Amita Sharma
Investigative ReporterAs the public matters investigative reporter, Amita leads KPBS’ coverage on efforts to undermine democracy, including threats to public officials, bolstering the Big Lie, chipping away at voter’s rights, attempts to overturn election results, eroding institutions and weakening the government's capacity to do its job, as well as civic efforts to engage people with opposing views without rancor.
The goal of the position is to report on the stakes, from a San Diego County perspective, on the United States’ current political moment.
She has spent the last two years reporting on local threats to democracy, including regional extremism, the shrinking of local news coverage while the number of hyper partisan “news” websites grow, censorship at libraries and incivility at public meetings.
Her previous coverage includes: exposing abuses in local nursing homes at the height of the pandemic, including a serial rapist who had worked in several El Cajon facilities and was arrested following her reporting; unearthing a contract between the city of Chula Vista and Motorola that allowed the company to sell data collected by the Chula Vista Police Department; and reporting on discrimination and retaliation in the San Diego County Public Defender’s Office that led to court settlements and the retirement of the Public Defender.
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Raucous meetings since the pandemic prompted the San Diego County Board of Supervisors to institute a change in rules governing public comments. But a local watchdog group is suing the county, alleging the modifications violate free speech rights. -
Democratic Congressman Scott Peters from the 50th District joined KPBS to talk about the race. -
Researchers found women elected officials in San Diego and neighboring Imperial and Riverside counties were four times more likely to be threatened weekly than men. White male conservative politicians are also reporting that threats are getting worse. -
Name-calling, mockery, outbursts and expletive-filled tirades are now standard fare at the San Diego County Board of Supervisors’ meetings, sinking the mood and obstructing the public’s business -
Bill Nye the Science Guy once said, “To leave the world better than you found it, sometimes you have to pick up other people’s trash.” A local retired science teacher started a volunteer program doing just that — cleaning up others’ litter. -
Pink slime is a derisive term used to describe the filler meat producers put in their products. It’s also used to describe websites that purport to produce unbiased news but actually have a partisan agenda.
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The legal dispute over police drone footage stems from a lawsuit filed by Arturo Castanares, publisher of La Prensa San Diego. -
KPBS Midday EditionAn investigation by CapRadio and NPR's California Newsroom has found that Gov. Newsom overstated, by an astounding 690%, the number of acres treated with fuel breaks and prescribed burns in forestry projects aimed at protecting the state’s most vulnerable communities. -
This is a breaking news blog for all of the latest updates on the conviction of former Minneapolis police Officer Derek Chauvin on murder and manslaughter charges in the death of George Floyd.
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