Meet the Team

Dara Joan Dela Cruz

Accounting & Finance Assistant

Dara Joan Dela Cruz formerly worked in the KPBS newsroom as an assistant and call screener for Friday's Midday Edition. Dara attends San Diego State University where she plans to graduate with a business degree in accounting. She is a current member of the University Honors Program, which has encouraged her to also pursue a minor in interdisciplinary studies. After graduation, she later hopes to obtain an MBA, become a certified public accountant, and eventually manage her own firm. Before coming to San Diego, Dara lived in the Silicon Valley, where she grew up and graduated from Saint Francis High School in Mountain View, California. In her spare time, Dara likes to explore the city, watch films, and play the flute, as she is also a member of the university's wind symphony.

RECENT STORIES ON KPBS

Public Safety

EPA head and Mexican government sign agreement to end Tijuana sewage flows

City News Service

Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin met Thursday with the Mexican government's environmental head to sign an agreement to end the flow of sewage into the Tijuana River.
National

Chuck Mangione, whose jazz horn warmed up the pop charts, has died

Jeff Lunden

With his beard, long hair and brown felt fedora, the jazz flugelhorn player and composer cut an unforgettable figure in American culture.
International

European countries hold talks with Iran in Istanbul, with a sanctions threat looming

Jackie Northam

Germany, France and the United Kingdom hold talks with Iran in Istanbul Friday, just days after the three European nations warned they would reimpose stiff sanctions on Tehran.
Public Safety

Court blocks ammunition background checks in new blow to California’s gun control framework

Nigel Duara

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals struck down California’s first-in-the-nation law requiring background checks for ammunition purchases, another blow to the state’s gun control framework that has been pared down, case by case, since the U.S. Supreme Court dramatically expanded gun rights in a monumental 2022 decision.
Politics

Trump administration approves sale of CBS parent company Paramount after concessions

David Folkenflik

The Federal Communications Commission approved the sale of Paramount Global after the buyer made pledges to showcase a diversity of viewpoints and root out alleged bias in CBS' news coverage.
Abbott Elementary Block Party | San Diego Comic-Con 2025

As far as we can tell, there is no line dancing to Wild Wild West, but you can still check out the Abbott Elementary Block Party taking place at San Diego Comic-Con in 2025. Check out some of the games and fun, including a giant ferris wheel, that fans can experience in celebration of the acclaimed hit series on ABC.