Say Hello To Your New Patch Editor!

Hello Patch readers. My name is Merab-Michal Favorite.

I graduated with my B.A. in journalism at the University of South Florida.
Prior to earning my degree, I took a few years off to crew on a yacht through the Caribbean. My longest trip was 14 days at sea. I eventually made my way from the Snead Island Boatworks all the way to Trinidad.

I also attended Manatee Community College (now SCF) and Santa Fe Community College in Gainesville.

I like to think my personality was molded from where I grew up on Snead Island, which is located in Palmetto. Before there was a county park (Emerson Point Park) on the island, the Native American mounds served as my playground. As a child, I would hide in the woods surrounding the park as well as swim and play at the mouth of the Manatee River.

In addition to working for Patch, I recently authored two local books. They are pictorial histories of Palmetto and Bradenton, which are available through Arcadia Publishing. So, if you like history and want to know more about the area, just ask, or if you have your own history to share, I would love to listen!

I love anything to do with the water, so you will probably see me paddle boarding, boating, sailing or camping on one of the local keys. My all time favorite thing on the planet is to be completely disconnected from the rest of the world -- 100 miles offshore and under sail at night.

Some of my favorite places to visit are Greer (Beercan) Island, Skeet’s Key and Starfish Co. in Manatee County and Burns Court Cinema and Epicure in Sarasota.

As part of my beat, I would like to do a profile of an elected official every week and I was wondering, what would you, as readers, like to know about the people running your city? Please comment on this article and let me know.

Do you have a news tips? Please drop me a line. I can be reached at merab.favorite@patch.com or 239-786-6957. Be sure to stay connected via Facebook and Twitter, too. Looking forward to seeing you around town!