A controversy that continues to brew over Balboa Park’s parking fees. A pre-dawn count of people experiencing homelessness in San Diego County.
Times of San Diego’s spring interns, Mireya Miner and Thomas Murphy, wasted no time getting to work for readers. They started last month, and within hours, launched stories and visuals.
Mireya, who graduated in December from San Diego State University and covers inland San Diego County, craves storytelling and has a special interest in environmental issues. She rushed to cover her first news conference for Times, got back in her car and turned it around within a few hours for a daily. She’s also published a story about new health studies involving toxic pollutants in the Tijuana River Valley.
Thomas, also known as Tommy, is a student at University of California, San Diego, and has the coastal beat. He’s a visual storyteller who reveals the people, places and happenings that make San Diego special, like seal pup season in La Jolla. He also wants to strengthen his writing skills, which he put into play last week when he shot photos, reported and wrote a daily on the annual count of unhoused people living in San Diego.
NEWSWELL invests in interns because local communities will always need journalists steeped in legacy and in innovation. That’s why, in addition to having interns work alongside newsroom veterans in San Diego, Stockton and Santa Barbara, we train them through educational workshops and individual mentoring sessions. When we teach new and emerging journalists, we sustain community. And that matters.
This update originally appeared in our Feb. 6, 2026, newsletter. This version has been lightly edited for clarity.