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Longtime local news reporter Lupita Murillo will celebrate a milestone in her broadcast journalism career on Monday.

June 30 marks Murillo's 30th anniversary with the local NBC affiliate, KVOA, a rare occasion in an industry in which anchors and reporters are constantly bouncing from one station to another.

"I am just amazed at how much time has gone by," Murillo said in a phone interview Thursday. "It seems like just yesterday that I drove into town not knowing a soul, and here I am 30 years later."

Murillo came to Tucson in 1978 after several years working with KRGV-TV in Weslaco, Texas. As one of the first Hispanic women to take on television news in the Lone Star State, Murillo joined the team straight out of the University of Texas-Pan American and found herself knee-deep in a male-dominated profession.

"I remember one time walking into the break room and the guys were drinking their coffee and smoking their cigars," she said. "One of them said, 'What is this world coming to when we are letting women into the business?' "

She added, "Working in an all-male environment made me the person that I am today. You had to compete."

Murillo found Tucson to be more comfortable. "I didn't face that kind of issue here," she said.

KVOA allowed her to flourish as a reporter. In her time in the Old Pueblo, the native Texan has interviewed celebrities and death-row inmates and covered homicides and drug busts. Her efforts have earned her numerous awards, including several prestigious Edward R. Murrow and Associated Press honors.

Murillo has seen Tucson's dramatic changes over the years and looks forward to covering whatever comes next.

"My goal was to be here for two years at the max and then go back to Texas," she said. "I guess the Catalinas kept me here."

Scouts for the popular weight-loss reality series "The Biggest Loser" will be back in the Phoenix area on July 19 looking for contestants. Coordinators will hold a casting call at the Superstition Springs Center, 6555 E. Southern Ave. in Mesa, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Just as when they came through in March, show representatives will be looking for teams of two and guarantee that they will see the first 500 people who show up.

Scouts request you bring a non-returnable photo of you and your partner and ask that you not line up more than three hours before the auditions start.

The Tucson-Phoenix area has been a hotbed for reality-show contestants in recent years. Mesa resident Ali Vincent took home the $250,000 grand prize in April when she won the fifth season of "Biggest Loser." She dropped 47.86 percent of her body weight over the course of the competition.

For more information, call 1-480-396-2570.