Marcel Honore primarily covers rail for Civil Beat — and he’s always on the lookout for ways to describe the local transit project other than “cash-strapped,” “beleaguered” and “financially challenged” in his reports.

A native of Los Angeles, Marcel moved to Oahu in January 2013 and spent nearly five years covering transportation for the Honolulu Star-Advertiser. He also served as the paper’s main correspondent covering the Hokule’a’s three-year worldwide voyage, sailing aboard the canoe on several of its international legs.

Prior to his Hawaii arrival, Marcel worked at the Palm Springs, California, Desert Sun, where he covered city government and immigration issues. His investigations into arsenic-tinged drinking water, foul odors emanating from a contaminated-soil facility and other environmental challenges affecting that region garnered several awards, including a 2011 California Newspaper Publishers Award.

Marcel started his journalism career as a graduate student at Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism, where he served as a Washington, D.C., correspondent for The Seattle Times and the Santa Barbara News-Press. While at Northwestern he also worked at the Associated Press’ Caracas, Venezuela, bureau covering policies under then-President Hugo Chavez.

Marcel should be a much better surfer than he currently is. He sincerely apologizes for dropping in on your wave.