Obama through the eyes of a 15-year-old reporter

By John Canalis on March 25, 2009 9:14 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) |

One of my favorite moments of covering Air Force One's arrival and departure in Long Beach last week came when I met Ian DeLucca, a 15-year-old Millikan High School student who was writing about President Obama's Southern California visit for the school paper. In an interview, DeLucca told me he was "psyched!" by the assignment. The White House advance team gave the kid braces a credential and, after a security check, DeLucca was out on the tarmac with a Pulitzer Prize winner and other members of the press corps.

DeLucca wrote about his adventure in the Orange County Register. Here is a link to his first-person account. I was "psyched" to see it in the paper.

http://totalbuzz.freedomblogging.com/2009/03/23/how-a-15-year-old-talked-his-way-onto-the-obama-press-bus/14745/

Paul Eakins reports on Long Beach City Hall, and local and regional politics. A newcomer to the Press-
Telegram, he previously has covered local and state government and politics in San Diego County, Mexico and his home state of Kansas.

E-mail Paul at paul.eakins@presstelegram.com.

Kris Hanson reports on the Ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles, covering environmental issues, economic triumphs and pitfalls and trade trends of America’s largest port. He also writes a weekly column “On The Waterfront”, appearing Tuesdays, and also produces an occassional video and column titled “On The Job,” which follows the hard-working men and women who keep Southern California’s economy humming.

E-mail Kris at kristopher.hanson@
presstelegram.com.

Karen Robes Meeks came to work for the Press-
Telegram in April 2002 as a beat reporter, covering the cities of Lakewood, Bellflower and Paramount. She now covers business, specifically redevelopment, tourism and small businesses. She also writes Eye on Redevelopment, a monthly column that appears in the Business Monday section.