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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Next month, thousands of San Diegans suffering from an array of debilitating conditions -- from blindness to mental impairment -- will lose help in bathing themselves, cooking or taking their medication. Governor Schwarzenegger cut In Home Supportive Services to deal with the state's budget crisis. -
Thousands of disabled, blind and elderly people in San Diego County will no longer have help to cook their meals, bathe, change their sheets or take their medicine. Gov. Schwarzenegger cut In-Home Supportive Services to help resolve the state budget crisis. But in slashing the program he also alleged massive fraud.
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The expected decision today by regulators on whether to approve SDG&E's shut-off plan for the backcountry during high fire danger deals with the future. But both sides are in talks on the role SDG&E's power lines played in fires of the past.
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The city of San Diego may not be adhering to California rules when it comes to being transparent about complaints against its employees.
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Two former San Diego City Councilmen appeared before an appeals court today. Former Councilmen Ralph Inzunza and Michael Zucchet appealed their cases to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.
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Fuming San Diego State University students railed against deep budget cuts in a protest that drew hundreds to the campus. The university is grappling with a $35 million reduction.
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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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