Jenny O’Mara came to Sacramento in 1997 after four years of "cutting her teeth" in radio in the Midwest and Las Vegas. In small-town Indiana her job included pre-dawn check-ins at the police and fire stations on her way to anchoring the morning news. In Las Vegas it was once again early mornings, watching the sun take over the bright lights of the Strip as she drove in to work for an experimental and ill-fated FM all news operation. A job as a reporter for KFBK brought her to Sacramento and the occasional story at the state Capitol whet her appetite for covering California politics. When the opportunity came to work at Capital Public Radio to cover state government she jumped at the chance.
Her first few months at the Capitol included the start of the energy crisis and a truck slamming into the South side of the Capitol building. Among other things she’s observed and reported on the recall of Governor Gray Davis, the election and early days of Governor Schwarzenegger’s time in office, the disastrous 2005 Special Election, the ups and downs of the state’s economy, several State of the State addresses, budget releases, and May Revisions of the budgets. While there are predictable events that occur at the Capitol she finds every year brings a unique twist to the issues.
O’Mara was born and raised in Southern California and graduated from Cal State Northridge with degrees in Journalism and Speech Communication.When not working, O’Mara enjoys spending time with her family, who are spread all over the state. She is married to Henry Steinbeck. They have a young daughter.