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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The Port of San Diego’s budget is $151 million. About $86 million of its operating revenue comes from real estate waterfront leases each year. Most of the port’s remaining revenue – about $40 million – comes from Marine Operations. This division manages the Tenth Avenue, National City and Cruise Ship terminals.
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To environmentalists, the $12 million in federal energy stimulus money headed to San Diego was supposed to be the dawn of their day in the sun. But they say Mayor Jerry Sanders has kept them in the dark by shutting them out of the planning on how best to spend the money.
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Chula Vista Port Commissioner Michael Najera is likely to find out tonight whether he has the confidence of the city he represents. That's when the Chula Vista City Council is scheduled to talk about whether Najera should keep his job.
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FBI agents are looking into whether a letter written on behalf of Bill Clinton's former military adviser was doctored. This week, a federal judge sentenced Wade Sanders to 37 months in prison for possession of child porn. KPBS Reporter Amita Sharma has details.
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The movement of goods through the port of San Diego via ships, trucks and trains spews about 256 million pounds of greenhouse gases each year. Many of the city's poorest people live near the port's 10th Avenue Marine Terminal in Barrio Logan and they say the bad air is making them sick. Their complaints have spurred little action until recently. KPBS Reporter Amita Sharma has more.
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The battle over the right to own guns is turning into a movement to wear them -- openly. And the local campaign is playing out at San Diego beaches, malls and restaurants. KPBS Reporter Amita Sharma
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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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