Maria Sotolongo saying so long to Fox4 (2nd update)
04/10/08 05:14 PM
By ED BARK
Fox4 weathercaster and entertainment reporter Maria Sotolongo has decided to leave the station, several sources confirmed Thursday.
Her last day will be Friday, where she's scheduled to sit in for regular forecaster Evan Andrews on the early morning Good Day program.
Fox4 news director Maria Barrs did not respond to email inquiries sent earlier Thursday, but Sotolongo replied early Friday afternoon after her final shift at the station.
"I'm leaving to be with my baby girl, Ysabel," she said in an email. "I've waited a long time to be a mom and I don't want to miss a minute of her growth. I leave Fox4 with nothing but gratitude and great memories. It truly is one of the best places I've worked."
Formerly with the Spanish language network Telemundo, Sotolongo joined Fox4 in fall 2003. She had her first child on Dec. 11th of last year.
On Friday's Good Day, co-anchor Megan Henderson said she was "bummed" about it being Sotolongo's last day.
Sotolongo said she's looking forward to a change.
"I'm going to be home with my baby, and I couldn't ask for anything more," she told Henderson and co-anchor Tim Ryan.
As previously reported on unclebarky.com, Fox4 also is losing veteran reporter Jeff Crilley at the end of the May sweeps. He's leaving to start up a public relations firm. The station recently terminated another longtime reporter, Rebecca Aguilar, after a lengthy and highly publicized suspension.