North Hills Patch Launches New Community Website

Hello and welcome to North Hills Patch!

A new, online-only community publication, North Hills Patch is a dedicated news and information resource for those living in Ross Township and West View.

We’ll be at and meetings, community days and holiday parades. We’ll help you stay informed about what’s going on on your street and two blocks over, and help you spread good news when you have a moment to celebrate.

It’s our goal to be comprehensive, to share all that makes these communities great to live in as well as provide the information you need to know to feel ownership in the decisions that affect the quality of life.

We’re not just offering local news and stories. Our site is built around the idea that the conversations you have about that news and those stories is integral to the work we do.

You may contribute to articles, posting your thoughts directly on those pages in our comments section. If you have questions we aren’t answering, you can visit our Q&A section and quickly get answers from us and your neighbors reading the site. If you’re interested in publishing a blog on our site to share your thoughts on a subject, we’ll get you set up.

We also want to help you find what you’re looking for quickly: Where are the bakeries in town? When do they open? Do they take credit cards? What about a child-friendly place for lunch? Or which parks have a soccer field, a playground and a picnic pavilion? What about a pond for fishing?

Answers to those questions and more about places around town and things to do are found in our directory and our calendar of events. Anyone in the community may contribute to the directory and calendar in real time -- another way we hope to inspire meaningful and relevant conversations about living in Ross Township and West View.

Who’s behind the site?

My name is AmyJo Brown, and I’m the local editor of North Hills Patch. An experienced reporter and editor, I’m passionate about telling stories that inform and inspire. A favorite quotation that I always paste above my desk:

"News is the inexact measure of the ebb and flow of the tides of human aspiration, the ignominy of mankind, the glory of the human race. It is the best record we have of the incredible meanness and the magnificent courage of man." - Stanley Walker, New York Herald Tribune

I’m working with a team of local freelancers, including West View photographer John Altdorfer and Allison Park writer Amanda Hartle, to keep up on what’s happening in Ross and West View.

Got an idea for a story? See something around town that you have a question about? Know of someone who deserves to be highlighted for the work they’re doing? Send an email to amyjo.brown@patch.com, send a tweet to@NorthHillsPatch or drop a message on Facebook. Or do it the old-school way and pull me aside in person: My whereabouts can be tracked on Foursquare.

We’re proud of the site and hope to make it one you find pride in as well. Please let us know how we’re doing.