About Alexa Vaughn

Contact Alexa Vaughn

Education:

Bachelor of Arts, University of California, Los Angeles

June 2007

American Literature and Culture

Masters Of Science, University of California, Berkeley

May 2011

Journalism, Emphasis in New Media and Magazines

Published Stories:

Bill would make it harder to cover up deaths in custody

Los Angeles Times

Congress appears set to pass the measure, prompted in part by outrage over reports of abuse in centers that hold immigration prisoners.

Conservative group launches ad campaign on Solyndra loan

Los Angeles Times

A full year ahead of the next presidential election, the conservative group Americans for Prosperity has whipped out a $2.4-million ad campaign slamming President Obama’s stimulus plan.

FDA is blocked from requiring graphic warnings on cigarette labels

Los Angeles Times

A federal judge says that forcing tobacco companies to begin placing health warnings with images of diseased lungs and cadavers on cigarette packaging violates their 1st Amendment rights.

Syrian dissidents in U.S. fear reprisals back home

Chicago Tribune

None of the protesters has reported being harmed, though some have received threats. But others say their vocal opposition has resulted in relatives and friends in Syria being punished.

Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial dedicated in Washington

Los Angeles Times

At the official dedication of the memorial to the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. on the National Mall, Americans are urged to ‘move beyond the dream and into action.’

Republicans target technology program for disaster funds

Los Angeles Times

A House GOP disaster aid bill would require cuts to the Advanced Technology Vehicle Manufacturing loan program, which has created more than 40,000 jobs in the last two years.

The Pinball Wizard

East Bay Express cover story

Michael Schiess has amassed the world's largest collection of rare pinball machines. But the future of his Pacific Pinball Museum remains uncertain.

Y They Walk

Crosscurrents, KALW 91.7 FM

With Measure Y, Oakland voted to invest in violence prevention instead of a full police force. I walked around an Oakland gang territory with one of the violence prevention groups, the Measure Y Street Outreach team, which is made up of men who grew up in the streets. They walk straight to the city’s most dangerous neighborhoods at its most dangerous hours to approach gang members and drug dealers about turning their lives around.

FailCon WIN

KALX 90.7 FM

Starting a business at any time is scary and, of course, it’s even scarier in today’s economy. More than half of US startups fail within five years. Rather than run from the topic, hundreds of business owners and investors decided to dwell on their own failures this week at a conference in San Francisco. I went to find out why.

Imprisoned, Rehabilitated, Unemployed

The East Bay Express cover story

Oakland's large population of ex-felons struggle to get jobs. And their only glimmer of hope — a certificate of rehabilitation — isn't easy to get. Just ask Hawk Aavan Jonsson. (Part of http://berkeley.news21.com/ )

Ex-Felons Get Second Chance at Jobs

The Bay Citizen

To cut down on recidivism, Contra Costa County may dispose of the felony conviction box on public job applications.

Small Businesses Await Details of Obama Loan Plan

Mission Local

President Barack Obama proposed the Small Business Lending Fund during his first State of the Union address on Jan. 27. But a month after the announcement, bankers, financial advisers and business owners in San Francisco's Mission District are still waiting for the details of the program.

Lights, Cameras, Action at Richmond High

Richmond Confidential

Concerned parents, teachers and community organizers at Richmond High School have demanded the school board install new security cameras, better lighting on campus and create a comprehensive district safety plan.

Work Experience:

Reporting intern

Los Angeles Times, Washington, D.C. bureau  - Washington, D.C DC  ( September 2011 - November 2011 )

Reported national news for Tribune publications including the Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, Baltimore Sun and Orlando Sentinel. Covered a variety of political beats involving stories about the Congressional budget, White House, Solyndra loan scandal, unveiling of the Martin Luther King Memorial, OccupyDC, federal prisons and Syrian protests

Reporter

Antelope Valley Press  - Palmdale CA  ( November 2008 - July 2009 )

Wrote breaking news and features stories for local newspaper with a circulation of 35,000.

Website Content Editor

Gourmand Breaks  - Girona  ( June 2008 - August 2008 )

Started and maintained a blog for Catalan tour company Gourmand Breaks at www.GourmandBreaks.com/blog; edited tour descriptions; wrote descriptions about geography, wine, food and art of Catalonia

Assistant Editor

Entrepreneur.com  - Irvine CA  ( July 2007 - June 2008 )

Wrote features and blogs about small business trends, reviewed hot business books; developed newsletters; proposed and contracted experts for Entrepreneur.com’s first columns about green, international and home-based businesses; scheduled and assigned stories to be uploaded on each website channel, organized story feeds to MSNBC, Yahoo, Washington Post and TheStreet.com among others

Reporter

The Press-Enterprise  - Sacramento CA  ( June 2006 - August 2006 )

Wrote features about hot legislative issues for Riverside's Press Enterprise capitol bureau, authored two front page articles and co-authored two other front-page articles

Reporter

Daily Bruin  - Los Angeles CA  ( December 2005 - June 2007 )

Wrote news articles on a tight daily deadline (while a full-time student) about campus issues and localized state and national news for UCLA’s award-winning student paper.

Skills:

• Final Cut Pro, Soundslides, Photoshop, HTML and CSS-literate, basic Flash knowledge, Microsoft Office, intermediate Spanish