KPBS and the Watchdog Institute at SDSU spent four months investigating why whooping cough, a disease that was nearly extinct thirty years ago, has infected thousands of people in California and killed 10 babies. Just why it’s made such a vengeful comeback has two of the world’s leading whooping cough experts in disagreement. KPBS Reporter Joanne Faryon raises serious questions about how well the vaccine to prevent the disease works.

Preparing for one million more people who will call San Diego County home in the coming years means an increase in the amount of water and power county residents will use. How to deliver those resources to the region has stirred up controversy among environmentalists, tribal leaders and back country residents and other groups. KPBS Environment Reporter Ed Joyce looks back at the progress made on those fronts in the last year.

One million more people are expected to call San Diego home in the next 40 years. What is being done to prepare for the population surge now? Local leaders have been at work updating the county general plan a bland title for an important blueprint for San Diego's future growth. KPBS Senior Metro reporter Alison St John explains what's in the works to accommodate a more crowded San Diego.

It's been a year of stunning headlines from the border. Beginning in January with the capture of "El Teo," the gang leader believed to be responsible for 300 murders followed by the discoveries of smugglers tunnels and seizure of hundreds of tons drugs; and the arrest of an alleged 14-year-old assassin born in San Diego. KPBS border reporter Amy Isackson recaps these stories and gives us a glimpse of how new leadership in Tijuana may impact life in the region in the year ahead.

How will the repeal of "Don't Ask Don't Tell" impact local Marines and sailors? What's the status of Camp Pendleton-based Marines currently serving in Afghanistan? And, when will Afghan-led security forces be ready to take over? We discuss the top military stories of the year, and look ahead 2011.

The San Diego City Council faces difficult decisions in 2011 to eliminate a $73 million deficit. We discuss how new faces on the council could influence the decisions. And, we talk about how the defeat of Prop. D will impact the council's ongoing efforts to eliminate the city's long-term debt.

Could we see a decrease in the local jobless rate in 2011? We discuss how the region's double-digit unemployment rate affected San Diego's economy in 2010. And, we talk about next year's economic predictions.