A Note From Civil Beat’s Washington Bureau

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Back-to-school time always feels like the start of a new year more than Jan. 1. 

And what a year it has been. 

When I opened Civil Beat’s Washington Bureau in July 2011, I became the only reporter from a Hawaii news organization stationed in the nation’s capital. It was a big job, and one that I was honored to accept. With a shiny new press pass and a desk in the Senate Press Gallery, Civil Beat was able to see and report things that Hawaii otherwise would have missed.

It is a privilege to be part of a journalistic team that understands how critically important it is to have a full-time reporting presence in Washington. Mahalo nui loa (times infinity) to Civil Beat for the opportunity. 

Back in March, I got an offer I couldn’t turn down, and I took a job as a media reporter for the Nieman Journalism Lab at Harvard University.

In the past several months, I’ve had the opportunity to interview journalists who share many of Civil Beat’s values — these are innovative and action-oriented industry leaders who believe that news organizations must radically rethink the way news is packaged and distributed, and who understand that reporters must ask smarter questions, dig deeper into data and documents, and put the public interest first. These are people who, like Civil Beat, are fundamentally optimistic about the future of journalism.

Hawaii deserves to have a tough, passionate, tireless reporter in Washington. I’m ecstatic to pass the torch to Michael Levine, who will staff the D.C. bureau starting in September. I really can’t wait to see what he can do in Washington. (I’m also going to scoop him in my spare time. Let’s do this, Levine.)

I’m thrilled to remain a part of the Civil Beat ‘ohana, and I’ll continue to report and write about Hawaii issues regularly. You’ll still see my byline now and again, and I hope you’ll continue to reach out to me — with questions you’d like Civil Beat to answer, story ideas, or just to say aloha. 

(Oh, and if anyone knows of a fresh lei stand on the East Coast, please let me know. I still haven’t found one!)

Email: alafrance[at]civilbeat.com

Twitter: @AdrienneLaF

Phone: (808) 388-6878 

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