Melody Gutierrez is an investigative reporter for the Los Angeles Times. Previously, she covered state government and politics for The Times, the San Francisco Chronicle and the Sacramento Bee. Gutierrez has written award-winning government accountability stories on wasteful spending, pension spiking, rape kit backlogs and failures in the foster care system.
Latest From This Author
Following a Times investigation, California stopped destroying records that contain key details about the state’s underground puppy market.
A Times investigation of California’s underground puppy resale market “raises serious alarms about the inhumane treatment of pets,†Gov. Newsom’s office said.
The Times obtained scores of dog export records, law enforcement and animal control investigative files and federal inspection reports.
California’s puppy pipeline: Where is your dog from?
A Times investigation has found that truckloads of dogs from profit-driven mass breeders pour into the state from the Midwest, feeding an underground market where they are resold by people claiming to be small, local home breeders.
A Times investigation found California officials destroy veterinary records that track dogs imported into the state.
The Buck Owens Crystal Palace, where music legends including Willie Nelson, Dwight Yoakam, Garth Brooks and a young Taylor Swift have played, is being listed for sale.
A man not affiliated with UCLA is identified by campus police as the suspect detained after student was sexually assaulted in her Saxon Suites dorm room early Friday.
The Thompson fire has burned 3,500 acres and resulted in evacuation orders for more than 28,000 people in Butte County. Oroville residents are reminded of the deadly Camp fire, which destroyed the nearby town of Paradise.
As California braces for a heat wave expected to last through next week, several wildfires have ignited under critical fire conditions, forcing evacuations.