Streetsies 2014: Journalist/Writer of the Year

Welcome to week 2 of our 2014 Streetsie voting! Voting for all categories will close on Friday, January 2, 2015, at noon. Reader voting accounts for one-half of the scoring this year, with one-quarter going to staff voting, and another one-quarter going to a board vote.

For each category, we came up with around ten first nominees, with the list being pared down to the last five “finalists” with input from the staff and board. You can vote in our “elected leader of the year," “civil servant of the year," and "Livable Streets Friendly Business" polls, too.

Here are our journalist of the year nominees, some of the people who we all turn to to keep informed about Los Angeles livability: 

Laura Nelson - Last year, the race for Streetsie between Laura Nelson and Alissa Walker was so tight that Damien actually wrote up the announcement that Laura had won before Walker pulled ahead at the last minute. You can read that announcement here. What Damien wrote last year applies today... Nelson has brought much-needed stability and professionalism to the Los Angeles Times' transportation beat after it had ping-ponged around for years following the departure of Steve Hymon. Nelson is not necessarily a dyed-in-the-wool advocate, and we've taken issue with some of the reports with her by-line (or shared by-line), but the twenty-something reporter is an old-school journalist. We can't really ask for much more.

Christopher Hawthorne - Hawthorne is actually a previous winner of the "Reader's Choice" Streetsie awards from back when we split the reader and staff/board votes into separate awards. As architecture critic, Hawthorne regularly brings a new urbanist perspective to the Los Angeles Times that is sorely lacking in other flagship publications for large cities. There is literally no equivalent to Hawthorne at the New York Times, Chicago Tribune, or Houston Chronicle. We're lucky to have him. Plus, he really articulates what makes CicLAvia wonderful.

Hank Scott - As publisher and editor of WehoVille, Scott is largely responsible for one of the most-pedestrian friendly publications that is not specifically a "Livable Streets" publication. Even if you're not familiar with WehoVille, check out this amazing editorial and try to argue that it isn't one of the best editorials you've read all year.

Let's Go L.A. - The anonymous blogger Let's Go L.A. hosts a Wordpress site with active comment threads, and valuable Twitter feed @VamonosLA. We suspect we probably know her or him, but we asked around and no one would tell us who she is. Seems like Let's Go L.A. lives somewhere on the Westside, seems to work downtown, likely works for a government agency, and values her anonymity. Let's Go L.A. tracks Metro and Metrolink ridership data, graphs and analyzes it every quarter. There are also thoughtful insights on Southern California's grid, LAX, induced demand, and more. We go to Let's Go for headlines frequently!

Nathan Lucero - Nathan Lucero is the Northeast Los Angeles videographer who hosts the On My Bike In L.A. YouTube channel. He has been actively documenting bicycling issues, sometimes posting raw footage of important meetings, sometimes producing more polished Streetfilms-esque short documentaries. Our favorites are his Give Me Three short (above) and his coverage of the September Milt Olin rally. Some of his longer work, including the grueling 28-minute How To Bury A Bike Lane, serves as an important record of the community's so-far-unsuccessful push for a safer North Figueroa Street, in the face of repeated snubs by L.A. City Councilmember Gil Cedillo. Look out Clarence Eckerson!

Honorable Mention: Steve Hymon (still The Source for Metro news), the teams at Curbed and Building Los Angeles, Brian Addison (for his work at The Long Beach Post, of course), and the Militant Angeleno (the anonymous bike-loving militant writes the some of the best CicLAvia guides).