66° Mostly CloudyAmita Sharma
Investigative Reporter
Amita Sharma has worked at KPBS since 2000 and has covered a wide range of stories for TV and radio. She is part of the KPBS Investigative Reporting unit and occasionally hosts KPBS Evening Edition.
Among the reports Amita has produced are a three-part series on child sex trafficking in San Diego, a two-part series on how the state is using survivors' benefits for foster children to pay for their upkeep, and a four-part series on the Port of San Diego's finances. Other investigations include the San Diego angle to the U.S. attorney firings, private security firm Blackwater’s controversial training camp proposal, and the Sunroad development controversy. Amita has also interviewed a number of local and national newsmakers including former Democratic presidential candidate Howard Dean, Wisconsin Congressman James Sensenbrenner, and fired U.S. Attorney David Iglesias. In 2005 she landed an exclusive interview with three federal prosecutors who worked on the bribery investigation resulting in the guilty plea of former San Diego Congressman Randy “Duke” Cunningham. She also covered the murder trial of David Westerfield, the 2001 shooting at Santana High School, and how three of the 9/11 hijackers spent their time in San Diego.
Amita has also worked as a newspaper reporter. She has degrees in journalism and international relations from the University of Southern California.
Recent Stories
Mexican National Accused In San Diego Campaign Finance Scheme Free On Bail
Jose Susumo Azano Matsura is charged with using a straw donor to funnel $120,000 to the campaign of a 2012 mayoral candidate.
Questions Dog Bonnie Dumanis On San Diego Campaign Finance Probe
Campaign finance experts say there were key warning signs that the funds accepted by the San Diego district attorney when she was running for mayor might not be legal.
Drought Prompts Call For Voluntary Water Restrictions In San Diego County
In light of the recently declared drought in California, local and county officials are calling for residents to conserve.
Dealing With Life-Threatening Illness From Both A Doctor And Patient's Perspective
When a terminal illness is diagnosed, people ask their doctors one question: How long do I have to live?
Differing Bail Terms In San Diego Campaign Finance Probe Trigger Speculation
The three men accused of illegally steering foreign money into San Diego elections are charged with the same crime. But their terms of release are very different.
Southern California Edison Outlines Values for San Onofre Nuclear Plant's Decommissioning
Southern California Edison says it will follow a set of core principles.
Mexican Businessman Tied To Campaign Finance Scandal Hires D.C. Lawyers
A Mexican tycoon at the heart of a federal campaign finance probe in San Diego has hired high-powered Washington, D.C. law firm Williams & Connolly to help in a potential defense.
Sex Trafficking Overtakes Drugs As San Diego County Gang’s Top Cash Source
According to FBI, San Diego’s rival street gangs have put aside their differences over turf and drugs, and struck up alliances to sell women and girls, some as young as 12.
Feds: Filner Offered To Help Businessman Tied To San Diego Campaign Finance Scandal
Federal prosecutors said disgraced former San Diego Mayor Bob Filner personally offered to help a wealthy Mexican businessman who is at the center of a campaign funding probe.
FBI Agents Raid Homes Linked To Mexican Businessman Connected To Contribution Conspiracy
Dozens of Federal Bureau of Investigation agents scoured two residents linked to Mexican businessman Jose Susomo Azano Matsura and seized electronics and financial records.
