Mirthala Salinas leaves TV anchor seat for her family

Mirthala Salinas Facebook page.

Mirthala Salinas, the former star reporter/anchor for Telemundo in Los Angeles who lost her gig after an affair with Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa went public, stepped down last week as the local news anchor on Estrella TV's KRCA, Channel 62 in the LA area. "She says she wants to spend more time with her family," Veronica Villafañe posts at her Media Moves website.

Per the site, a translated excerpt of what Salinas posted on Facebook in Spanish:

I’m not one for good-byes and that’s why I didn’t do it on the air. Friday was my last day at Estrella TV. It was a difficult decision, yet the best. I need to dedicate more time to my children. I thank you for all your support.

Salinas became KRCA’s local anchor in September of 2011. Before that she had done some radio. Salinas was an anchor/reporter at Telemundo's KVEA-52 from 1997 to 2007, until the Villaraigosa affair broke in the news, and it came out that she had covered Villaraigosa while involved with him. He ended up getting divorced and Salinas' lost her Telemundo career. She spoke about her career turn in 2008 in Los Angeles Magazine. Later, LA Times columnist Steve Lopez columnized that Villaraigosa's TV reporter girlfriend at the time, Lu Parker of KTLA, should have lunch with Salinas. Don't know if it ever happened.