‘American Idol’ alum to open for Queen in Las Vegas

Columnist Diane Bell has been chronicling life in and around the city of San Diego for the U-T since 1995. In bite-sized news items, she tells about the people, places, history and highlights of this dynamic region, capturing the off-beat, the upbeat and the heartbeat of San Diego. In prior years, Diane was opinion pages editor and an editorial writer, and served as president of the National Association of Opinion Page Editors. She received her masters in journalism from the University of Missouri, followed by stints as an editor and a reporter covering various news beats, including education, features, general news and consumer issues. She won the national Penney-Missouri award for consumer reporting. Before becoming opinion pages editor at the U-T, Diane was senior deputy editor of U.S. News & World Report in Washington, D.C.