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Mailers from political parties asking for your opinion are often just thinly disguised attempts at fundraising. But some recent "surveys" may have gone over the line in partisan political distortion. KPBS Political correspondent Gloria Penner talks with a real pollster to find out more about these fundraising techniques.

A new study finds more educators are taking out their wallets to pay for classroom supplies and materials for their students. KPBS Reporter Ana Tintocalis has more.

Private employers added new workers at a weak pace for the third straight month, underscoring the picture of a labor market still struggling to emerge from recession. The Labor Department said companies added just 71,000 jobs in July, while the economy lost 131,000 jobs overall. The unemployment rate remained at 9.5 percent.

Drink beer, build sculptures and go see Mavis Staples this weekend. Culture Lust has a long list of lustable events for you to choose from this first November weekend.

Smart phones and their expanding array of functions are becoming more indispensable all the time. The devices are more immune to viruses than traditional computers, but users still need to be careful to protect the wealth of data the phones contain.

Americans have given $25 million so far to help victims of Pakistan's flood disaster -- far less than the U.S. donations made in the immediate aftermath of other major disasters. Experts cite the relative lack of news coverage, attitudes toward Pakistan and the nature of the disaster itself.

The San Diego Unified School District faces a budget hole of $120 million for 2011-12 academic year. The school board is considering two scenarios. If voters support a proposal to extend state tax increases, the debt could be cut in half. If not, as many as 500 teachers could be laid off. We discuss how the uncertainty is affecting the district.

Medicated Blogging

A joint inquiry by NPR's Planet Money and Investigations teams found that more than $1 billion of unused dollar coins are the wasteful byproducts of another failed congressional effort to replace the dollar bill in everyday commerce.

Politicians in Washington hardly let a few minutes go by without mentioning how broke the government is. So, it's a little surprising that they've created a stash of more than $1 billion that almost no one wants.