Laura J. Nelson

Staff Writer

Laura J. Nelson covers transportation and mobility issues across Southern California. She was part of the team of reporters awarded the Pulitzer Prize in breaking news for coverage of the 2015 terrorist attack in San Bernardino. Before joining The Times in 2012, Nelson wrote for the Boston Globe, the Tampa Bay Times and the Los Angeles Daily News. She grew up in suburban Kansas City in a family of journalists and graduated from the University of Southern California.

Latest From This Author

California

California boat fire victims: United by a love for ocean, taken in tragedy. These are their stories

California

California boat fire victims: United by a love for ocean, taken in tragedy. These are their stories

The passengers of the Conception dive boat ended their second day in the waters off the California coast with a nighttime swim, exploring a lush, watery world populated with coral and kelp forests.

More Coverage

Boat where 34 died was a ‘fire trap’ despite passing inspections, experts say. It’s far from alone

Smoke likely killed 34 trapped below deck in California boat fire, raising new questions about origin point
California

100 rainbow ‘halos’ on Los Angeles street corners will honor people killed in car crashes

California

100 rainbow ‘halos’ on Los Angeles street corners will honor people killed in car crashes

Rainbow art installations honor people who died in L.A. traffic crashes
California

Biologist missing in boat fire had ‘a love for marine life’

California

Biologist missing in boat fire had ‘a love for marine life’

Kristy Finstad, a 41-year-old marine biologist, was among those initially unaccounted in the boat fire off California’s Channel Islands.

More Coverage

Three sisters celebrating dad’s birthday feared lost in California boat fire

Rescuers face psychological toll as they recover bodies
California

California boat fire: At least 15 bodies found, others remain missing

California

California boat fire: At least 15 bodies found, others remain missing

Many aboard the vessel Conception were thought to be sleeping below deck when the fire broke out in the predawn hours.

More Coverage

‘I can’t breathe.... there’s no escape hatch’: Dramatic mayday call from California boat on fire

Mapping the Conception’s final voyage
California

As scooters flood Los Angeles, the number of tickets written to riders is soaring

California

As scooters flood Los Angeles, the number of tickets written to riders is soaring

Los Angeles scooter riders received 643 tickets from the LAPD in the first seven months of 2019, mostly for riding on the sidewalk and for riding without a helmet, city data shows.
California

Extremist materials found at home of Gilroy Garlic Festival shooter, source says

California

Extremist materials found at home of Gilroy Garlic Festival shooter, source says

Gilroy shooter Santino William Legan’s social media, electronic devices and computer hardware are being scrutinized by detectives.

More Coverage

Girl killed in shooting remembered as a ‘true wonder’

Full coverage of Gilroy Garlic Festival shooting
California

Gilroy Garlic Festival shooting: What we know about the victims

California

Gilroy Garlic Festival shooting: What we know about the victims

Gilroy police said a 6-year-old boy, a 13-year-old girl and a man in his 20s were killed when a gunman opened fire at the Gilroy Garlic Festival on Sunday.

More Coverage

Gunman used a rifle banned in California, officials say

What we know about the Gilroy Garlic Festival shooting suspect
California

Gilroy shooter obtained ‘weapons of goddamned mass destruction,’ Newsom says

California

Gilroy shooter obtained ‘weapons of goddamned mass destruction,’ Newsom says

Gilroy Garlic Festival shooter legally obtained a weapon legal in Nevada but illegal in California.
California

Disturbing portrait emerges of Gilroy Garlic Festival shooter

California

Disturbing portrait emerges of Gilroy Garlic Festival shooter

Amid the screams, flying bullets and bloodshed that erupted on a warm summer evening at the Gilroy Garlic Festival on Sunday, someone shouted a pivotal question at the gunman: “Why are you doing this?”

More Coverage

Gilroy shooter obtained ‘weapons of goddamned mass destruction,’ Newsom says

Full coverage of Gilroy Garlic Festival shooting
California

A 19-year-old with a semiautomatic rifle shatters Gilroy’s beloved garlic festival, killing 3, including 2 children

California

A 19-year-old with a semiautomatic rifle shatters Gilroy’s beloved garlic festival, killing 3, including 2 children

A 19-year-old armed with an assault-style weapon opens fire at the Gilroy Garlic Festival, killing three people, including two children. The gunman was killed by police.

More Coverage

Column: Shooting rampage is awful but not surprising