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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How have power outages in the Imperial Valley affected you and your family? What have you done to get through them? What do you want to see change about your energy access? -
A growing number of state and local officials are backing a bill to end a long-running tax break for the immigration detention facility, which was revealed by a KPBS investigation earlier this year. -
Generations of people from the Philippines have enlisted in the military seeking work and stability and ended up in San Diego. -
Thousands of miles from homes, folks in the Filipino diaspora have formed regional associations to maintain cultural and Catholic roots. -
For the Filipino diaspora, food is a strong tether to their homeland and their identity. But for decades, traditional fruits and vegetables from the Philippines were hard to come by. -
Eighty years after the Treaty of Manila, San Diego is home to one of the largest Filipino communities in the nation.
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Three people at the center were killed in a shooting Monday afternoon. Police said they found two teenage suspects dead from self-inflicted gunshot wounds in a vehicle nearby. -
The largest rally and march took place in downtown San Diego at Waterfront Park next to the County Administration Center. It was one of more than 20 protests held across the county. -
Life changed in an instant one morning in February for the Olivo family. Their father and brother were arrested by ICE agents. The following weeks were filled with fear, confusion and anger.
- How 2 old military bases became San Diego's largest university
- Minnesota is pulling troops early from D.C., as pressure grows on Michigan
- Encanto Street Fair returns as Encanto Block Party Music Festival in San Diego
- Online art shop Local Brown Baby opens first brick-and-mortar store in Barrio Logan
- California Coastal Commission OKs Carlsbad’s request to limit land uses near McClellan-Palomar Airport