Kori Suzuki
South Bay and Imperial Valley ReporterKori Suzuki covers South San Diego County and the Imperial Valley for KPBS. He reports on the decisions of local government officials with a particular focus on environmental issues, housing affordability, and race and identity. He is especially drawn to stories that show how we are all complicated and multidimensional.
Kori first joined KPBS in 2023 as part of the inaugural California Local News Fellowship and was hired as a staff reporter in 2025. Previously, he worked as an associate producer for Reveal and as a visual journalist at The Seattle Times and KQED. Before that, he worked for The Washington Post’s audio team, the weekly environmental public radio Living on Earth, and KALW. As an editor at his college newspaper in St. Paul, Minnesota, he helped lead a team covering the murder of George Floyd and the yearlong Black Lives Matter uprising that followed.
He has a master’s degree in journalism from UC Berkeley and bachelor’s degrees in environmental studies and media studies from Macalester College. He is a member of Diversify Photo.
Kori was born and raised in Berkeley and Richmond in Northern California, across the bay from San Francisco. He is a proud, fourth-generation Japanese American and loves foggy mornings and cooking with the radio on.
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Kim Phillips-Pea of the Southeast Art Team has been restoring public art throughout southeastern San Diego for five years. -
This month, ICE officials said Luis Beltrán Yañez-Cruz and Huabing Xie both suffered sudden heart complications. -
State Sen. Steve Padilla criticized county oversight of the project. County supervisors said they were “committed to transparency and collaboration.” -
Controlled Thermal Resources, one of the three energy firms chasing lithium around the Salton Sea, is shifting its focus to generating power for the booming artificial intelligence industry. -
Jessica Sanchez seemed born to be a star. At 10, she took the leap from singing in her local Filipino grocery store, Seafood City, in San Diego onto the very first season of "America's Got Talent" — at 16, onto "American Idol." But as quickly as she rose, everything began to unravel. -
The facility would use an immense amount of energy, and its developers have openly sought to avoid California’s formidable environmental review process.
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Two techies launched the app in 2021 to fill a glaring information gap. Watch Duty centralizes fire and evacuation updates from various agencies, as paid staff reporters and an army of volunteers provide real-time updates based on radio traffic. -
In a corner of San Diego often overlooked, three childhood friends found purpose in graffiti art. What began as a creative path away from gang life eventually drew attention from law enforcement and changed the course of their lives in unexpected ways. -
Eighty years ago next month, a rock 'n' roll legend was born: Rosie Hamlin, an icon to the Chicano community. She got her start right here in National City.
- Encinitas to remove protected bike lane in front of San Dieguito Academy
- How a San Diego community partnered with law enforcement to defeat a street gang
- Encinitas joins San Diego city, county in closing Section 8 waitlists
- College students, professors are making their own AI rules. They don't always agree
- New parking fees now in effect in Balboa Park