I am an investigative reporter at Oregonian. Previously, I was a staff writer at Fresnobee. Before that, I was a journalist for The Phnom Penh Post in Phnom Penh, Cambodia and health care reporter for the Merced Sun-Star newspaper in Merced, California and as a Washington education reporter for the Moscow-Pullman Daily News in Moscow, Idaho for two years. My first job as a reporter was with La Raza Del Noroeste, a Seattle-area newspaper owned by the Washington Post.  Through a partnership the paper established with KUNS-TV, I also worked as a reporter for the TV station and anchored a weekly segment. In 2010, I received a regional award from the Utah-Idaho-Spokane Associated Press. In 2008, I worked as an undercover reporter for KOMO-TV, an ABC Affiliate in Seattle, where I helped break a story dealing with a black market of prescription medicine being sold in Hispanic grocery stores. The story received the 2008 Regional Edward R. Murrow Award for Investigative Journalism and the 2008 Regional Northwest Emmy for Investigative Reporting.

Articles

Healthy Homework: Committed to nutrition

<div id="story_text_top"><p>Candy bars, Pop-Tarts and french fries were always on the menu in Ruth Sanchez's daily diet.</p><p>For years, the 17-year-old consistently made poor eating choices. "Fast food is what I would eat the most," she recalled.</p><p>Ruth, a former Merced Scholars Charter School student, said the two main reasons she turned to fast food were because it was affordable and easy to get.</p><p>"You are on the run, and you are going to get something from the $1 menu," she explained. "It's quick and it's the cheapest."</p><p>Not only did Ruth, who weighs 183 pounds, make the wrong choices when it came to eating, she also didn't live an active life.</p><p>That's no longer the case. She has made a dramatic change in her habits.</p><p>This is part two in a four-part series.</p><p><a href="http://www.reportingonhealth.org/fellowships/projects/healthy-homework-… one: Convenience often trumps nutrition</a></p><p><a href="http://www.reportingonhealth.org/fellowships/projects/healthy-homework-… three: Providing healthier choices</a></p><p><a href="http://www.reportingonhealth.org/fellowships/projects/healthy-homework-… four: No escape from healthy lifestyle effort</a></p></div>

Healthy Homework: Convenience often trumps nutrition

<p>Low prices, availability and aggressive targeted marketing are all factors that ensure children and teenagers are eating more fast food than ever before. The Network for a Healthy California is pushing for outdoor advertising that encourages healthier choices. This is part one in a four-part series.</p><p><a href="http://www.reportingonhealth.org/fellowships/projects/healthy-homework-… two: Committed to nutrition</a></p><p><a href="http://www.reportingonhealth.org/fellowships/projects/healthy-homework-… three: Providing healthier choices</a></p><p><a href="http://www.reportingonhealth.org/fellowships/projects/healthy-homework-… four: No escape from healthy lifestyle effort</a></p>