People & Profiles | KPBS San Diego Public Radio & TV: News, Arts & Culture

Review: San Diego Latino Film Festival's Un Mundo Extraño

March 13: By Beth Accomando; 0 Comments

The San Diego Latino Film Festival kicks off it’s 21st season tonight. But while it’s easy to fill the house with opening and closing night crowd pleasers, I suggest getting out of your comfort zone and checking out the bizarre world of Un Mundo Extraño.

Report: US Military's Ban On Transgender Troops 'Damaging'

March 13: By Beth Ford Roth; 0 Comments

There is no "compelling medical reason" to ban transgender people from serving in the U.S. military, according to a report released Thursday by an independent commission lead by former U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Joycelyn Elders.

Local Hero Vickie Turner Dreams With Her Eyes Open

March 3: By Monica Medina; 1 Comment

For Vickie E. Turner, becoming a lawyer wasn’t a childhood dream, but as an accountant for the Las Vegas Gaming Commission, she felt that something was lacking and wanted more. Then a friend told her he was heading to San Diego for law school. The thought intrigued her, so she went along, figuring she'd just test the waters.

Child of Nature, M. Eloise Battle, Works to Preserve Tecolote Canyon

Feb. 28: By Monica Medina; 0 Comments

Most people seem to have a phobia about rats, and that's just what the boys in M. Eloise Battle's school were counting on the day they tossed a large, dead one right into her bicycle basket. Battle, who was in the seventh grade at the time, didn’t notice at first, but when she did see the specimen in her basket, she exclaimed with glee, "Oh boy! I can practice mounting this!"

Transgender Rights Opponents In California Fail To Get Issue On Ballot

Feb. 24: Associated Press; 0 Comments

If the referendum to overturn a California law that gives transgender students protections including the right to use the public school restrooms of their choice had made the ballot, the law would have been put on hold until after the election.

Some In San Diego's LGBT Community Not Embracing DeMaio's Same-Sex Partner Ad

Feb. 24: By Claire Trageser; 24 Comments

Congressional candidate Carl DeMaio made national headlines with a recent commercial. But some members of San Diego's LGBT community are not embracing the ad.

Behind The Scenes: DNA New Works Series

Feb. 20: Evening Edition; 1 Comment

Developing new works is in the La Jolla Playhouse’s blood. Perhaps that’s why its DNA New Works Series is so appropriately named. Last year's inaugural series was a success and now begins the second season of this innovative play development program.

Montford Point Marines Jackson, Inge & Reavis: The Story Continues

Black History Month 2014 Honorees

Feb. 4: By Monica Medina; 1 Comment

The Montford Point Marines are a little known part of U.S. military history. Born out of necessity, when African American men were first drafted to serve in World War II, the legacy of the Marines who trained at Montford Point in North Carolina is a mirror of the times, back when segregation and discrimination were par for the course.

In the Presence of Greatness: Montford Point Marines Jackson, Inge & Reavis

Black History Month 2014 Honorees

Feb. 3: By Monica Medina; 0 Comments

True heroism. You can see it in their hands, brown and weathered. Their long fingers, slightly bent from the weight of the load they've had to carry. It's in their faces too, which exemplify a quiet dignity, and in their eyes, which glisten like gems from beneath the Pacific. An homage perhaps, to their time in Hawaii, Saipan, Guam and Okinawa. The crevices that line their faces and their somber, knowing smiles reveal a measure of the life they've lived.

Cosmetologist Tessie Bonner Saves Lives Through Breast Cancer Prevention

Black History Month 2014 Honoree

Jan. 31: By Monica Medina; 1 Comment

Tessie Bonner considers herself a "church lady," given that her religious beliefs are at the core of who she is and how she lives her life. But Bonner, whose friends and close associates tend to also think of her as "the little engine that could," seems to be so much more than any one label.

Court Won't Revisit California 'Gay Therapy' Ban

Jan. 29: Associated Press; 0 Comments

A federal appeals court has refused to reconsider its ruling upholding a California law that barred mental counseling aimed at changing a minor's sexual orientation.

Immigrants & Refugees

Preview: Human Rights Watch Film Festival

Jan. 23: By Beth Accomando; 1 Comment

Human Rights Watch wants to use film to make a difference in the world. The organization’s film festival returns to the Museum of Photographic Arts tonight for the fourth year.

San Diego Woman Named Navy Medical Sailor Of The Year

Jan. 21: By Beth Ford Roth; 0 Comments

Hospital Corpsman 1st Class (SW/AW) Monica M. Reeves is the 2013 Navy Medicine Sailor of the Year. Reeves works at Naval Medical Center San Diego.

Behind The Scenes: 'Hot Guys Dancing'

Jan. 9: By Beth Accomando, Nicholas McVicker; 8 Comments

Diversionary Theater wanted dance on its program but couldn’t risk losing money. That’s when organizers came up with "Hot Guys Dancing" (the latest edition opens tonight and runs through Sunday).