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Lia Russell

@liaoffleash.bsky.social
13K followers 758 following 726 posts

Gavin Newsom reporter @sacbee.com. Priors: The Baltimore Sun, Bangor Daily News. “Shockingly good at ferreting out detailed personal info.”

PostsRepliesMedia
Reposted by Lia Russell
lizardbreath 🦎🪦🎃 @spindlypete.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
you shouldn't take an iced coffee to a job interview because you shouldn't be trying to get a job. you should be digging an enormous pit or a complex system of tunnels
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suhauna hussain @suhauna.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
With more layoffs today in the five alarm fire that is the dissipating news industry, re-upping my story about a California bill sitting on Gov. Newsom’s desk that would create refundable tax credits for newsrooms that advocates describe as a lifeline www.latimes.com/california/s...
latimes.com
Bill to aid California newsrooms now on the governor's desk
Assembly Bill 2222 would create refundable tax credits for California local news organizations based on the number of journalists they employ, which in practice would provide direct cash infusions to ...
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Defector @defector.com · 25/08/2026
Soraya Roberts was a great critic and a great hang: defector.com/soraya-rober...
defector.com
Soraya Roberts Was A Great Critic And A Great Hang | Defector
A not-insignificant part of my job is fielding phone calls from freelance writers who have questions. The questions can vary—Have you heard of any job openings? Are you interested in this pitch? An…
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Lia Russell @liaoffleash.bsky.social · 22/08/2026
Nothing but hatred in my heart for people who don’t rack their weights
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chloe @laughingandsmiling.bsky.social · 14/08/2026
It’s so funny that Chi Osse was just gayguy style shitposting and now “woke 1 was crazyyy” has become a doomspelling phrase we’re going to be contending with for the next three years
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Marisa Kabas @marisakabas.bsky.social · 27/07/2026
Exclusive from me — Daniel Moraff, one of the political operatives behind Graham Platner's rise and fall, has been accused of sexual assault. Full story here:
thehandbasket.co
Exclusive: Political operative behind Graham Platner's rise accused of sexual assault
A spokesperson for Daniel Moraff said: “Any suggestion that he committed a criminal offence is false and without foundation."
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Lia Russell @liaoffleash.bsky.social · 15/07/2026
Scoop: Gavin Newsom raised $250k after soliciting supporters for donations after announcing the FBI was investigating him and his wife www.sacbee.com/news/politic...
sacbee.com
Gov. Gavin Newsom raised $250K after announcing DOJ probe
Campaign For Democracy raised $250,000 after Newsom asked supporters to help him defend himself against the DOJ probe.
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Lia Russell @liaoffleash.bsky.social · 14/07/2026
Sometimes I think I’m too deferential to the people in power who I cover and then a more powerful national figure dies and I read all the blue check reporters’ memorials and think “never mind”
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Lia Russell @liaoffleash.bsky.social · 08/07/2026
this is such a good articulation of why and how I’ve been going borderline insane reading these “leftist” cis male journalists working out their own gender anxieties by lashing out at Platner’s victims
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Reposted by Lia Russell
Emma Gallegos @emmagallegos.bsky.social · 08/07/2026
Great profile by Thomas Peele on Bobbie Simpson, the first openly trans person elected to a California school board in deep red Shasta. This quote from a local Republican says it all: “Sometimes the transgender woman is your sober, boring pick in an election." edsource.org/2026/transge...
edsource.org
The journey of Bobbie Simpson: Transgender woman making strides on school board in deep red Shasta County
Bobbie Simpson is halfway through her term as the first elected openly transgender person to serve on a California school board.
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Ryan Broderick @ryanhatesthis.bsky.social · 08/07/2026
A lot of leftist men were — and seemingly still are — willing to accept Graham Platner's many many faults because they have a sneering, condescending belief that working people in this country are white townie oafs who will only listen to other white townie oafs. www.garbageday.email/p/the-curdli...
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jamelle @jamellebouie.net · 06/07/2026
let this be a lesson to deal with your feelings of gender anxiety and masculine inadequacy with a hobby or therapy or something and not a high stakes senate election
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Lia Russell @liaoffleash.bsky.social · 25/06/2026
I’m being very brave for not quitting my job today to become a stagecoach robber in 1872
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Lia Russell @liaoffleash.bsky.social · 21/06/2026
Going thru A Time, some of which is compounded by thoughts about parenthood today and the general state of the world, but I’ve still kept busting PRs and crushing iron. This is free marketing for Liftoff and @caseyjohnston.bsky.social
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June Martin @theworldsgreatestwriter.com · 20/06/2026
if you think this post is good, you should know my novel is even better bookshop.org/p/books/love...
bookshop.org
Love/Aggression
Check out Love/Aggression - <p>Best friends Lily and Zoe fight, separate, reunite, and repeat, each time deepening the belief that the other is the source of their problems. Once Lily, a struggling ta...
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June Martin @theworldsgreatestwriter.com · 19/06/2026
lmao poor yorick. they got his ass
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maia arson crimew 🏴 @crimew.gay · 16/06/2026
Here are all 113 alleged members we were able to successfully extract. This data can also be verified via versions of the site captured by the Wayback Machine, even if it doesn't properly render the website.
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Reposted by Lia Russell
The Sacramento Bee @sacbee.com · 20/06/2026
Camila Pedrosa, one of The Bee’s most prolific journalists, is taking on a new role covering all things fun in the Golden State.
bit.ly
New Bee California Diversions Reporter has ‘no shortage’ of activities to cover
Camila Pedrosa, one of The Bee’s most prolific journalists, is taking on a new role covering all things fun in the Golden State.
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Lia Russell @liaoffleash.bsky.social · 16/06/2026
ICYMI Sources: DOJ investigations into Gov. Gavin Newsom tied to wife’s finances, nonprofits www.sacbee.com/news/politic...
sacbee.com
Sources: DOJ investigations into Gov. Gavin Newsom tied to wife’s finances, nonprofits
The probe focuses on Siebel Newsom’s taxes and nonprofits connected to her and Gov. Gavin Newsom, according sources familiar with the investigations.
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Reposted by Lia Russell
andrew webster @andrewrweb.bsky.social · 11/06/2026
they asked me to write something about the world cup, so here you go www.theverge.com/entertainmen...
theverge.com
With the World Cup looming, there’s still no clear replacement for sports Twitter
A poster’s dilemma.
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Ariane Lange @arianelange.bsky.social · 03/06/2026
McClatchy’s corporate leaders still haven’t made a case for their AI initiative to the public. Internally, they’ve said ~if reporters don’t comply with this AI scheme, we’ll be ruined.~ Unionized journalists believe the opposite is true: Their AI plan is a death spiral. san.com/cc/this-majo...
Screenshot of headline text: “Exclusive: Newspaper chain’s executives tell journalists to accept AI or face ruin”
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Reposted by Lia Russell
Barry Petchesky @barryp.bsky.social · 28/05/2026
Freelancing is hard enough already, and inflation sucks. Defector is raising our base freelance rates by 20 percent. Great time to pitch us. Email me or pitches@defector.com
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Lia Russell @liaoffleash.bsky.social · 28/05/2026
I’ll be on @kalwradio.bsky.social in 10 minutes talking about the CA governor’s race
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Reposted by Lia Russell
tyler @perhapsperhaps.bsky.social · 21/05/2026
just fyi this photo exists because i make music, which you can listen to on apple, tidal, bandcamp and lots of other places.
chapslovesyou.bandcamp.com
In All Directions, by CHAPS
10 track album
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Lia Russell @liaoffleash.bsky.social · 19/05/2026
Gavin Newsom said in a speech at CAP today that AI resentment will dominate future elections: ‘The pitchforks are here’ www.sacbee.com/news/politic...
sacbee.com
Newsom says AI resentment to dominate future elections. ‘The pitchforks are here’
Newsom floated universal basic income and universal basic capital to solutions for expected AI-related unemployment.
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Reposted by Lia Russell
Emily St. James @emilystjams.bsky.social · 15/05/2026
What's gutting about this is that Juniper seems to have had a family who supported and loved her, she was in a community that has been explicitly welcoming to trans people, and a man still murdered her. She was living the life so many trans people can only dream of, and it simply didn't matter.
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Michelle Cyca @michellecyca.com · 08/05/2026
via @keithlaw.bsky.social, it looks like a reader spotted this fabricated quote in the @nytimes.com on April 15, the day after the story was published & more than two weeks before the paper published a correction notice. hmm!!! bsky.app/profile/iris...
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gwen howerton @kissphoria.bsky.social · 04/05/2026
once again i have been snubbed by the failing pulitzer prizes
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Lia Russell @liaoffleash.bsky.social · 04/05/2026
If there was any justice in the world and we still valued art, hbo would reassemble the early 2010s true detective writers’ room and crank out a whole new series based on the Epstein files to match the ending of s1
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Reposted by Lia Russell
Lindsay Ballant @lballant.bsky.social · 30/04/2026
Let’s this be a teachable moment for those who refuse to acknowledge that Bluesky is a resistance lib echo chamber
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Bangor Daily News @bangordailynews.bsky.social · 30/04/2026
Follow for the latest updates on the race now that Gov. Janet Mills has dropped out, effectively making Graham Platner the Democratic nominee. www.bangordailynews.com/2026/04/30/p...
bangordailynews.com
Live updates: Democrats get behind Graham Platner after Janet Mills’ Senate exit
Live updates on U.S. Senate race after Democrat Graham Platner secures nomination to challenge Sen. Susan Collins after Gov. Janet Mills drops out.
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Ariane Lange @arianelange.bsky.social · 21/04/2026
TheWrap reports today on how a McClatchy corporate executive spoke about reporters with practical and ethical concerns about the company’s new AI article-generating tool. At the Sacramento Bee, unionized journalists are proudly “defiant” because we believe this tool compromises our integrity.
Screenshot of text: ““Journalists who embrace and experiment with this tool are going to win,” Nelson told the group, according to multiple people familiar with the meeting. “Journalists who are defiant will fall behind. Bottom line: We need more stories and we need more inventory.”” The sentence “Journalists who are defiant will fall behind” is underlined in blue
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Reposted by Lia Russell
Rose Broderick @rosebroderick.bsky.social · 20/04/2026
A phenomenal story from @theresagaff.bsky.social about how access to gender-affirming care for adults, like with kids, is shrinking. www.statnews.com/2026/04/20/t...
statnews.com
Even for trans adults, care is hard to find: ‘I could not do it on my own’
State restrictions, Trump administration policies, and waning public support are further limiting adults' access to transgender care
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Alexei Koseff @akoseff.bsky.social · 16/04/2026
We've been asked a lot how we got our story about the sexual assault allegations against Eric Swalwell. @demianbulwa.bsky.social wrote about the fundamental acts of journalism, not opposition research, that unearthed this scandal: www.sfchronicle.com/politics/art...
sfchronicle.com
‘Keep digging’: What happened in months and days leading up to the Chronicle’s Eric Swalwell story
The woman who answered a reporter’s call last month was hesitant, at first. She withheld the painful account she would later reveal. The next morning, she asked to keep talking.
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Reposted by Lia Russell
Ryan Nanni @celebrityhottub.bsky.social · 12/04/2026
please don’t give Tiger ideas
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Joshua Eaton @joshuaeaton.bsky.social · 11/04/2026
Reporters (and editors) know so many more things than they can actually report publicly. Most of it second- or third-hand, through the rumor mill.
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Alexei Koseff @akoseff.bsky.social · 10/04/2026
Many California Democrats now calling for Swalwell to drop out of the governor's race, including one of his campaign co-chairs: www.sfchronicle.com/politics/art...
sfchronicle.com
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Capitol Weekly @capitolweekly.bsky.social · 09/04/2026
PODCAST: @sacbee.com reporter @liaoffleash.bsky.social was part of the team that broke the news of former Newsom COS Dana Williamson’s arrest last year. We asked about that story, covering the capitol - and about all those tattoos capitolweekly.net/covering-the...
capitolweekly.net
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Reposted by Lia Russell
Ariane Lange @arianelange.bsky.social · 09/04/2026
In a story on ProPublica reporters’ fight for AI protections, WaPo highlights Bee journalists who stand against McClatchy’s AI “articles” initiative. I wonder why McClatchy has now twice declined to comment on this AI tool. Internally we have heard corporate executives say they’re very proud of it 🤔
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Ariane Lange @arianelange.bsky.social · 07/04/2026
Unionized journalists at the Sacramento Bee stand united against McClatchy’s latest AI “articles” initiative. We have withheld our bylines from these stories because we do not want the public to think this is being done in our name — it’s not. We think it’s disgusting.
Screenshot of the following headline and subhed: McClatchy Journalists Revolt Against AI: ‘It’s a Betrayal’ | Exclusive

Sacramento Bee staffers refuse bylines over a new AI tool as colleagues at the Miami Herald and Charlotte Observer harbor concerns
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Seth D. Michaels @sethdmichaels.bsky.social · 06/04/2026
“right wing billionaires sell off chunks of longstanding American institutions to Arab oil billionaires” is a plot point in the 1979 Kurt Vonnegut novel JAILBIRD and it probably read a little heavy handed at the time
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Lia Russell @liaoffleash.bsky.social · 06/04/2026
Busy day in Sac today: First: California intends to reward a $19M contract burnishing its image nationwide to a company that helped Saudi Arabia rehab its image after the 2018 killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi www.sacbee.com/news/politic...
sacbee.com
California to award brand campaign to company that advised Saudi Arabia after journalist’s killing
Edelman is one of the world’s largest communication firms with offices in Los Angeles and San Francisco.
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Andrew Sheeler @andrewsheeler.bsky.social · 06/04/2026
Lia is a real one! Check out this interview!
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Capitol Weekly @capitolweekly.bsky.social · 06/04/2026
PODCAST: @sacbee.com reporter @liaoffleash.bsky.social. Russell covers the governor, and helped break the story of Dana Williamson’s arrest last year. We asked about that story, covering the capitol, and what it was like to cover politics in Maine and Baltimore capitolweekly.net/covering-the...
capitolweekly.net
Covering the Capitol, with Lia Russell of the Sacramento Bee - Capitol Weekly
CAPITOL WEEKLY PODCAST: Today's guest is Sacramento Bee reporter Lia Russell. Russell covers the governor for The Bee’s Capitol Bureau, and was part of the team that broke the story of Dana Williamson...
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tyler @perhapsperhaps.bsky.social · 27/03/2026
uh hey idk what's going on with this post (modest tiddy reveal really hitting i guess) but since you're here it would be dope if you went and listened to my album! linktr.ee/chapslovesyo...
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Ami Fields-Meyer @fieldsmeyer.com · 23/03/2026
C.S. Lewis’s advice on how to become a better writer to a young school girl (per Athenaeum Book Club on Substack)
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Olúfẹ́mi O. Táíwò @olufemiotaiwo.bsky.social · 18/03/2026
obviously this story wouldn't have been any less dark if this wasn't true, but I really wasn't prepared for one of the victims to have been Dolores Huerta
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Tina Vasquez @tinavasquez.bsky.social · 18/03/2026
Just updating this here with a New York Times investigation published today, documenting years of Chavez's sexual violence against underage girls and even Dolores Huerta:
nytimes.com
Cesar Chavez, a Civil Rights Icon, Is Accused of Abusing Girls for Years
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Rachel Cohen Booth @rcobooth.bsky.social · 17/03/2026
New: The legal attacks on transgender Americans are moving fast beyond questions of school sports and youth gender medicine. Democrats are getting caught flatfooted, as they're still debating how to respond to the wedge issues @vox.com gift link: www.vox.com/policy/48276...
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