A. Far too often the coverage in national publications is very much an East Coast view of California, with the same tired tropes. It reads coy and tongue in cheek. People think of California being filled with crazy hippies still. Even the idea that the middle class is fleeing and desperate, it’s just not paying attention to what is going on on the ground. California has always had a working class that has fought to stay here.

Q. You’ve spent a lot of your career focusing on and writing about Latino issues. Are you going to continue to do so?

A. Latinos are a huge part of California, so of course I am going to write about them. But it will not be the only thing. “Ask a Mexican” is over. I don’t like replicating myself. My beat is going to be California. I like challenges and feel like, “Let’s see if I can pull this off.” If I can’t, at least I tried.

Q. Were you surprised about the backlash, with people calling you racist and homophobic?

A. No, there have been people who have been targeting me for a while. There’s always going to be people who don’t like what you write. If you don’t have haters you are not doing your job correctly. The people accusing me of being racist, they don’t take my career in perspective. We covered these communities better than anyone else in Orange County. What seems to be the issue right now, is that in this country if you don’t have the same thoughts as other people you are immediately marked as the enemy. I’ve always been about throwing stories out there, and I’ll defend them.