Ansel Herz, who's been kicking ass on all kinds of topics, from unrest at Sakuma Brothers Farms to the death of Cody Spafford, is the newest staff writer at The Stranger.

Ansel came aboard as a news apprentice a while back, after doing work for The Nation, Al Jazeera English, and ABC News, among other outlets. You might have thought he already was a staff writer, and we basically ended up thinking the same thing. Now it's official! Ansel will be covering a lot of stuff, as we all do, but he'll focus on crime, courts, environmental issues, and transportation. If you have hot tips, write him at ansel@thestranger.com. He's also @ansel on Twitter.