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.
Latest From This Author
FireSat, a constellation of more than 50 satellites, will be able to detect wildfires as small as the size of a classroom, about 16 by 16 feet, Google said in an announcement.
Sept. 17, 2024
SWAT officers were called in to help Long Beach police with a gunman whom authorities accuse of killing two people.
Sept. 16, 2024
Young activists on social media stress the urgency of climate change: ‘Once you start seeing it in your life, then you have no option but to act.’
Sept. 12, 2024
Instead of waiting years for their studies and work to be published in academic journals, some climate scientists use social media to extend their reach — and their brand.
Sept. 12, 2024
The Borel fire in Kern County incinerated the historic mining town of Havilah and nearly 60,000 acres. Residents are trying to plot a path forward.
Aug. 20, 2024
When Althea Alexander arrived at USC as a faculty member in 1968, it had one Black and one Latino medical student. Today, nearly 800 alumni of color credit her with mentoring them.
Aug. 11, 2024
Police were called not long after midnight about a man suffering from a puncture wound in the 800 block of Venice Boulevard.
Aug. 10, 2024
Inglewood High’s marching band was one of the best around, but during the pandemic it cratered. Here’s how school officials and a new band leader brought it back.
July 23, 2024
Order doesn’t end dispute over ‘card-check’ in United Farm Workers’ bid to represent employees of Wonderful Nurseries, part of the Resnick agricultural empire in California.
July 19, 2024
In Bakersfield, a 2-year-old died from acute fentanyl toxicity, and his father has been charged with murder. In California, there were 11 fentanyl-related deaths for children younger than 5 in 2023, according to preliminary data.
July 10, 2024