The American freeway is born in a time of intense optimism around the promise of the automobile. President Eisenhower sees the country's dilapidated road network as a barrier to economic growth and national defense. Jacob Dekema, the father of San Diego's freeway network, sees freeways as lifesavers. How did our optimism blind us to the freeway's dark side? Magic Highway USA: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vo4-rYNGEwE& ..read more

An architect has a radical idea for San Diego's oldest freeway, SR-163, which cuts through Balboa Park. An environmental justice activist dreams of someday reconnecting her community that was divided by Interstate 5. If San Diego is serious about its goal of net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2035, how will our relationship with freeways have to change ..read more

When pandemic-inspired protections for homeowners and renters expired, renters especially have become vulnerable to evictions in San Diego’s hot housing market. In this second part of a two part series on evictions, KPBS Race and Equity reporter follows one family that has been forced out of their apartment and their search for new housing. Like thousands of other low-income renters in San Diego, their best option may be to leave the region all together. But there are groups organizing to fight evictions, and a growing tenants’ rights movement in San Diego ..read more

The pandemic inspired a slate of local, state and national eviction bans, and other protections for homeowners and renters to keep people housed. But those protections are going away, leaving renters especially vulnerable to eviction as the San Diego rental market heats up. In Part 1 of a 2 part series, KPBS Race and Equity reporter Cristina Kim looks at the efforts to keep people housed here in San Diego County. We talk about what worked, and who fell through the cracks, and what’s next for the region’s renters and landlords as housing becomes increasingly more expensive and protections evapo ..read more

Today on KPBS Investigates, Aaron Harvey’s journey from wrongful gang charges to UC Berkeley graduation. In the summer of 2014, a swarm of police arrested Aaron Harvey near where he was living outside Las Vegas. Harvey is from San Diego, and was charged as a test case by San Diego District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis using a law that had never been used before. It said someone could be charged for conspiracy for gang shootings, even if that person had nothing to do with the shootings at all. That was the case for Harvey. He was charged because he was in social media pictures wearing gang colors an ..read more

Increasing numbers of asylum seekers are being allowed to enter the United States. But with the asylum system still severely curtailed, thousands remain stuck in dangerous conditions in Tijuana. KPBS reporter Max Rivlin-Nadler has been following the story for months. His reporting is featured in a new special report for the “KPBS Investigates” and “Port of Entry” podcasts. In the episode, Rivlin-Nadler follows the painfully long wait many asylum seekers have had to endure, simply for a chance at finding refuge in the U.S. It outlines America's critically damaged asylum system at the U.S. Mexic ..read more

The KPBS Investigates podcast is where our news team is able to dive more deeply into the stories we cover. Today, investigative reporter Claire Trageser brings us the story of one woman and her struggle to keep her massage business afloat during the past turbulent year. Her story is emblematic of what has happened to many small businesses all across San Diego county because of the economic fallout of the pandemic. This episode explores the difficulties San Diego businesses faced accessing the loans and resources aimed at helping them survive the brutal cycles of shutdowns and reopenings. Many ..read more

As San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer gets close to signing a new deal with a private company, activists push for “municipalization,” which means the city takes over the power grid. You're listening to "KPBS Investigates," a podcast from the KPBS newsroom bringing you in-depth stories that help us better understand our region. Support our work: www.kpbs.org/donate ..read more

As San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer gets close to signing a new deal with a private company, activists push for “municipalization,” which means the city takes over the power grid. You're listening to "KPBS Investigates," a podcast from the KPBS newsroom bringing you in-depth stories that help us better understand our region. Support our work: www.kpbs.org/donate ..read more

As San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer gets close to signing a new deal with a private company, activists push for “municipalization,” which means the city takes over the power grid. You're listening to "KPBS Investigates," a podcast from the KPBS newsroom bringing you in-depth stories that help us better understand our region. Support our work: www.kpbs.org/donate ..read more