L.A. Times expands its state coverage with reporters Hannah Wiley, Melissa Gomez and Priscella Vega

Dec. 19, 2023 10:55 AM PT

The following announcement is sent on behalf of Deputy Managing Editor Hector Becerra:

We’re excited to announce three pivotal changes in reporting roles on the California Desk that we believe will grow and intensify our statewide coverage.

Hannah Wiley is stepping into a critical coverage area as a general assignment reporter focused on the San Francisco Bay Area and North Coast.

Wiley joined The Times two years ago as a Capitol Bureau reporter, where she has covered the state Legislature and substantive policy issues ranging from homelessness and housing to mental health, addiction, gun control and the state judicial system. Previously, she was a state political reporter for the Sacramento Bee.

She has a bachelor’s degree from St. Louis University and a master’s in journalism from Northwestern University. Wiley is based in San Francisco.

Melissa Gomez has moved to the state team to cover the Central Valley, another region integral to the California story. Gomez joined The Times five years ago through a Metpro fellowship, contributing to 2020 election coverage. In subsequent years, she has covered K-12 education and worked as a general assignment reporter. Since joining the state team, Gomez has made poignant additions to our coverage of historic flooding in the Tulare Lake Basin and healthcare disparities in the Central Valley.

Gomez has a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Florida, her home state. She is based in Los Angeles.

Priscella Vega has moved to the state team to cover the Inland Empire, a diverse and fast-growing region central to shaping California’s future. Vega joined The Times in 2019 as a Metpro fellow after working with Times Community News’ Daily Pilot. She’s since reported on the 2022 congressional elections and covered breaking news throughout the state. Most recently, she worked with the obituary desk, chronicling the legacies of California luminaries.

Vega earned her journalism degree at Cal State Long Beach. She is based in the San Gabriel Valley.

They will report to State Editor Deborah Anderluh, who oversees California coverage outside Los Angeles and Sacramento. They join a team that includes Jessica Garrison, who focuses on Northern California; James Rainey, a state enterprise reporter; Jack Dolan, a state enterprise reporter who also covers California’s wilderness; and Hannah Fry and Gabriel San Román, who report on Orange County.