Sharon McNary
Politics Reporter

- @KPCCsharon
- Phone: (626) 583-5126
Sharon McNary is a Politics Reporter for Southern California Public Radio. She uses public records, public engagement sourcing and other methods (like good old fashioned shoe leather) to help draw stories from the experience, expertise and concerns of our communities as well as from political agendas. These days, she is covering the built environment around Southern California -- sidewalks, water and sewer systems -- to find out what's working, what's broken, and who's fixing it.
In her first three years at KPCC, Sharon launched KPCC’s Public Insight Network, a group of several thousand people who — by sharing their experiences and expertise — help the newsroom cover Southern California. People who respond to Public Insight Network questions have been included in many KPCC award-winning news reports, including investigative coverage of prison conditions, long-form narratives, and talk show segments.
A military veteran, McNary was a computer programmer before she was a journalist, so she has always sought out tech-savvy and creative ways to cover news.
McNary has worked in TV news and documentaries, radio, wire service and newspapers in the Southern California news market, developing award-winning investigative and computer-assisted reporting projects.
Following a mid-career public service break with the Peace Corps in Bolivia, McNary returned to print and multimedia reporting. She has covered disasters, government corruption, growth and immigration, often using databases, mapping and other technology tools to break news.
McNary is an avid cook, seamstress and knitter while her outdoor pursuits are competing in marathons and triathlons
Stories by Sharon McNary
State seeks public's input on its new rules for gas fields
Emergency regulations enacted for underground gas storage places like the one that leaked near Porter Ranch could become permanent after a public review.
Pilot Fire: School districts remain closed, fire grows
All Hesperia and Apple Valley schools were set to remain closed Wednesday due to poor air quality, according to the U.S. Forest Service.
Pilot Fire grows to 10 square miles, evacuations ordered
A wildfire burning in the mountains between Lake Arrowhead and Silverwood Lake was about 6 percent contained late Monday.
Porter Ranch gas leak mitigation could occur outside LA Basin
Local elected officials want environmental damage be offset with local pollution reduction measures, but SoCal Gas says the work will be in the Central Valley
SoCal Gas hopes to reopen gas field that leaked by September
Company officials say only a handful of wells are necessary to resume operations -- a move that would need approval from state regulators.
Why can't LADWP hold onto its top executives?
DWP General Manager Marcie Edwards retires in two weeks, and her interim replacement will be the agency's eight GM in a decade.
Long Beach court victory could bring rail project to a halt
The new rail yard would be four miles from the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, potentially reducing the number of longer truck trips hauling cargo containers.
2.4 million gallons of sewage spill into ocean near Long Beach
Raw sewage was flowing from a broken pipeline in downtown L.A. on Tuesday afternoon — and spilling down the L.A. River into the ocean near Long Beach.
Black Lives Matter shuns LAPD alliance embraced by The Game
The group is calling for the firing of LAPD Chief Charlie Beck at a time when he's entered a high-profile dialogue with rappers about ending gang violence.
LA reacts to attempted coup in Turkey
Mehmet Berker, the son of a Turkish immigrant, worries that the coup could help the president amass more power and erode traditional democratic institutions.
Navy failed to consider dolphin protections, court rules
The federal appeals court ruling reinstates environmentalists' legal challenge of a permit that authorities gave the Navy to use sonar around dolphins.
Witness: 'Just mad chaos' in Nice after Bastille Day attack
People fled into the streets after a truck drove into a crowd celebrating the holiday on the city's promenade Thursday evening.
LA County and SoCal Gas in court fight over gas leak cleanup
The utility has already cleaned 1,700 homes in the Porter Ranch area. It's asking a judge to void a county order to clean thousands more.
Long Beach's old City Hall parcel will be privately owned
In a public private partnership, the city agreed to let a private company finance, design, build and operate its new civic center
After Dallas, LA responds in different ways
From a Black Lives Matter art show to a Summer Night Lights basketball game, Angelenos react to the violence in Dallas with a push for social change, healing and better community relations.