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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Nationally, the cost of food has gone up by 25% since the pandemic. After her rent went up by nearly $300 a month, one El Cajon resident says she's eating just twice a day. -
Nexstar Media Group is in the process of acquiring a third TV station in San Diego. If the deal goes through, critics say it could lead to fewer diverse voices and a conservative tilt in news coverage. -
Imran Ahmed, CEO and founder of the Center for Countering Digital Hate, is lobbying for tech companies to release data on how their algorithms and content enforcement work. He also urges people to put down their devices and "touch grass." -
Three local voters — a Democrat, Republican and Independent — agreed they would not work with people who wish harm on others. -
John Porten, former director of research at USD's Joan Kroc Institute for Peace and Justice, says grassroots work on issues such as homelessness, hunger and dirty beaches can strengthen community bonds and make Americans less susceptible to outside forces determined to further divide the country. -
While patriots fought against the British in the American Revolution 250 years ago on the East Coast, people in the San Diego region were on a parallel track of new beginnings and their own rebellion.
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County requiring employees of grocery stores and many other retail outlets to wear masks as of midnight Friday. That’s a tall order, says the California Grocers Association.
- San Diego prepares to lower speed limits on more than 20% of roadway network
- The Coronado Terrible Orchestra is where adults 'have space to be bad at things'
- ICE agents deny US Senator, San Diego County supervisors access to Otay Mesa immigrant detention center
- North County Transit District beset by surging fare evasion, faces dwindling revenues
- Ex-nonprofit COO charged with embezzling more than $130K in public funds