Reporter Jia-Rui Chong moves to California desk

Here is a memo to staff from California editor David Lauter announcing reporter Jia-Rui Chong's return to the California desk.

To: The Staff
From: David Lauter, California Editor

I'm very happy to let everyone know that Jia-Rui Chong is returning to Metro after an excellent stint as a medical writer in our Science Department.

As all who know her know, Jia-Rui has distinguished herself since the day she arrived at The Times some six years ago by her energy, her intelligence, her boundless enthusiasm and her skill as a reporter and writer. I also believe she is the only staff writer at The Times who once held a job that required her to fire muskets. Jia-Rui first came here through Metpro, after earning a BA at Harvard and a master's degree at Oxford. Prior to joining us, she was an intern at Newsweek and wrote for other magazines.

In her earlier Metro stint, Jia-Rui handled several assignments with great success, including coverage of the San Gabriel Valley and Asian American issues. Now, she will work as one of our senior general assignment reporters. She'll pursue a wide range of assignments, but in particular will pursue a special interest in the condition of American veterans, especially the soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. Those stories will allow us to take advantage of her broad knowledge of medical topics and issues.

Please join me in welcoming Jia-Rui back to Metro.