NY Times hires Penn to cover alternative energy

New York Times business editor Ellen Pollock sent the following announcement on Wednesday:

All–

We are delighted to announce that Ivan Penn will join Business Day to cover alternative energy.

Ivan brings vast knowledge and impressive accomplishments to the beat. He has covered utility and energy issues for nearly eight years, at the Tampa Bay Times and most recently for the Los Angeles Times. He’s told readers why Californians are paying billions for power they don’t need; why the state has invested so heavily in solar power that other states sometimes have to be paid to take it; and how energy traders have pocketed hundreds of millions of dollars at rate payers’ expense.

“Ivan is a tenacious reporter who finds great stories that usually get little attention or scrutiny,” says Larry Ingrassia, who worked with Ivan out west. “Who knew that power plants and transmission lines could be so interesting, and that executives running them could get up to such shenanigans? Well, Ivan did. California utilities and regulators will be very happy to have him focus his energy elsewhere, I am sure.”

Another fan is Natalie Kitroeff, who reports, “Ivan really is the best colleague you could ask for, and I’m so happy he’s going to be playing for our team now.” What’s more, she says, he is a mean trumpet player.

Ivan is a native of Washington, D.C., grew up in Maryland and graduated from the University of Maryland. Earlier stops in his career included the Miami Herald and the Baltimore Sun, where he was an investigative reporter and covered government, politics and criminal justice.

He’ll continue to be based in Los Angeles, where he lives with his wife, September, a singer-songwriter, and their three children. But he will roam widely in his reporting. He’ll be starting on Feb. 20 and will spend time at the mother ship, where you’ll have the pleasure of getting to know him. With luck, maybe he’ll bring his trumpet.