Former L.A. Times reporter Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson has been reporting on Sacramento and politics for the Orange County Register for the last little while, but she may need to pick up a few burkas for where she's going. The newsroom memo follows, and yes, at the Register everyone is an associate — just like the clerks in a fancy department store:

Fellow associates

Please join me in congratulating Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson, who is leaving us for the rare opportunity to open and run and NPR bureau in Kabul, Afghanistan.

Although Soraya has only been with us a little over a year, she made a big impact on our gubernatorial coverage, bringing us new levels of authority in our reporting on the state's famous (and, from time to time, infamous) governor. She brought us an "outsider's" fresh perspective on the beat but with the sophisticated reporting of an "insider." And, true to form, Soraya has worked out a departure schedule that ensures she'll see this election through before departing. Her last day is Nov. 10.

We will miss her, even though we hope to hear her voice often on the radio.

William Diepenbrock
Orange County Register
State Editor