KCBS-TV suffered a huge loss Friday when veteran Los Angeles anchor Laura Diaz announced she was leaving the station after nine years to produce her own projects.

Diaz has been a mainstay in Los Angeles since 1983, landing her first break as a reporter for KABC-TV. The Southern California native made history in 1997 when she was named the lead anchor of KABC-TV’s 5 and 11 p.m. newscasts — making her the first female Hispanic weekday news anchor for an English TV station in Los Angeles.

Diaz’s last broadcast is an Eye on the Community special this Sunday at 6:30 p.m. on the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks.

“It has been an amazing run at CBS 2, and I’ll miss the many colleagues who have become close friends,” Diaz said in a statement. “Getting a chance to serve Southern Californians with news that matters is something I will always treasure and it’s something I look forward to continuing to do.”

Rick Garcia, from sister station KCAL-TV, will replace Diaz on the KCBS-TV 6 p.m.newscast, president and general manager Steve Mauldin announced.