Melissa Gomez is an enterprise reporter on the State Team who joined the Los Angeles Times in 2018. She reports on a range of news and issues, with a special focus on the Central Valley. She previously covered education and the 2020 presidential campaign at The Times. A native Floridian, she graduated from the University of Florida.
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Since 1946, the Zorthian Ranch has served as a haven for creatives who wanted to escape the confines of urban living. Last week, the Eaton fire ripped through the ranch, leaving ashes in its wake.
The Eaton fire cut a brutal swath through Altadena and a cherished way of life in this eclectic foothill community it upended.
Some residents flee, others stay and fight as Eaton fire tears through unincorporated community of Altadena: ‘The whole city just got erased’
The Central Valley is home to many of California’s most vulnerable groups to bird flu: agricultural workers. It’s also where wastewater surveillance of the virus is the weakest.
The Central Valley Training Center opened in 2020 to offer a pathway to a trade for regional residents to learn and one day work for the high-speed rail. Today, 223 students have graduated from the program.
The couple has been moved by outpouring support from friends and family after they were forced to leave their home after the Franklin fire broke out.
The Franklin fire was 38% contained as of Saturday evening. 19 structures have been confirmed destroyed and an additional 23 damaged, officials said. Eight of the buildings destroyed were homes.
Democrat Adam Gray has narrowly defeated Republican Rep. John Duarte in the race for California’s 13th Congressional District.
New research and discussions with dairy farmers in the Central Valley suggests H5N1 bird flu is more widespread among people than the reported numbers indicate.