The consumer advocacy group UCAN announced this week it will have a new executive director: Kim Malcolm, a former chief of staff and administrative law judge at the California Public Utilities Commission.

The four candidates for San Diego City Council District 1 are making that election one of the most competitive this year.

The race for the San Diego City Council District 7 seat will put a brand new face on the council. We'll meet some of the candidates.

The two candidates for San Diego City Council's brand new district, District 9, said increasing funding for police presence and infrastructure will be among their top priorities if elected.

The San Diego County Water Authority wants to raise water rates by nearly 10 percent. The water authority blames the higher cost of water from its main supplier, the Metropolitan Water District, as one of the reasons for the proposed increase.

A letter to the city of San Diego from the National Park Service says the plan to remove cars from the center of Balboa Park could put the park's designation as a national historical landmark at risk. But supporters of the Plaza de Panama plan say the letter is nothing more than a scare tactic.

Gov. Brown's latest budget plan for the fiscal year that begins July 1 proposes $8.3 billion in spending cuts to close a revised deficit of $15.7 billion deficit, an amount equal to 17 percent of the state's entire general fund.

City Councilman and mayoral candidate Carl DeMaio answers questions on his stance on same-sex marriage, the Convention Center expansion and his rivalry with the other candidates.

Congressman Bob Filner says he's not concerned by the latest mayoral polls, although they show him tied for second place. He also explains why he thinks Proposition B is unfair to city employees.

Five years ago, state Assemblyman and mayoral candidate Nathan Fletcher signed Grover Norquist's "Taxpayer Protection Pledge," promising to vote against all efforts to increase taxes. But Fletcher told KPBS that he would no longer sign that pledge today.

District Attorney and mayoral candidate Bonnie Dumanis says when she retires, she stands to earn just under a $200,000 pension. But she also supports Proposition B, which would put an end to pensions for new city employees and give them 401(k)-style plans instead.

California's Proposition 8 legal battle is working its way through the appeal process. But supporters of same-sex marriage say the president's support adds authority to their cause.

San Diego political races are entering the final stretch -- absentee ballots were mailed out on Monday and the primary vote takes place on June 5th. San Diego Registrar of Voters, Deborah Seiler gives us a primer on what the open primary, also called the top-primary, means for your ballot.

Melanoma detection month begins, but staying out of the sun is not a guarantee against this dangerous skin cancer.

Just in time for Mother's Day, we'll debunk some myths about pregnancy after age 35. Author and Professor Jean Twenge says it's not as risky as you might think.

The Government says the discovery of one California cow with mad cow disease proves the food safety system works.

San Diego state Senator Christine Kehoe escorts a bill through committees that would allow nurse practitioners, midwives and physicians assistants to perform abortions.

There was a time when a kid played soccer on whatever youth team he or she was assigned to, and then went on to play on the local high school team. But times have changed, and now parents want their teenagers on time-consuming and expensive club sports. The goal? College athletic scholarships.

Navy Secretary Ray Mabus recently decided to order separation procedures for two Marines who admitted to lying about the 2005 shooting deaths of 24 Iraqi civilians in Haditha.

KPBS hosted the first televised debate on Thursday among the four major candidates vying to be the next mayor of San Diego.

The 14th Dalai Lama said building compassion is the key to alleviating suffering, especially in today's challenging times, in an exclusive interview with KPBS.

Despite a sharp decline in teens getting their drivers licenses nationwide, car accidents are still the leading cause of death for 16-to-19 year olds.

The headline this week was that water rates are probably going up again in San Diego. The LA-based Metropolitan Water District voted to raise water rates by 5 percent in 2013 and another 5 percent in 2014. The story behind the headline is that this vote is another chapter in the ongoing water war between Metropolitan and the San Diego County Water Authority.

Turmoil at the top at the San Diego Convention Center after the San Diego City Council switched sales and marketing duties to the private tourism industry group ConVis.

Organizers say the effort to find permanent housing for the most desperate of San Diego's chronically homeless is working. We hear about the first year of Project 25, what's been learned and how the program might expand.

Both public and private construction of several science and biotech facilities is under way in San Diego. We'll examine this welcome news for our economy.

It's now six months since people started camping out on New York's Wall Street, generating a movement that spread clear across the country to San Diego.

Chris Van Gorder, Scripps' president and CEO, said he is in favor of an individual mandate that each person have health insurance because he believes the system needs everyone to have health insurance.

A ten-acre power generation plant with 100-foot-tall stacks is proposed near the Sycamore Canyon landfill site, just west of Santee. Nearby residents are protesting, but SDG&E says we need it to fill peak demand. Listen to KPBS Midday Edition today at noon for details.

A celebrated San Diego photojournalist has a new book with the words, drawings and pictures of kids caught up in the juvenile-justice system. After spending 18 months with kids in San Diego juvenile-detention centers, Susan Lankford will join us to share her insights.

Sunshine laws are aimed at making government open and transparent to the public. We'll speak to three of San Diego's most ardent activists about life as a civic watchdog.

The three major candidates for the newly redrawn 52nd Congressional District joined in a debate held at KPBS Television studios on Wednesday.

The three major candidates for the newly redrawn 52nd Congressional District will join in a debate held at KPBS Television studios on Wednesday at noon.

During his first news conference of the year, President Obama today defended his choice not to use military intervention in Iran and Syria. Local experts responded to that announcement.

How bad has drug war violence been in Mexico? A new report says 50,000 people murdered in the last five years. The report from the University of San Diego assesses the death toll of drug cartel violence in Mexico. Researchers have pinpointed where the most deaths have occurred and trace the root causes of the violence.

State Attorney General Kamala Harris released a package of bills Wednesday called the “Homeowner Bill of Rights.” These bills are designed to protect homeowners caught up in the mortgage and foreclosure crisis.

San Diego's Utility Consumers Action Network — UCAN — is reeling from allegations of misconduct by board members resulting in a Grand Jury investigation.

The annual Writers Symposium by The Sea at Point Loma Nazarene University is underway. We'll hear from Pulitzer Prize winning reporter and author Chris Hedges.

California's Developmental Centers are supposed to be safe havens for the severely disabled. But an investigation has found a pattern of patients being neglected, abused and even dying.

Prison realignment is shrinking the inmate population at Donovan State Prison in San Diego. The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation sent out thousands of lay off warnings last fall, we'll find out how many of the staff at Donovan are at risk of losing their job and how that will affect programs and safety at the Prison.

A Riverside man starts a chain of hope for people desperate for kidney transplants. There's increased interest in altruistic organ donation - living donors giving a gift of life. We'll hear why Rick Ruzzamenti wanted to donate his kidney to a stranger and more about organ donation.

A consumer group claims that if If San Diego Gas & Electric gets its way, customers could be paying several hundred dollars more a year for electricity.

It turns out that it isn't just foreclosure that puts some struggling San Diegans at risk of losing their property.

The Network for a Healthy California and Black Girls Run are teaming up to encourage African-American women to make fitness and healthy living a priority.

Heather Peters made national headlines earlier this month when she won a $9,867 settlement against Honda America in a Los Angeles small claims court. Today, she asked a San Diego judge to request time to investigate before settling five additional class action lawsuits.

San Diego real estate experts explained how the national mortgage settlement will affect homeowners whose homes were foreclosed on or who are underwater.

San Diego's African-American community joins a nationwide effort this week to reduce the infection rate for HIV and AIDS. We'll speak to two local activists who have found their calling in taking the message of prevention and protection from HIV/AIDS to the community.

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.

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.