Credits

About the reporter

TOM KNUDSON has been awarded many times for his journalism. His notable work for The Bee includes "State of Denial," about the ways California's strict environmental policies conflict with its use of resources from environmentally fragile parts of the planet. That series, published in 2003, received a citation for excellence from the Overseas Press Club of America. Knudson also is a two-time winner of the Pulitzer Prize. In 1992, his series about the Sierra Nevada received a Pulitzer for public service; in 1985, he won the national reporting prize while working at the Des Moines (Iowa) Register, for stories about the health risks run by farmers. Knudson can be reached at tknudson@sacbee.com or (530)582-5336.

About the photographer

HECTOR AMEZCUA has been a staff photographer for The Sacramento Bee for eight years, having previously worked at both the Fresno and Modesto Bees. He has documented a variety of major stories at The Bee, including a series on the first play staged at Luther Burbank High School in a decade, "Staging a Comeback." Amezcua has received first-place photo honors from The California Newspaper Publishers Association and the National Association of Hispanic Journalists. For this project, in addition to the photography, he helped with translation and reporting and recorded video and audio. Amezcua, a Mexico City native, became a U.S. citizen earlier this year. He can be reached at hamezcua@sacbee.com or (916)321-7462.

Project staff

The Sacramento Bee

AMY PYLE, projects editor

ROBERT CASEY, assistant managing editor/visuals

SUE MORROW, deputy director of photography

TIM REESE, assistant director of photography

NATHANIEL LEVINE, graphic artist

RICK NELSON and RAY FITTS, copy editors

PETE BASOFIN and BECKY BOYD, researchers

sacbee.com

JASON MONTIEL, content producer

SETH VAN BOOVEN, senior designer/technologist