Long-time L.A. Times sportswriter Mike Penner walked into the Times building yesterday and was stopped at the security desk because his badge photo, of a strapping blond man, did not correspond to the person standing there: a tall woman with strawberry blonde hair wearing light make-up and bracelets. Penner, 49, is now Christine Daniels. Friend Billy Witz, a sportswriter at the L.A. Daily News, told Outsports.com that Mike and Christine are like two different people:
"Mike has always been a very introspective, quiet person," Witz said. "Now I would say she's quite outgoing. [A few months ago] she performed a '60s soul routine with a group of friends, where she was really dressed up and lip-synching Diana Ross tunes. Never in a million years would Mike have done anything like that."
The website says Daniels is married to fellow L.A. Times sportswriter Lisa Dillman. Had some trouble properly categorizing this.