Four new multi-lingual reporters hired, according to a memo from AME Janet Clayton:

• Ari Bloomekatz, already on board, is a Spanish-speaking UCLA grad and intern-turned-staffer.

• Jean-Paul Renaud, from the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, has school boards and hurricanes on his resume. Speaks Spanish and (bienvenue!) French.

• Jason Song from LA's own Daily Journal. Not fully fluent but, if you speak a little Spanish or Korean to him, he'll speak a little back.
• My-Thuan Tran from the Portland Oregonian, where she covered suburban communities. Lots of internships on her resume, and she's fluent in Vietnamese.

Full(er) bios after the jump.

Ari Bloomekatz -- Ari vaulted from the intern world into The Times on the merits of a strong summer here. He's served intern duty not only at The Times, but at the Boston Globe, the Seattle Times, the Cincinnati Enquirer and the Nashville Tennessean. All told, he's got about 200 metro stories under his belt. A Nashville native, Ari graduated from UCLA with a degree in history. He speaks Spanish.

Jean-Paul Renaud -- Most recently, JP has been the South Florida Sun-Sentinel's lead education writer, covering the nation's sixth largest school district. He's covered budgets and botched land deals, and along the way several major hurricanes. He just finished his third year at the paper. Prior to his return to South Florida - he's a native - JP was a member of the METPRO class of 2003-04. He received Bachelors of Science degrees in communication/journalism and political science from the University of Miami. He is fluent in Spanish and French.

Jason Song -- Jason is fresh from a columnist's job at the legal newspaper, the Daily Journal, here in Los Angeles. Prior to that, he worked for four years at the Baltimore Sun, where he held several reporting assignments, including the higher education beat, where he was responsible for coverage of Johns Hopkins University and the University System of Maryland. A 2001 graduate of METPRO, Jason holds a BA in English and comparative literature from Occidental College. He holds his own in Spanish and can find his way in Korean, as well.

My-Thuan Tran - My-Thuan comes to us from the Portland Oregonian, where she covered several suburban communities. She ran the table on internships, with stints at The Oregonian, the Houston Chronicle, Congressional Quarterly and The Orange County Register. She attended UC Berkeley, where she majored in political science and economics. My-Thuan is fluent in Vietnamese.