Are you a California state worker? Meet The Sacramento Bee’s newest beat reporter
Hello all,
William Melhado here. I’m the Sacramento Bee’s newest state worker reporter. I’ve been in the newsroom just over a month now, learning everything I can about California, its politics and the public servants that keep the state running. I’m writing to share that next week the State Worker Bee newsletter will return to inboxes every Wednesday. (Sign up for the newsletter here!)
I’m hoping to hear from state workers from across California about what you think I should be covering. What issues are important to public servants? What should we be focusing our coverage on? What do you want to read about? Drop me a line at the email below.
Some of the interesting stories I’ve covered so far:
State scientists approved a historic contract. Will other state workers follow their lead?
California governor ordered that homeless encampments be removed. Has anything changed?
California wanted state workers back in the office. Here’s how many have returned
I’m coming to The Bee from Austin, Texas, where I covered all things state government for The Texas Tribune. Since I arrived, I’ve come to the conclusion that California and Texas have a lot in common, despite being run by leaders on opposite sides of the political spectrum. One of the most interesting parallels is that both must meet the needs of over 30 million residents while navigating the bureaucracy associated with employing hundreds of thousands of people.
I myself am a former public servant. After graduating from college, I taught high school chemistry with the New York City Department of Education for a couple years. I did two other science teaching stints in Tanzania and Nepal before I started reporting in New Mexico. There, I covered schools and city hall for the Santa Fe Reporter.
If you have any comments about my stories or suggestions of things I should look into, email me at wmelhado@sacbee.com.
