Rachel began reporting in 2017 at her community college publication in San Luis Obispo, California, where she covered stories about the city, including a hit-and-run that killed a college student and devastated the community.
She then transferred to California State University, Long Beach, working as news editor and later managing editor of the university's publication, the Long Beach Current. In Long Beach, Rachel covered several local interest stories, including breaking a story before city publications about illegal dumping on sacred Native American land, known as Puvungna, located on campus.
In college, Rachel was awarded first place for Best News Series at the California College Media Awards for her coverage of a shooting threat that impacted CSULB in 2019. She was also awarded second place at the California Journalism Awards for her enterprise news series "Behind the Scenes" that showcased lesser-known aspects of CSULB.
Just before her graduation in 2020, Rachel joined EdSource's first-ever student journalism corps and was part of a three-person team that published the first student-reported news story on the publication's website. The story detailed how the COVID-19 pandemic hit homeless and housing-insecure students in Los Angeles County hard and what unique struggles they faced during the tumultuous time.
Rachel started working at Patch in 2022, covering Los Angeles County's South Bay region and Long Beach. During her time as a Los Angeles reporter, Rachel covered a variety of topics, including a form of plastic pollution impacting the California coast called Nurdles. Rachel also featured on PBS show "Sustaining US" to inform the larger community about nurdles.
In Spring 2025, Rachel transferred to Patch's team of reporters in Illinois and now covers communities in Chicago's North Shore, including: Skokie, Evanston, Wilmette, Kenilworth, Winnetka, Glencoe, Lake Bluff, Lake Forest and Highland Park.
Outside of reporting, Rachel enjoys attending concerts, reading and playing Dungeons & Dragons. She has two cats named Bug and Beans, who are a general terror to society but are also incredibly lovable.
Pitches are welcome over email at rachel.barnes@patch.com. Please be respectful.
The city will celebrate the completion of the Tennis and Pickleball Center Renovation Project with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Friday.
The weekly crime summary covers incidents in Manhattan Beach from Sept. 12 to 18.
According to police, a man shot and killed two people before barricading himself inside a home and taking his own life
This unique Los Angeles pizzeria is well-known for its delicious pies, landing it a spot in the world's top 50 pizza places.
This unique Southern California pizzeria is well-known for its delicious pies, landing it a spot in the world's top 50 pizza places.
Manhattan Beach will install trash capture devices within the city's storm drain systems that flow into the Santa Monica Bay.
County health officials are investigating two human cases of Baylisascaris procyonis, also known as raccoon roundworm.
Traffic along major streets will be reduced to one lane while Southern California Edison replaces transmission wires.
The annual nationwide campaign inspires people to take action against hunger and raise awareness for those facing food insecurity.
The 90-day program allows residents to drop off and recycle their used mattresses in a designated area 24/7.
A man believed to be responsible for the deaths of two people has barricaded himself inside of a building, police said.
The South Bay Community Coalition Against Hate partnered with community organizations to host events during United Against Hate Week.
The weekly crime summary covers incidents in Manhattan Beach from Sept. 5 to 11.
Great white sharks are being left on the beach with their fins cut off and their heads severed.
The week in CA business news includes abrupt closures of an actor's fast-food chain, Amazon Closings, and CA's best restaurants.
The girl was originally reported missing last month, but was recently located before she went missing again LBPD said.
Candidate Herlinda Chico tells Patch why she should be elected as City Councilmember for Long Beach's 4th District on Nov. 5.
Natural gas service for 34 homes in Rolling Hills will be discontinued on Monday and 51 residents could also lose electricity.
The complaint filed by LA's District attorney accused Home Depot of charging customers higher prices than advertised and posted in stores.
Seven students in Redondo Beach scored among the top one percent of all high school seniors in the country in the PSATs.
