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Amita Sharma

Stories by Amita

Senator Kehoe Presses For Public Hearing On SDG&E's Wildfire Recovery Costs

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Kehoe's call for a public hearing follows a similar request by San Diego County Diane Jacob.

San Diego Syrians Anxious About Loved Ones Back Home As Crisis Worsens

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Many fear thousands more will die if international community doesn't intervene.

SD Supervisor Wants SDG&E Held Accountable On Eagle No Fly Zone Incursions

Supervisor Diane Jacob says regulators aren’t doing enough to stop the incursions.

Clemency Urged For Woman Who Killed Pimp

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Sara Kruzan has spent more than half her life in a Calif. prison for killing her pimp. Kruzan’s San Diego relatives and local advocates are pressing Gov. Jerry Brown to grant her clemency.

Group Wants Public Hearings On SDG&E Wildfire Costs

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A citizen's watchdog group wants regulators to hold public hearings on San Diego Gas & Electric's request for customers to foot the bill for wildfire costs that its insurance companies won't cover.

San Diego Syrians Back Protesters Amid Threats

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They say they’re prepared to follow the lead of their loved ones back home and be willing to die until Assad’s regime is toppled.

SDG&E Wants Ratepayers To Pay For Costs Of Wildfires, Retroactive To '07

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Ratepayer advocates are accusing the power company of pulling an end-run.

State Probation Transfers To SD County Include Mentally Ill

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San Diego County mental health officials say screening and preparation is paying off.

Ex-City Councilman Finally Headed To Prison

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After six years of fighting his conviction on bribery charges, ex-San Diego Councilman Ralph Inzunza has exhausted his appeals.

Family

Domestic Violence Counseling Plan Draws Criticism

Former prosecutors contend couples counseling proposed in new San Diego pilot program endangers lives and contradicts research.

Consumer Groups Disappointed With Brown's Picks For Energy Regulators

Consumer groups had high hopes this year for regulators who oversee California's power companies.

Child Sex Trafficking Documentary To Premier In San Diego

Advocates hope the film serves as a warning to children and parents.

San Diego Woman Admits Sending Money To Terrorist Group

A San Diego woman has admitted she sent money and recruits to the Somali terrorist group al-Shabab.

Comments By Union-Tribune's New Ownership Prompt Criticism

The comments confirmed what many feared.

Developer Doug Manchester Buys Union-Tribune

The owner of The San Diego Union-Tribune announced Thursday it has sold the 143-year-old newspaper to MLIM, LLC, owned by real-estate magnate Doug Manchester.

SDG&E Presses For Customer Reimbursement For Uninsured Wildfire Costs

Pacific Gas & Electric and Southern California Edison-- are withdrawing from the case.

Former San Diego Man May Be Among Top Leaders In Terror Group Al Shabab

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The former UCSD economics student may be one of several Americans who have crucial roles in Al Shabab.

Demand Keeps Teen Sex Trafficking A Booming Business

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The teenage sex trade thrives because of an abundance of consumers. Prosecutors are trying to cut demand by educating Johns.

Internet, Too Few Services Make Child Sex Trafficking Tough to Combat

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Technology, deficient laws and lack of shelters make it tough to eradicate the sexual exploitation of children for profit.

Pimps Recruiting Underage Girls In San Diego Through Force And Coercion

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Sex slaves are often equated with a desperate place. But underage girls are bought and sold every day in San Diego County. One police detective calls them "broken souls."

$7.25 Million Settlement Reached In Stephanie Crowe Murder Case

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A settlement has been reached in the high-profile, 1998 Stephanie Crowe murder case. The Crowe family has settled with Escondido and Oceanside.

San Diego Libyans Celebrate Gaddhafi's Death

One man equated the death to cutting off the head of a dragon.

One Year After Daughter's Murder, Family Still Waits for Answers

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One year after a San Diego City College student was brutally murdered inside a campus bathroom, the suspect -- her estranged husband -- remains a fugitive.

San Diego Worshipers Remember Awlaki As Spiritual Orator Who Connected With His Congregation

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Local Muslim civil rights group is challenging the decision to assassinate Awlaki.

Safety Enforcement Questioned On SDG&E's Sunrise Powerlink Project

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Supervisor Dianne Jacob questions the ability of state regulators to oversee the project’s safety.

San Diego ACLU Asks Police About Cellphone Tracking

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The group says it is trying to figure out whether new surveillance technologies are trampling on rights without making people safer.

Dumanis Cancels Talk At San Diego City College Amid Protest Threat

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Students are upset that Dumanis hasn’t answered questions about student Diana Gonzalez, who was murdered days after the DA declined to prosecute her estranged husband.

San Diego Man Hands Out Food Aid In Somalia

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A San Diego man delivered aid to 250 families in Somalia this week. He said Somalia's capital, Mogadishu, is now a massive refugee camp.

FBI Scraps Training Depicting Muslims As Terrorism Sympathizers

Such material can lead to bad calls by intelligence officials and further shatter trust in the bureau.

San Diego Blackout Sparks Questions About Energy Generation

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Key players are asking for patience until months-long investigations of the blackout are complete.

Child Advocates Sue State To Release More Details In Child Fatality Cases

Child advocates have sued the California Department of Social Services to force it to reveal more details about child deaths. Advocates say the agency’s rules block potential reforms that could save lives.

SD Somali Youth Leader Heads To Somalia To Aid Famine Victims

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As the famine in Somalia spreads, a San Diego Somali man leaves for his homeland today to hand deliver aid.

Energy Experts Question Scale of Blackout

One local engineer calls the region’s power outage an outrage.

FBI On Alert For Lone-Wolf Attacks

Self-radicalized attackers are source of concern and harder to detect.

Suspicion From 9/11 Tragedy Remains For San Diego Muslims

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Fear gripped many in San Diego’s Muslim community following the September 11th attacks. They endured taunts and suspicion from neighbors and heightened scrutiny by law enforcement.

Questions Linger Over San Diego 9/11 Hijackers' Ties to Saudi Government

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Former Senator who headed 9/11 Congressional inquiry said efforts to learn more about hijackers' links to the Saudi government were quashed.

Death In Pharmaceutical Magnate's Coronado Mansion Ruled Suicide

Officials say the death of the man's son the same week was from an accidental fall; sheriff says science best witness in the case.

San Diego Muslim Group Organizes Blood Drive To Honor 9/11 Victims

A Muslim group in San Diego is organizing a blood drive, as part of a national effort to mark the 10th anniversary of the September 11th attacks.

Family

Local Somali Youth Take Lead In Fundraising For Famine Victims

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Wrenching images of the famine in Somalia, haunting memories of their own and a hope their efforts might lead to a more stable future keep the bright-eyed youth determined to help their motherland.

Bill Aims to Make It Easier to Prosecute Child Sex Traffickers

One bill before the state legislature would recognize the role mental manipulation plays in the crime.

U.S. Attorney General Holder Invokes State Secrets Rule in Lawsuit by California Muslims

Imam at Islamic Center of San Diego says surveillance is not moral.

Report: 40 Americans Have Trained & Fought With Al Shabaab

The new Congressional report also identifies one of the recruits as a man who lived in San Diego.

Local Somalis Raising Money For Famine Victims Back Home

A local man said the food crisis is so bad that people are "dying like flies" outside refugee camps.

California Builders Say Sempra's Green Projects in Mexico Will Cost 15,000 U.S. Jobs

Builders project that $300 million in local, state and federal revenue would also be lost during the project's life.

SDG&E Customers Could End Up Paying For Uninsured Wildfire Losses

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Electricity users in California may be getting into the fire-insurance business soon. Private negotiations are under way for ratepayers to cover wildfire costs that insurance companies refuse to insure.

California Agents Seize Guns From Mentally Ill

Weapons seized during statewide sweep. It nets nearly three times as many seized during the last sweep in 2007.

Solar Installations Double In California

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Solar experts cite government incentives and falling prices for jump.

Family

Calif. Repeatedly Resisted Foster Parent Reimbursement Hike, Despite Court Orders

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The state has repeatedly balked at boosting how much it pays the people who care for society’s mistreated children.

Family

Federal Judge Rejects State Request For Delay in Foster Care Reimbursement Hike

State officials want to delay the start of higher payments to foster parents, but a judge says there are no grounds to do so.

Carlsbad Firm Plays Role in Detecting New Deadly E. Coli Strain

Life Techonologies' Ion Personal Genome Machine identified the strain in record time.

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