Five out of six calls to a county hotline designed to help residents access food stamps and other benefits are dropped, according to a new report. That confirms what local leaders have been saying for a long time.

Jill Replogle and Jose Luis Jimenez from froterasdesk.org embark today on a reporting trip to Baja. They describe their travels to Evening Edition.

The City of San Diego and millionaire philanthropist Irwin Jacobs want to remove cars from the center of Balboa Park. The Save Our Heritage Organisation is opposed to parts of their plan, sued the city for the way it handled the project agreement and won. People on both sides of the issue discuss whether the suit and a possible loss in historic designation will set the project back.

A federal appeals court has declared California's same-sex marriage ban to be unconstitutional, paving the way for a likely U.S. Supreme Court showdown on the voter-approved law.

Scripps Chief Academic Officer, Dr. Eric Topol, outlines his theories of how technology is transforming medicine and how slowly the medical establishment is catching on.

Yul Kwon won the TV show "Survivor" and is now taking on a new adventure. He will uncover what makes America work and the people who keep it going on "America Revealed," which airs on PBS.

San Diego voters might have two pension reform ballot initiatives to choose between in June. Katie Orr, KPBS's metro reporter, explains the two plans.

City Attorney Jan Goldsmith said a hotel tax to fund the Convention Center expansion without a public vote is not necessarily legal. He said validation of its legality would take—at the minimum—one year.

Roberts will deliver the State of The County Address on Wednesday, February 8. We'll hear a preview and ask Roberts, who was elected to chair the board of supervisors last month, about regional development and what role if any the County will play in building a new Chargers stadium.

Panelists look at the large amounts of money swirling around local and national politics; the lack of it in East Village businesses during the Padres' off-season; and whether money caused the Pala Band of Indians to expel 154 tribal members.

A Marine accused of killing unarmed Iraqi women and children, who pleaded guilty to dereliction of duty on Monday, will not serve time behind bars, a judge ruled today. The sentencing ends the largest and longest-running criminal case against U.S. troops to emerge from the Iraq War.

A KPBS-Watchdog Institute investigation last year questioned the efficacy of the whooping cough vaccine after revealing the majority of people who got sick in San Diego County were immunized.

San Diego Police say they are responding to a growing number of people in psychiatric distress, some threatening to kill themselves.

A new poll shows California voters change their minds on public policy when they learn more about the issues.

San Diego County jails will see an influx of 2,000 additional convicted criminals over the next several months. Public safety officials say unless the state coughs up more cash, those inmates could end up on the street and not rehabilitated.

Federal lawmakers' failure to reach a debt ceiling compromise puts many San Diegans at financial risk. Read where your representative stands on the issue.

There are thousands of chronically absent kids in San Diego County schools who together cost their districts millions of dollars in state funding.

We all know that a part of our tax bill goes to pay for local schools. But when KPBS and the Watchdog Institute started to ask questions about how the money is actually distributed, we found out it's nearly impossible to follow the money trail.

San Diego Sheriff Bill Gore said he expects an influx of inmates into his jails over the next two years, but it will be a "disaster" unless they come with additional funds. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Monday California must reduce its state prison population by more than 30,000.

The U.S. Supreme Court upheld a ruling yesterday that could see thousands of California inmates released. At issue is whether prisons are so crowded that inmates don't have access to health care and mental health services.

Despite looming budget cuts to most schools, some SD districts in affluent neighborhoods receive extra funding. The state superintendent says he's been looking into the issue.

Some public schools in San Diego County receive millions of additional dollars in public funding. In fact, some school districts have seen their budgets increase in recent years while most others have laid off staff.

This half hour documentary explores the challenges kids growing up in poor neighborhoods face in school. Find out why some kids at Lincoln High aren't making it to class and how the school is reaching out to them.

"What’s an epidemic like this doing in a highly-vaccinated community?” That's what CDC investigators are asking at a national vaccine conference in Washington, D.C. this week.

Two homeless people have moved into apartments under a special program called "Project 25." The pilot project hopes to get people off the streets and save money in emergency services.

The Neil Good Day Center for the homeless downtown could still be closed, despite an apparent deal last week to restore funding.

Lincoln High was supposed be a beacon of hope for the community and a route to college for students. Four years after opening, what has Lincoln accomplished and where has it failed?

Brand new, multimillion-dollar Lincoln High School is struggling with attendance and academic achievement. School officials have learned it takes more than a new building to overcome hardships that keep kids out of class.

The city of San Diego is trying to clean up a financial mess involving millions of dollars in federal grant money.

Despite reporting a projected budget deficit of more than $46 million on Tuesday, San Diego has an unusual problem -- too much money in a federal bank account.

Hundreds of volunteers fanned out throughout San Diego County over the weekend to conduct a census of the homeless population.

Twenty five of the most needy and most costly homeless people in San Diego are getting a place to live. A $3 million project to get them off the streets is being funded by private and public agencies.

National City stands to lose $40 million in tax revenue if redevelopment agencies are phased out in California. Governor Jerry Brown’s budget proposed eliminating the economic development agencies. He would redirect the tax money into core government services.

A local mom says a new report labeling the study linking autism and vaccination as a hoax, won’t change her belief that her son’s condition was caused by injections.

A new law requires California middle-schoolers to get a whooping-cough vaccine this year.

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.

A KPBS and Watchdog Institute investigation into the whooping cough epidemic leads reporters to UCLA, Sacramento and The Netherlands. Find out what officials in California and the U.S. aren't saying about the epidemic.

California is experiencing a whooping cough epidemic, the worst in 60 years. Ten babies have died throughout the state and more than 7,000 people have become sick, nearly 1,000 in San Diego County alone. KPBS and the Watchdog Institute at SDSU have spent the last four months investigating this epidemic and two of the reporters, Joanne Faryon and Kevin Crowe discuss some of their findings.

On this special edition of San Diego Week we bring you some of our most memorable stories from earlier this year. First, the true costs and benefits of illegal immigration, then you'll hear about a gang problem in San Diego's North County, we'll tell you why California's prisons are so crowded and so costly, and why honey bees are disappearing. You'll also hear about one family's journey from an Iraqi refugee camp to a home in El Cajon.

Californians rejected legalizing marijuana yesterday, as Proposition 19 was easily defeated at the polls.

A San Diego newborn baby has died from whooping cough. The child was the 10th infant to die from the disease this year in California. This is now the worst whooping cough epidemic in 60 years.

California could become the first state in the nation to legalize marijuana under Proposition 19 - a ballot initiative that would regulate and tax pot just like alcohol. The marijuana industry is estimated to be worth $14 billion in California, making it the largest cash crop in the state. The prospect of legalizing pot and commercializing its sale, has many believing the Golden State could find its way out of an economic slump as the marijuana state. KPBS takes a look at who stands to lose and who stands to gain if Proposition 19 passes.

Elected officials in San Diego are either opposed to Proposition 19 or don’t want to make their position public, according to the results of a KPBS survey. Find out where they stand.

Beginning next year, all California students 10 years old and up will need a whooping cough booster before starting school. The legislature passed the booster law in the midst of California’s worst whooping cough epidemic in 55 years.

The prospect of legalizing California's $14 billion marijuana industry has many believing the Golden State could find its way out of an economic slump as the marijuana state. Find out who stands to win and lose if the underground pot business goes above-ground.

California voters will be asked whether they want marijuana legalized on November 2. The outcome could have longer-lasting and further-reaching affects than anything else you’ll be asked to vote on this November, including choosing a new governor and deciding who you’ll send to the Senate.

A ninth infant has died from whooping cough in California. The number of people getting sick with whooping cough is also increasing weekly here in San Diego County.

The San Diego County Board of Supervisors say they don't support Proposition 19, a ballot initiative that would legalize marijuana.

A KPBS investigation has found that nearly two out of three people diagnosed with whooping cough in San Diego County this year were fully immunized. California is in the midst of the worst whooping cough epidemic in 50 years. The numbers raise questions about how well the vaccine works.

A KPBS investigation has raised questions about how effective the whooping cough vaccine is in preventing people from getting sick. Nearly two out of three people diagnosed with whooping cough in San Diego County this year, were fully immunized.