LA Times reporter goes first person on funeral of former subject

Kate Linthicum, one of the City Hall reporters for the Los Angeles Times, had written about Alex Renteria two years ago for a feature on the opening of the building's newly opened Homeboy Diner. Renteria worked there. In Monday's paper she writes about Renteria again, this time as someone she had come to know and who was the subject of a tragic news story. Renteria was the father who died in a crash near Acton last month and whose nine-year-old daughter walked through the night to get help. Sample:

I worked at City Hall, so I encountered Alex every time I went to Homeboy for a salad or a cup of coffee. He was a real charmer, always quick to tell me how nice I looked, and never failing to ask about my day. When I was going through a hard breakup, he made me hot chocolate and offered advice.

Alex had expressive eyebrows that arched comically when he told jokes. He loved old-school R&B and freestyle music and was proud of his weekend job as a mover. He adored his daughter, Cecilia, and was saving up to take her to Disneyland for her birthday next month.

Alex, 35, a single dad, often brought Cecilia with him to work. She got to know a number of city workers who would sometimes take her on tours of their offices.

I shouldn't have been surprised by the number of City Hall employees who made the trek to San Fernando for Alex's funeral Friday. Or by the proclamation sent by Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa. Capri Maddox, the president of the Board of Public Works, gave Cecilia a commemorative egg from the White House Easter Egg Roll a few weeks ago.