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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KPBS Midday EditionIn recent years, residents at Avocado Post Acute provided its residents with far less care from registered nurses than regulators expected while reporting millions in yearly profits, according to a KPBS analysis of its finances. -
KPBS Midday EditionAvocado Post Acute nursing home in El Cajon has, in recent years, a large number of complaints to state and federal agencies alleging that the facility routinely falls short in its responsibility to care for residents. -
The video, produced three decades ago, shows a bobbing Hitler and Nazi symbols along with a photo of a young Krvaric, who is now the chairman of the San Diego County Republican Party. -
KPBS Midday EditionWhile more coronavirus relief for small businesses is likely in store as Congress works on another round of loans under the Paycheck Protection Program, some storefronts in underserved communities south of I-8 couldn’t get any money during the last round. -
KPBS Midday EditionA social network called Stitch has filled a void for people who normally led active lives but have had to stay put because of the coronavirus. -
A former San Diego County sheriff's deputy who fatally shot a fleeing detainee outside the downtown San Diego jail pleaded not guilty Tuesday to a second-degree murder charge.
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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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