Hailey Branson-Potts is an enterprise reporter on the State Team who joined the Los Angeles Times in 2011. She reports on a wide range of issues and people, with a special focus on Northern California and the Central Coast. Branson-Potts was part of the team that won the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for breaking news for its coverage of the San Bernardino terrorist attack, as well as the team that was a 2020 Pulitzer finalist for its coverage of a boat fire that killed 34 people off the coast of Santa Barbara. She grew up in the tiny town of Perry, Okla., got her start at the Perry Daily Journal, and graduated from the University of Oklahoma.
Latest From This Author
Calexico’s first transgender mayor and a City Council ally were recalled by a hefty margin. The election pitted the town’s established old guard against young progressives looking to upend the status quo.
April 18, 2024
A teachers’ union and community groups in Monterey County have sued agriculture officials and state regulators over the use of pesticides near schools.
April 12, 2024
In rural Calexico, Raúl Ureña, the town’s first out transgender mayor, faces a recall election. So does another brash young lawmaker.
April 10, 2024
Many in Shasta County had framed the election as a referendum on the board’s hard-right turn in the last few years.
March 29, 2024
Supervisor Patrick Jones, who has led the far-right charge in Shasta County, has lost his re-election bid. The March primary results could signal a shift toward the political center in Shasta.
March 16, 2024
Los Angeles police shot a man who allegedly pointed a weapon at officers. He was hospitalized in critical condition.
March 9, 2024
Longtime residents of bucolic Ojai, priced out of their homes, are finding community at a tent encampment taking shape at City Hall.
Feb. 28, 2024
The Ojai City Council passed a Gaza cease-fire resolution after weeks of protest and passionate speeches in the tiny town.
Feb. 27, 2024
Burney Falls, a secluded but Instagram-famous waterfall in Northern California, will be closed during the busy summer season.
Feb. 16, 2024
Ojai is half a world away from the Gaza Strip. But the eclectic tourist town has been rocked in recent weeks by increasingly brazen protests over the brutal war between Israel and Hamas.
Feb. 16, 2024