The Oakland Tribune reports that Dennis J. Oliver, an award-winning police and environmental reporter for the Tri-Valley Herald in Pleasanton and Hayward Daily Review, has died following a brief illness. He was 47.

Oliver worked as a reporter from 1981 to 2000 and then went on to become director of communications at the Sacramento-based California Alliance for Jobs. For the past 3½ years, he worked as a public information officer for the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency.

Don Buchholz, former night editor of the Daily Review who worked with Oliver in the 1980s and early 1990s, remembered him as “a bulldog of a reporter who gave 111% effort in everything he did as our cops reporter. He had an outstanding work ethic … and did really excellent work.”

Chris Campos, a designer with the Mercury News, knew Oliver for more than 30 years. “I was shocked at hearing the news of Dennis’ passing. Dennis was a news professional with tremendous talent, expertise and determination.”