For the past month, we've been working on a 30-minute documentary about how people are struggling to get by in San Diego. Getting By will air this Thursday Oct. 23 on KPBS-TV, followed by a half-hour of discussion with local civic leaders. You can ask questions as a part of the studio audience.

Here's how it works. First, RSVP now. This Thursday, arrive at KPBS studios at 5:30 p.m. We'll show the 30-minute documentary, host a discussion with San Diego leaders (Councilmember Ben Hueso, Councilmember Jim Madaffer, Center on Policy Initiatives, San Diego Food Bank, local economist Alan Gin), and take audience questions. The entire hour-long program will air at 8:00 p.m. on KPBS-TV that evening.

If you're unable to make the taping, you can ask questions in advance right in the comments. Thanks!

The sunshine tax has long been our justification for higher prices and lower wages here in San Diego County. It’s nearly always 70 degrees and sunny – so you pay more to live here and you get paid less.

But, does desirability really make this place so expensive? A leading county economist says, no. SANDAG Chief Economist Marney Cox says wages are low because of the jobs the county attracts and creates – jobs in the tourist industry -  waiters waitresses, hotel clerks, and maids. Cox says the sunshine tax is really low paying jobs combined with a shortage of houses.

Did you know that average wages in 1972 were 30 percent higher in the county than the nation? A SANDAG study revealed that local wages haven't kept up with inflation. In 2005, the county average was only five percent higher than the national average. And to top it all off, San Diego County is one of the most expensive places to live in the country.

Do you think the high cost of living in San Diego comes from the "sunshine tax," the price we pay for good weather? Is it worth it?

Responsible journalism is in the eye of the beholder. On the national stage, candidates John McCain and Sarah Palin have complained about unfair questions and "gotcha journalism," while the media community defend the interviews as asking the tough questions. At the local level, we joined the ranks of media outlets across the country to find ourselves under attack.

Recently, reporter Joanne Faryon investigated San Diego's low ranking among cities that distribute food stamps. She found that only one in three people who are eligible actually apply. And that means the county is losing more than $140 million in free food.

This is a big story. These are days of shrinking wealth. Every income bracket is being squeezed with housing, food, transportation, clothing and education expenses.

To learn more, Joanne talked to Donna Hand, Deputy Director for Health and Human Services in the North Region. As it turned out, Ms. Hand did poorly in the interview. She misquoted information and at times got information entirely incorrect. The most egregious mistake came when Ms. Hand was asked whether the county received funding to administer the program. Ms. Hand said no. Joanne repeatedly tried to clarify. Again, the answer was no.

However, San Diego County does, indeed, receive $28 million to administer the food stamp program. (Whether those funds are enough, or whether they are being used effectively is the subject for another report.)

Here's the issue: How much responsibility does a reporter take for how an interview subject performs? And how much knowledge are officials expected to have at their fingertips? Is it responsible for KPBS to include Ms. Hand's interview as part of the story?

We decided yes. Ms. Hand is a senior executive who should know how her programs are administered. Her strategic decisions play an important role in determining how needy families receive food stamp benefits. And it is not like we're playing "gotcha" journalism, because we had told Ms. Hand what we wanted to talk about in advance of the interview.

The public relations staff for the county claimed that we're being irresponsible. They say it's unrealistic for an upper level manager to know fiscal details of the food stamp program. Additionally, a county spokesperson says that they will no longer cooperate with KPBS on the story.

Here's the finished report, and here's the unedited raw footage. What do you think?

- John Decker is KPBS Radio's Director of News and Programming.

I am reminded of the 1985 John Waters film, Lust In The Dust: Here, under the burning, boiling, baking, blistering, scalding, sizzling, searing,  roasting, toasting, very hot San Diego sun...we long for some relief.

It's getting to be that time of year when all the sunny days run together, creating a blur of unidentifiable days and weeks, rolled into forgotten months.I am always on the verge of buying air conditioning this time of year, and yet I know cloudy, cooler, rainier days are on the way. They're just out of reach. 

The grass on my lawn has about had it.  Given up for my water conservation efforts, bleached to a straw like state in spots.  October is always a tough month in San Diego.  And it's the same every year. The early fall, but really summer-like, heat is at its peak.

No one remembers when we had the last significant rain. The Chargers are struggling. Wildfire season is in full swing. The daily commute seems more of a drag. The faces at bus stops look so hopeless and oppressed. We are bombarded with political ads. 

Everyone is tan. People are closer to just snapping this time of year. Our tolerance is at its lowest and everyone seems to be in a hurry. Is this what happens to normally docile San Diegans at the end of a long, hot summer?

The National weather service is predicting cooler weather for Saturday, with clouds, a chance of showers and temperatures in the mid- to upper-60s for most of us. Maybe I will go buy a pumpkin.

- Brad Martin is the late afternoon host on KPBS Radio.  

Above: Click play to view the web exclusive report on food stamps

For the past couple of weeks, we've been working on a project called Getting By. It's a look at the local economy and how people are coping, given the market crash, the foreclosure mess, and the rising cost of rent, gas and food.

We've heard from you about how this is affecting your everyday lives.  More of you are simply not getting by; middle-class families are now showing up at food bank lines.

We also uncovered a story about food stamps: a federal program that provides money for food to working families and those on assistance.

San Diego County has the lowest food stamp participation rate in the country according to a national survey of 24 large urban areas. Only one in three who are eligible actually apply. And that means the county is losing more than $140 million in free food -- food that could go to the poorest of the poor.

The county is responsible for getting the word out about food stamps. They also administer the program. We asked them why so few people participated in a program that would give them more money for food.  Some people are intimidated by the process, others just don't know it's available.

The most surprising response we got from the county was that they didn't have enough money to administer the program. This is surprising because the federal and state governments paid the county $28 million last year, according to a county spokesperson. That just to administer the food stamp program -- to do the paperwork and outreach -- and get the word out to the community.

In the past seven years, a California Department of Social Services spokesperson says, the state has paid the county more than $75 million to administer the program. A county spokesperson says while that may be the case, the state has not increased the money it gives per caseload in seven years, and the cost of doing business has gone up.

Last month, producer Megan Burke and I were trying to figure out how we were going to tell the story of the local job market for this month's episode of our newly revamped public affairs show, Envision San Diego. We knew things were tough out there -- the unemployment rate is the highest it's been in more than a decade. The challenge really was to make all the statistics meaningful. We decided we would profile unemployed people -- it seemed like a no-brainer.

But finding unemployed people, (there are 100,000 of you in the county), is harder than it sounds. I put an ad on Craig's list, our web team sent out a message on Twitter, and Megan asked KPBS program director John Decker to air something you don't often hear on KPBS, radio announcements asking for your help. Decker agreed and for nearly a week we asked you to email us if you were unemployed and wanted to tell your story. You responded. You'll meet one of our listeners this Thursday, Sept. 25, at 8 p.m. on KPBS Television as she courageously describes her nearly year-long unemployment struggle. She was a casualty of the mortgage meltdown. The radio announcements worked; we found interview subjects, but it achieved something else. It gave you, our listeners and viewers another level of ownership in public broadcasting. You are reflected in our storytelling.

Our goal for the new Envision San Diego is to reflect our diverse community in the stories we tell. So often we the media, turn to the same experts, the same community organizations, the same politicians, to attempt to make sense of the news of the day. It is at times, unavoidable on daily and even hourly deadlines. We're lucky at Envision San Diego. We are given more time to find and tell stories in a different way. And so, here's where you come in again. We hope to include you on a regular basis. From time to time, you will hear us on the radio asking for your help. And now, you will even see us on this website asking you to tell us your story. I truly believe everyone has a story to tell. Here is your chance to get involved in the journalistic process and know that you are helping to shape the stories you'll see on KPBS Television. You'll still get the facts and analysis from the experts, but you'll also see how the statistics affect real people.

This month, we're asking you to tell us your story about how you are managing in these difficult economic times. Rent, gas and food are all more expensive this year than last, but wages are stagnant. How are you getting by? You can post your story here in the public comments or send an email to . So, join the conversation. We really do want to hear from you.

Last week the KPBS radio newsroom received two phone calls from the Navy and an email, informing us of the decommissioning of the U.S.S. Kitty Hawk. They wanted us to cover the story.  

It was a good story and one that many old timers in San Diego are interested in… the Kitty Hawk spent half of her 48 years home ported in San Diego. We followed up and did a radio spot to mark her departure.

But today, another fax eventually made its way to the newsroom from some far-off fax machine in the station, informing us that the Navy is holding public hearings on the traffic impacts of permanently home porting a third aircraft carrier in San Diego. When was that hearing? It started 20 minutes ago!

I called to find out why we didn’t get the information sooner. I was told that, due to Labor Day weekend, they had to fax out the information instead of emailing it. Hmm.

The web site on the press release led to a message: “There is a problem with this website's security certificate.”  When I asked where I could get information on the proceedings, the Environmental Public Information Officer didn’t know the web site address.

I called another Navy contact who eventually found me the web site.

It is, conveniently, under the Navy’s Engineering Command.

The public scoping period on the impacts of home-porting a third Nimitz class (that means nuclear powered) aircraft carrier starts next month, in October. Maybe by then the Navy will have figured out its public outreach.

Our These Days production assistant is a life-long vegetarian. Some people may not think that's very interesting, but having been born and raised in the Midwest, where a meal without meat was not considered a meal, I was fascinated that she has never had meat of any kind. No burger or bacon ever crossed her lips. No seafood or fowl ever entered her digestive tract. For her, this was a normal way of life - a vegetarian way of life.

Today, as part of our These Days series on food and nutrition, we talked about water and the body. I recently came across an article about the myth that we need to drink eight 8-ounce glasses of water a day to be healthy. I was surprised because I, like most Americans, assumed this recommendation was based on sound medical science. But no, there was no scientific basis for the recommendation that's been around for more than 50 years.