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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Details of an inquiry last year into the operation of the YMCA of San Diego County found no illegal conduct at the organization. But the exit of a key executive may indicate the YMCA’s troubles remain. -
One fewer Republican to compete against helps, but a political analyst says the party must rally around just one candidate in order to make it into the fall runoff. -
KPBS Midday EditionThe judge, who once allowed secret settlement talks and kept out evidence in a case over the 2007 wildfires, will likely hear arguments asking the California Public Utilities Commission to overturn the $4.7 billion San Onofre nuclear plant shutdown settlement. -
KPBS Midday EditionLee Burdick's book, "Bob Filner's Monster: The Unraveling of an American Mayor and What We Can Learn From It," is an insider's account of the sexual harassment scandal that brought down San Diego's mayor. -
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission never fined San Onofre plant operator Southern California Edison for failing to disclose it knew in 2006 that the steam generators it installed could have potential flaws.
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This month marks the fourth anniversary since the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station leaked radiation, leading to the plant's premature shutdown. So far, Southern California Edison has mostly escaped accountability for that incident despite revelations that the company knew the equipment was flawed before it was installed.
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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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- Community reacts after school board member comes out as transgender
- SCUBA divers volunteer at San Diego's Birch Aquarium
- San Diego City Council approves parking fees in Balboa Park
- San Diego Unified is getting rid of some K-8 middle schools