Fresno Bee, CA
March 10 2009

Fresno writer Arax joins Florez’s staff

State senator hires former L.A. Times reporter.
Monday, Mar. 09, 2009
By E.J. Schultz / Bee Capitol Bureau E-Mail

SACRAMENTO — Fresno’s Mark Arax is giving up his byline for a
government job.

State Sen. Dean Florez, D-Shafter, announced Monday that he is hiring
the former Los Angeles Times reporter and author of three books as his
senior policy director.

Arax will make about $85,000 a year and will focus on air quality
issues, said Jennifer Hanson, a spokeswoman for Florez.

He will fill an existing position and will work primarily from Fresno,
she said.

"Instead of reporting to newspaper readers, I’ll be reporting to the
political leaders of the Senate majority," Arax said in a statement.

Arax, an Armenian-American, left the Los Angeles Times in 2007 after a
public dispute about the paper’s decision not to publish a story he
wrote about the Armenian genocide.

His career at the paper was marked by his coverage of the the San
Joaquin Valley, including reporting on air quality and migrant
farmworkers.

His books include "In My Father’s Name," about the murder of his
father, and the soon-to-be released collection of stories titled "West
of the West: Dreamers, Believers, Builders and Killers in the Golden
State."

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