Kristy Hutchings covers all things Long Beach — including local government, politics, health and the environment. Prior to joining the Press-Telegram, she served as the Daily Breeze's lead city hall reporter. Hutchings holds a B.A. in communication and M.S. in journalism from the University of Southern California.

Her work has been published across Southern California News Group papers, including the Los Angeles Daily News, the Orange County Register, the Long Beach Press-Telegram, and the Daily Breeze. Her freelance work has been featured in Capital & Main, Fast Company, BuzzFeed News, and NBC.

The California News Publisher's Association awarded Hutchings a 2nd place profile writing prize in 2022. She was also part of BuzzFeed's FinCen Files investigation, which was named a 2021 Pulitzer Prize finalist in international reporting.