NEW: Two prominent South Bay mayors are heading into a runoff election that will decide whether Democrats or Republicans take control of the San Diego County Board of Supervisors this year. KPBS sat down with both of them. @kpbssandiego.bsky.social www.kpbs.org/news/politic...

BREAKING: U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents made arrests Friday afternoon at Buona Forchetta, an Italian restaurant in the South Park neighborhood of San Diego. Reporting by my colleague Lara McCaffrey. www.kpbs.org/news/border-...

'“When I hear people ask if they should flee to some other country, some faraway land, I want to shake them. You want an escape plan? To where?” Ressa said to me recently. “If the United States of America falls, it’s the ball game.”' www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archiv...

New: Emails I obtained show federal immigration officials are considering deploying controversial buoy barriers on three rivers and canals along the U.S.-Mexico border in California and Arizona. @kpbssandiego.bsky.social www.kpbs.org/news/border-...

A Gaza paramedic for the Palestine Red Crescent Society who has been missing since Israeli forces ambushed a group of ambulances and other aid vehicles in late March is in Israeli custody, the Red Crescent and the International Committee of the Red Cross said on Sunday.

NEW: California is considering listing the burrowing owl as an endangered species. That's a decision that could have big implications for Imperial County, which has become a last refuge for the species. @kpbssandiego.bsky.social www.kpbs.org/news/environ...

NEW: KPBS is now projecting that the race for San Diego County's District 1 seat is headed to a runoff between the Democratic mayor of Imperial Beach, Paloma Aguirre, and the Republican mayor of Chula Vista, John McCann. You can read more about the results here: www.kpbs.org/news/politic...

NEW: Yesterday, the Justice Department sent armed marshals to warn former U.S. pardon attorney Liz Oyer not to disclose internal DOJ information during her Senate testimony. Today, Oyer is speaking out to condemn the DOJ’s actions and defend the rule of law.

If you live in the South Bay, odds are you’ve been getting a lot of campaign postcards or political texts this month. That’s because money from outside groups – more than $2 million so far – is flooding the special election for San Diego County supervisor. My latest: www.kpbs.org/news/politic...

Hey Bluesky! I've been away for a bit but hoping to be back in action and a little more active going forward.

Over the past year, tracing the path of the Columbia from the Similkameen River in British Columbia to the Owyhee in Duck Valley, communities shared their stories about this new mining boom and its complex balance of influences. ✍️ @isabellabreda.bsky.social www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news...

WA state is in many ways a leader in efforts to combat the climate emergency. For the earth to run on power from solar, wind, with battery storage & electric vehicles by 2050, humanity would need a lot more mining. Today we published a ‘New Mining Boom’ photo page, linking the series’ stories.

You probably have to view full-screen to see what is happening here-- baby great horned owl is watching his upstairs neighbor, the starling, who is watching the baby owl. Just incredible to witness! 🪶

NEW: The federal hiring freeze has left a vital Bay Area aviation weather unit with just one meteorologist, risking flight delays/disruptions. The unit oversees a vast airspace, ensuring the safe landing of over a million flights yearly. I reported a radio story on this today for @kqednews.kqed.org

✈️🌧️I got a tip Wednesday night that the federal hiring freeze affects the meteorologists who help air traffic controllers with weather reports for flights in and out of the Bay Area. They are down to 1 meteorologist & can't rehire the three vacancies. @kqednews.kqed.org www.kqed.org/news/1203333...

As Trump attempts a flurry of executive actions, attorneys general are pushing back — and successfully getting some policies temporarily blocked. For @19thnews.org, fmr. Oregon AG Ellen Rosenblum told me that months of prep that went into state AGs meeting this moment. 19thnews.org/2025/01/stat...

Really proud of this one! It's a story about how a neighborhood and the folks who grew up there have changed over time, told through one brick wall. Always really nice to get to make some pictures too. My latest, with video by Charlotte Radulovich: www.kpbs.org/news/arts-cu...

This guy looks more like Weird Al Yankovic than anyone else in Fresno 😭 The reporting we all need by @omarsrashad.bsky.social. fresnoland.org/2025/01/27/w...

As the wildfire near Chula Vista continues to grow, I spoke to an environmental epidemiologist about the risks of wildfire smoke and what you can do to protect yourself. An N95 can make a big difference! You can find more tips here: www.kpbs.org/news/public-...

Historian of fascism here. It was a Nazi salute and a very belligerent one too.

A federal environmental public health agency said it will investigate the potential harm caused by exposure to hydrogen sulfide in the air near the sewage-tainted Tijuana River. More from Tammy Murga: www.sandiegouniontribune.com/2025/01/14/f...

When County Chair Nora Vargas suddenly announced her resignation last month, it set off a race to fill her influential seat on the Board of Supervisors. In just a few months, South Bay voters will choose her replacement. Here's what you need to know right now. www.kpbs.org/news/politic...

Voters in Imperial County narrowly chose Donald Trump over Kamala Harris this past November, the first time the county has backed a Republican presidential candidate in more than 30 years. My latest, as part of our democracy project Public Matters. www.kpbs.org/news/politic...

Israeli and Hamas negotiators have agreed to a cease-fire in Gaza, officials say, though many details remained unclear. The deal comes after months of shuttle diplomacy to end the war in Gaza, which began after Hamas launched an attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. nyti.ms/4jeAKD5

Special Counsel Report Says Trump Would Have Been Convicted in Election Case www.nytimes.com/2025/01/14/u...

"Meta is one of several companies ending DEI efforts, including McDonald’s, Walmart, Ford and Lowe’s. Many of those companies have voluntarily walked back their diversity initiatives." @adriawalkr.bsky.social / @theguardian.com. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

Tribes and environmental groups in Southern California are celebrating after President Joe Biden created a new national monument yesterday on the border of Riverside and Imperial County. My latest for KPBS! www.kpbs.org/news/environ...

2 dead and more than 1,000 homes, businesses, other buildings destroyed in L.A. County fires @latimes @rgauth999.bsky.social @gferaz.bsky.social www.latimes.com/california/s...

President Biden will create two new national monuments in California in the coming days — the Chuckwalla and Sáttítla National Monuments — honoring the requests of several tribes, The Washington Post reports. www.washingtonpost.com/climate-solu...

"For decades, NPR and PBS have overcome similar threats. But this year, 'the attention and intensity' of the calls to defund public media seem greater, said Michael Isip, the president and chief executive of KQED." By @benmullin.bsky.social / @nytimes.com. www.nytimes.com/2024/12/27/b...

A joint statement from San Diego Pride, TransFamily Support Services and the San Diego LGBT Community Center has denounced the rebranding of the Imperial Valley LGBTQ Resource Center. By Eric Everwine / @ivweekly.bsky.social. calexicochronicle.com/2024/12/24/l...

Important work by my colleague Daniel Estrin, who found one of the most catastrophic Israeli strikes in Gaza killed more people than reported - and it’s been up to families themselves to record the dead. 9 nuclear families killed. one.npr.org/i/nx-s1-5227...

The leaders of Sweetwater Union High School District are planning to cut back the number of classes that students at Chula Vista High can take next year. That's left many students and parents worried about the future of the school's renowned arts program. My latest: www.kpbs.org/news/educati...

A handful of San Diego politicians have come out against the proposed 22-story apartment building in Pacific Beach. They have also largely supported the laws that made it possible. Some very interesting nuance to this story. Check out my latest: www.kpbs.org/news/living/...

Check out El Centro native and USC grad's Miranda Montenegro as she talks about her experience working on the set of "Star Wars: Skeleton Crew." calexicochronicle.com/2024/12/09/i...

This is really damning. NJ State Troopers, unhappy with a report on racial bias incidents, just stopped doing traffic enforcement, and seemingly weren’t on the roads (as evidenced by a vehicle from a fatal hit and run being abandoned for hours before anyone noticed).

🚨🚨 #H5N1 presumptive case in Marin Co. child. Second CA child to get virus. Details fuzzy/ notification buried in Marin Co newsletter. Story will be updated as info comes. www.latimes.com/california/s...

Honored to have this story on the Fort Yuma Quechan Tribe's push for federal protection of their ancestral lands air on NPR's Here & Now yesterday. www.wbur.org/hereandnow/2...

At the urging of dozens of renters, the Imperial Beach City Council has established a special committee that will work through the holidays to study how the city could provide stronger tenant protections. www.kpbs.org/news/health/...

Israel’s war in Gaza amounts to genocide, Amnesty International report finds

I worked as the receptionist at a music venue. Every month I would clear out the unclaimed lost and found items. These are some of the things they carried.

New: Several Imperial Valley environmental justice and labor groups are launching a new effort to negotiate with the developing lithium industry. They're asking companies to sign binding legal commitments for local jobs, environmental health and Indigenous rights. www.kpbs.org/news/environ...

From a river bed to a real bed, a once unhoused San Diegan finds housing thanks to state and federal funding after a decade of living the “island life” along the San Diego River. Read more from @dulaneycd: inewsource.org/2024/11/26/s...

The IB City Council is set to weigh in on these evictions for the first time on Wednesday. We'll have more later this week.

Over 70 percent of AAPI adults support the teaching of slavery, racism and segregation, according to a survey by AAPI Data earlier this year. That's as more federal and local officials battle to restrict those subjects in public schools. By @nadrakn.bsky.social. 19thnews.org/2024/06/aapi...

California and federal prosecutors have accused software company RealPage of enriching itself ”at the expense of renters who pay inflated prices.” cal.news/3B9rC1e 📝 Wendy Fry

I got to talk with Dr. Susan Lacy, a plaintiff in the huge trans rights Supreme Court case going to oral argument on Weds. Here's what the case could mean—for trans folks *and* for states' power to restrict sex-specific forms of healthcare (birth control, IVF) www.motherjones.com/politics/202...

She also wrote: “I have no respect for any man that belittles, lies, cheats, sleeps around and uses women for his own power and ego. You are that man (and have been for years) and as your mother, it pains me and embarrasses me to say that, but it is the sad, sad truth.”

👀

California is prepared to offer state tax rebates for electric vehicle purchases if the incoming Trump administration scuttles the federal EV tax credit, according to Gov. Gavin Newsom.