. The city hopes the Bay front project will change its image.

Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal declared a state of emergency Thursday and President Obama pledged his administration will use "every single resource at our disposal" as an oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico crept toward shore.

In spring of 1946, ten months after the end of World War II, an explosion rocks the Pacific off the coast of Hawaii. America has just destroyed one of Japan’s most advanced weapons systems — the I-401 aircraft carrier submarine. But this was no belated attack against the defeated Japanese. Bound by an agreement to share any discoveries with the Soviets, but feeling the pressure of the looming cold war, it was a calculated decision to keep the technology out of Soviet hands.

Voters may get the chance to decide whether the state government can take local money to cover California's budget deficit. A coalition of local agencies in California has collected enough signatures to put the issue on the November ballot.

Higher education is a $400 billion industry fueled by taxpayer money. One of the fastest-growing — and most controversial — sectors of the industry is the for-profit colleges and universities. Unlike traditional colleges that raise money from wealthy alumni and other donors, many for-profit schools sell shares to investors on Wall Street. But what are students getting out of the deal?

California's power grid operators have fired an employee and disciplined two others for mistakes that caused a widespread blackout in San Diego County this month.

A Mexican teen who was in a group that lured a U.S. Border Patrol agent out of his vehicle near Campo and shot him to death was sentenced today to 40 years in federal prison. Christian Daniel Castro-Alvarez, 17, pleaded guilty to a murder charge in the death of Agent Robert W. Rosas Jr.

Community activists will hold a public forum tonight in Lemon Grove to highlight the dangers of underage drinking. Lemon Grove officials will be urged to update their social host law, which penalizes adults who host underage drinking parties.

Stunning cinematography and time-lapse photography trace the dramatic story of renewal at Mt. St. Helens. When Mount St. Helens erupted in 1980, every living thing in the blast zone was buried beneath 300 feet of avalanche debris, covered with steaming mud and, finally, topped with a superheated layer of frothy rock from deep within the earth. It seemed as though Mount St. Helens might remain a wasteland forever. Then, to everyone’s surprise, life began to bloom again.

On April 4, 1968, escaped convict James Earl Ray shot and killed Dr. Martin Luther King while he lingered on a motel balcony. "Roads To Memphis" is the fateful narrative of this killer and his prey, set against the seething, turbulent forces in American society that led these two men to their violent and tragic collision in Memphis, Tennessee, on April 4, 1968.

The San Diego Museum of Art's Art Alive is a verifiable hothouse for the well-heeled and culturati alike, and it'll celebrate its 29th year this Friday. Check out this video for a behind-the-scenes peek at the crafting of one of its 100-plus arrangements.

Two San Diego art promoters were selected by Ford Motor Company to promote a new car and handed a bundle of money to put on a concert featuring a local band. The result of this partnership is a Joel P. West and The Tree Ring concert at MCASD on Friday night. Here's how it all went down.

"The Misunderstood Epidemic: Depression" is the newest documentary by filmmaker Susan Polis Schutz. It is an intimate look at how depression affects its victims and their families. It tells powerful stories of people who suffer the lowest depths of depression. The film explores through first-hand accounts that depression can happen to anyone regardless of age, race, or socioeconomic background.

From CityBeat's Festival of Beers to a biopic on seminal architectural photographer Julius Schulman, this weekend is crammed with Culture Lustable stuff to do and see (Snoop Dogg's casino stand-up, anyone?).

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is pledging California's full support for national health care reform, throwing the weight of one of the nation's most prominent Republican voices behind the overhaul.

Vietnamese-American Dzung Le and USS Midway air boss Vern Jumper recall their bitter-sweet memories of the chaotic evacuation of people from Saigon as South Vietnam fell to North Vietnam 35 years ago.

Vietnamese-American Dzung Le talks about his evacuation from Saigon to the USS Midway 35 years ago as South Vietnam fell to North Vietnam.

From April to October, 1975, Camp Pendleton created an entire city of tents and quonset huts, accepting, housing, feeding and clothing over 50,000 refugees from Vietnam and other Southeast Asian countries. Most arrived here with nothing and did not speak English. After five months, they were dispersed to volunteer families and churches throughout Southern California.

Retired USS Midway Naval Commander Lawrence Chambers and Air Boss Vern Jumper recall the chaotic days aboard the aircraft carrier as they carried out Operation Frequent Wind at the end of the Vietnam War, in which more than 3,000 Vietnamese were evacuated from Saigon 35 years ago this month.

What role did the USS Midway play in the evacuation of U.S. and Vietnamese refugees who were fleeing Saigon during the final days of the Vietnam War? We speak to local historians about Operation Frequent Wind, the end of the Vietnam War, and other historical events that the USS Midway took part in.

Vietnamese-American and UCSD Professor Kimloan Hill talks about her experience in Saigon at the close of the Vietnam War.

Starting Thursday, airline passengers stuck on the tarmac have some redress. Under a new federal rule, passengers must have the chance to get off that motionless plane three hours after leaving the gate.

A community taskforce helping to pick San Diego's next school superintendent held the last of five town hall meetings on the topic Wednesday evening. One taskforce member says he knows what kind of leader students want.