Positive reports about police and public safety in Tijuana have been few and far between lately. Headlines on both sides of the border have been dominated by half-day long shootouts between law enforcement and drug cartels, kidnappings and the bodies of five teenagers and 20-somethings piled on top of each other.

Tourism officials say millions of visitors have avoided Tijuana during the last three years. Violence, long border waits and stories of extortion that tourists toted home like souvenirs killed many people’s desire to cross. Tijuana police officials say during the previous administration, 12 people complained everyday they were extorted by the police.

Sunday night, I was driving from Playas home to San Diego. As I neared the San Ysidro crossing, I got stuck in traffic on Avenida Internacional, the road that runs right along the border fence. Thinking I’d avoid the backup, I turned right on a little side street to cut through the Zona Norte.

Immediately after I made the turn, a Tijuana police pickup stopped me, its lights flashing. An agent came up to my car window and asked me, in both English and Spanish, if I spoke Spanish. He then explained to me that both I and the car in front of me had turned the wrong way down a one-way street.

"So today we rededicate a part of the airwaves -- which belong to all the people -- and we dedicate them for the enlightenment of all the people." -- LBJ, Nov. 7, 1967

Forty years ago today, President Lyndon Johnson ceremoniously signed the congressional act that created the modern public broadcasting system in America.

Seems like a good day to quit KPBS.

It's sheer coincidence, of course, but let me ponder the non-connection.

I was only 11 years old when LBJ did the deed that Republican presidents have been trying to undo ever since. At the time, his signature promised a bold vision to future generations that television and radio would offer more than a "vast wasteland." It would bring culture and art, science and history, news and public affairs, and non-commercial educational programming to young and old.

All I knew then was that there was something different, something authentic on my family PBS channel. Only over the years would I discover the magnetic attraction this bold vision would have upon me.

Born the son of a broadcast newsman, I grew up with an enduring interest in the role of journalism. But it wasn't until I delivered my nervous first on-air utterance -- in 1978 -- giving the 3:00 a.m. ID for my college radio station (WUOG-FM in Athens, Georgia) that I would actually become a part of public radio.

Being among the first to introduce the world to REM and the B-52's was a perfectly auspicious prelude to what would later become a career in delivering first word of more serious fare: John Lennon's assassination, Mt. St. Helen's exploding, the San Francisco earthquake, war in the gulf, and so on -- up to and including last month's horrendous firestorm in San Diego County.

Somewhere over my 29 years in public radio and television (a pairing that will soon converge into "public media"), I made a conscious choice to keep my roots in local community service. Perhaps it was the toll the networks took on my dad (he worked exceedingly long hours), or perhaps it was my own need to remain authentic, close to the audience. Whatever it was, I was determined to stay local and make local news great.

I leave KPBS after 12 years and on good terms. Together, with enlightened management and a strong team, we built something unique and durable here for the people of San Diego. Or they built us, I guess.

The technology may be shifting below us, but the journalistic and the cultural and the educational content will continue -- like a green oasis in an even vaster wasteland.

And I take comfort in having served that bold vision of the '60s. With some luck, I'll stay true to that promise, whatever the next 40 years may bring.

Thanks.

-- Michael Marcotte was KPBS News Director from 1995 to 2007, and directed the Jacobs Project for Reporting Excellence at KPBS. He's moving to Santa Barbara to become a public media consultant. You can contact him directly at .

Update: KPBS general manager Doug Myrland spoke about the cancellation on These Days.

The last day of July marked more than the end of the month. It was also the last day for Full Focus, the daily television news program I'd hosted for more than four years. I found out it was the last day just hours before we taped that final episode and it was as though the day suddenly slowed down, the way film does in slow motion.

The radio and television business is replete with stories of series that come and go. And they always do go -- although some take longer to disappear than others. In all of its iterations, Full Focus had been on the air for about 8 years, starting as monthly programs hosted by KPBS Radio reporters on location to eventually become the nightly studio-based shows divided into four segments.

The vision for Full Focus changed as the ideas flowed in. We considered "video kiosks" where people could record personal stories. We included community commentaries in Public Square. And we recently took the show on the road, shooting segments all over the county. Ratings climbed that week and we hoped more field location would translate into a larger audience. Viewers were passionate about Full Focus and its potential, but the numbers remained small by current television standards.

Vision is what makes life exciting. Vision is challenging and sometimes unattainable, and needs to be pursued by imaginative, dedicated, talented, daring people. Full Focus had those people. Natalie Walsh, executive producer, was a ferocious advocate for the program. Pat Finn, whose writing skills gave class to the segments she produced, oversaw the highly popular Friday "Top Stories" wrap-up of the week's news with local reporters and a variety of hosts, including Michael Marcotte and Alison St John from the KPBS News staff. Managing editor Graciela Sevilla is a respected journalist with years of experience behind her and a deep knowledge of the community. Producer Mary Garbesi is one of those rare multi-talented professionals who can produce, edit, work in radio or television, is in love with culture and the arts, and became a top public affairs producer. Reporters Amita Sharma, Joanne Faryon, Rebecca Tolin, and Heather Hill brought intelligence, dedication, and freshness to the program. All of their work was enhanced by videographers/editors, and production personnel whose pride in their work was evident each day. Some of them will be re-assigned at KPBS. Others will be grabbed up by smart organizations.

Sometimes in life, timing is absolutely perfect. In this case, time did not befriend Full Focus. The visions remained vigorous, while the resources and the audience did not keep pace. The execution of the program was the envy of television professionals who saw us devoting time and considerable thought to every aspect of each show, from careful writing to thorough research to deep consideration of topics to be covered with balance and fairness.

KPBS Television has had its share of canceled series over the 40 years of its existence. But next year or the year after, someone's vision will shape another local program that will find its own way to cover San Diego's important stories and ask the necessary questions.

Meanwhile, I turn my energies to other projects at the station. For me, KPBS remains a strong source for local news and public affairs on the radio and online. I'm hoping that soon KPBS Television will find another vehicle for covering what's going on in our community.

-- Gloria Penner was host of Full Focus for four years and has hosted over a dozen series on KPBS over the last 37 years. She continues to host Editors Roundtable, with additional contributions to KPBS Online, Envision San Diego and other reporting. Please read our guidelines before posting comments.