Bookstores are disappearing, leaving book lovers with fewer chances to meet the authors they love. Milane Christiansen, seasoned San Diego bookseller, has joined with Chino Farms to provide onsite book signings. This Sunday, Chino's will host Los Angeles restauranteur and cookbook author Nancy Silverton, co-owner of Pizzeria Mozza.

On the Roundtable today, we look at the city pension reform initiative, the proposed plans for Navy Pier and the many difficulties facing young veterans.

The city of San Diego took out a $100 million loan in 2009 to spend on street repairs and other improvements, but the pothole and paving problems are still around.

Occupy San Diego, medical marijuana shops ordered to close, Tijuana gets new police chief.

Former San Diego Mayor Dick Murphy has now adopted Murphy's law as one of the key explanations of his time in office.

We ask why funding for roadside call boxes has nearly doubled in the past 10 years and if anyone is using them.

Reporters and editors analyze the rise in poverty rates in San Diego County; the end of Don't Ask, Don't Twll for the U.S. Military; and the chargers new stadium idea.

The authors of "Paradise Plundered" tell us about San Diego's failures of governance.

An immigration audit of employees at Escondido Disposal,Inc., found that a quarter of the Edco workforce did not have proper documentation; a major ruling in a legal battle over religious classroom banners in a Rancho Penasquitos high school; and fallout including lawsuits and damage claims, from the recent blackout.

For the last few years, the suicide rate among US Marines has been a concern for military leaders. In fact, suicide rates for members of the armed forces in general have been on the rise since 2004.

Power updates and your stories about San Diego's Big Blackout. We hear from listeners with stories about the blackout and questions about the power outage.

In the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks, firefighters and first responders from San Diego and all across the country joined in solidarity with the forces in New York and Washington. That solidarity continues during 10th anniversary remembrances when the drums and pipes of the San Diego Firefighters Emerald Society will be heard aboard the USS Midway and a memorial to the first responders who died on 9/11 will be unveiled at Fire Station 21 in Pacific Beach.

City worker Tommy Salazar, who has taken care of Ski Beach in Mission Bay for 19 years, exemplifies how blue-collar workers are caught up in the debate over pensions for government workers.

Federal cuts to USDA hunger-relief programs could be devastating to the San Diego Food Bank and the people it serves, say officials.

There are several reforms to the process of getting an initiative on the ballot being considered by state legislators. As the legislative session ends, we look at why ths is happening and who's behind the reforms.

The number and frequency of state ballot initiatives is becoming a issue among some politicians in Sacramento. There are several initiative reforms being considered by state legislators.

The tenth anniversary of 9/11 is about two weeks away. County officials, warning that the date could trigger some strong emotions which could lead to some dangerous actions, have listed eight things to watch for.

On Wednesday, the San Diego City Council approved new political boundaries for city council districts and added a 9th district. The year-long effort by the Redistricting Commission has changed boundaries and created winners and losers.

This week, Will Carless of Voiceofsandiego,org wrote about the San Diego Housing Commission's "Trojan Horse." The report begins with the Commission's plan to deal with the foreclosure crisis by buying foreclosed properties and making them into affordable homes for needy San Diegans.

A group of community organizations has tried to calculate the cost of foreclosures to San Diego. They've recently released a report, and they are advocating for a new ordinance to protect property values.

Escondido Proposes Bridge To Ethnic Minorities

Roundtable: Friday August 19, 2011

Voters To Decide Oceanside Rent Control Measure.

Executive Director David Kahn is leaving the San Diego History Center in Balboa Park after three years. He's being praised for the professional expertise he brought to the job, his fund raising abilities and for renewed interest in the venerable Historical Society. But his tenure also saw the worst of the recession, and tight budgets.

A new book points budget-cutting lawmakers right to the US Defense Department. Author Stephen Glain, who has traveled the world as a journalist, gives the Department of Defense failing grades for the way it's been spending a trillion of our dollars every year.

The violent and destructive riots in London this month are bewildering to many. But Pat Finn has a rude idea about one cause.

Los Angeles City Council has voted to support a new, privately financed NFL stadium. What do they have that San Diego doesn't?

The San Diego mayor's race is off and running. It's interesting to see who is leading out of the starting gate and who has raised the most money.

When we send our children to school, we want to know they're safe, which is why it's worth paying attention to whether school buildings are ready for a possible earthquake.

Some people say at-large elections make it more difficult to elect members of racial minority groups to boards. And this issue is coming home to roost in Vista. Today we bring you a look at the news of North San Diego County. And we start by talking about the Vista School Board.

The racial and ethnic demographics of San Diego county have changed dramatically but the look of the county board has not. It's still comprised of five white Republicans. Can this be affected by drawing new political boundaries that give more power to minority voters? That's the question at hand.

President Obama signed a bill on Tuesday that allows borrowing to continue and allows the nation's debt to increase. Today we look at the local political and economic fallout.

Most San Diegans will remember the picket lines outside major grocery chains back in 2004. This time around, union workers have been without a contract since March, and they say time is running out for negotiations.

It's estimated that more than 10-percent of Americans suffer from migraine headaches. A brief survey of the KPBS newsroom came up with at least five chronic migraine sufferers.

San Diego it has to give up $70 million dollars in redevelopment funds this year, and 16 million in subsequent years to the state budget. Cities have filed suit, calling the move unconstitutional. A lot of redevelopment projects, from fixing roads to funding economic development projects, to paying for sports stadiums, are in jeopardy.

We're back to square one in the game of hopscotch that is the medical marijuana business in San Diego. Medical marijuana advocates didn't like the city's regulations, and they got enough signatures to put a measure on the ballot to challenge it at the polls. So now what??

Borrowing by the federal government has become so rampant the debt ceiling must be raised if Washington is going to pay the bills, especially if tax increases are off the table. How are our local repressentatives bearing under the pressure?

What is the sound of a jaw dropping? Pat Finn visited the super-plush Cinepolis luxury cinemas in Carmel Valley and was impressed -- with one large a caveat.

A San Diego pharmaceutical firm has developed and is now offering a new drug for a persistent and potentially deadly bacterium that affects people in hospitals and nursing homes.

It's not unusual for the Navy to experience problems and glitches with new ships and weapons systems. But it's not often that a new vessel will actually start to dissolve in less than a year.

Why, for God's sake, is the City of Escondido being threatened with legal action by the ACLU? The problem is the moment of "reflection" that has been instituted at the beginning of council meetings.

One of these days, if proposed political maps hold up, some San Diegans will hear the alarm go off and wake up in a different City Council District, perhaps one that has never existed before.

in San Diego, affordable housing units are about twice as expensive to build as homes that go for market rates, due to a complex mix of political and business agendas that conspire to drive up expenses and cost taxpayers millions.

is it possible to discriminate against the dominant religion and religious ideology in a society? Some people say yes, and there's been a controversy in North County's San Dieguito Union High School District about an alleged anti-Christian bias.

Anyone who has spent time in Balboa Park would have to agree that a plan to remove the cars from the Plaza de Panama is a great idea. The matter comes before city council for a vote next week so now is a good time to review the issues.

What's going on in Washington DC may be political posturing - aimed at gaining the advantage in next year's election - but it could have an immediate effect right here in our community.

The biggest high school district in San Diego County, the Sweetwater district in the South Bay, is in the midst of damage control right now, led by a new superintendent.

The avocado harvest in Southern California is about half what it was last year. And that may be just as well for farmers, who are finding it increasingly difficult to find enough labor to pick the fruit from the trees.

The dust is still settling after the California budget passed last week. And one of the questions on a lot of peoples' minds is how redevelopment projects will be affected. Redevelopment money - the property tax increment that local governments can keep for building projects in their own communities - has been a major driver of economic growth.

Immigration reform is stalled, but in the meantime, the immigration picture is changing. Fewer immigrants are choosing to cross the US-Mexican border than are leaving.