Email: Adam.Townsend@patch.com
Phone: 949-436-3050
Hometown: Steubenville, Ohio
Birthday: July, 1983
Bio: I grew up in a small town in the greater Pittsburgh metro-area.
I attended journalism school at the Ohio University Scripps School of Journalism; I also studied studio art and Spanish at that school.
I've been a full-time newspaper and multimedia reporter for more than a decade. I started as a general assignment reporter at a small-town paper in the Ohio Valley and moved up through the ranks at that company as I completed my degree, doing piecework for other papers and magazines while classes were in session.
In September of 2006, I started as a reporter covering various cities in north Orange County at the Orange County Register. There I also administered the AroundDisney blog, shot hundreds of photographs, created feature and courtroom illustrations and designed informational graphics.
During my time at Patch, I've led local and national media on dozens of news stories, many of which have made national headlines. I cover everything from local business features to crime to elections and technology. I've been an occasional guest on KPBS Midday's Roundtable, speaking as an media expert on the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station.
I've always had a fascination with journalism – the excitement of the process, the leap into the vortex of events as they happen, the sociability of meeting and interviewing sources, the exposure of crime and malfeasance.
I'm also a practicing artist, completing large paintings and illustrations in my spare time. I'm involved in musical pursuits; I play a few instruments to varying degrees of proficiency, but the piano is my first love.
I'm a voracious reader, preferring smutty mystery novels as pleasure reading, literature and history if I'm looking for something meatier. I've become something of a World War I buff lately.
I do some skim boarding out on North Beach – near where I've lived in San Clemente since 2006. I also train at the local MMA gym, Finish Strong.
Growing up near Pittsburgh, I'm a rabid Steelers fan. Sorry, Chargers.
My wife, Laura Lee Townsend, and I were married at the Ole Hanson Beach Club in May 2009.
Laura Lee, who also has a background in journalism, now is a certified health and fitness coach and manages San Clemente Boot Camp. You'll be seeing her maiden-name byline -- Laura Lee Bloor -- on San Clemente Patch as a health and wellness blogger.
We're both involved in charitable causes, raising money especially for the Susan G. Komen Foundation, which fights breast cancer. We also put on a production of the Vagina Monologues at Knuckleheads in 2011. Sponsored by Patch, Knuckleheads and Buds Famous Hot Dogs, we raised more than $5,000 for Laura's House network of domestic violence shelters in south Orange County.
As San Clemente Patch editor, I am here to cover San Clemente and all that goes on here. My writers and I produce breaking local stories, feature pieces, profiles of locals, high school sports news, and whatever else affects our community.
My Beliefs
I believe in democracy, fairness and hard-nosed journalism that is vital, useful and relevant. I believe in God and Jesus Christ, but I am respectful of those with other beliefs.
I believe the First Amendment is the most crucial part of the Constitution and the best means of preserving our nation.
Politics
As a journalist, I'm not a member of any political party or organization. I lean toward candidates I believe offer the best path to good governance – independent of their political philosophy. I do not vote in the San Clemente City Council races or on San Clemente ballot measures because I am covering them and strive to maintain objectivity.
Religion
I'm a Christian who was raised as a Presbyterian, but I am not currently a member of any sect or church.
Local Hot-Button Issues
Planned development at North Beach is a subject of much controversy in town, as is the Marblehead development and outlet mall and the troubled San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station. Marine and military issues are also at the forefront, considering our proximity to Camp Pendleton Marine Corps Base.
Some electricity was restored within an hour after an outage that affected thousands around 8 a.m. Tuesday. The remaining 900 customers should get service back at 10:15 a.m.
A local caterer and entrepreneur asserts that the San Clemente City Council should have voted with city staffer's recommendation to find a more experienced operator for the Kahuna Beach Grill at North Beach.
After plans for a dog beach in San Clemente were shot down by the City Council last spring, the Beaches, Parks and Recreation Commission is considering recommending expanded access for dogs in more than 10 spots.
Trail connections between San Juan Capistrano and San Clemente will shut down for as long as two months; Forester Ridgeline reopens after a week.
The Kahuna Beach Grill concession stand at the head of the San Clemente Beach Trail will be run by Martin Fox, despite objections by city staff.
San Clemente officials vote to send plans for project to honor famous San Clemente athletes back to an advisory commission.
Three phases of an I-5 carpool lane and interchange project planned for North San Clemente raise hackles among some residents in the south end of town.
Independence Day will start out cloudy in San Clemente, gradually becoming mostly sunny; swimmers are advised to watch for rip currents.
Julio Lopez, 23, will appear in court Tuesday.
The San Clemente-Dana Point Animal Shelter is raising license fees for dogs; fees for senior animal adopters and for dogs that are spayed or neutered remain lower.
The City Council is set to vote on a provision to honor famous athletes from the city with bronze plaques or tile mosaic. The project is the brainchild of Mayor Jim Evert.
According to a tweet from Stanley Cup Champion Kings' Dustin Brown, the hockey player got the local kid actor to sign his jersey and let him hold the Stanely Cup.
The California Department of Food and Agriculture has found an exotic insect in Orange County that transmits a deadly disease to citrus trees.
The following are road closures, rules and best practices for spending the holiday in San Clemente.
San Clemente resident and local development observer Larry Culbertson asserts the Avenida Serra affordable housing development money could be better used elsewhere.
The U.S. Border Patrol reports two big drug busts.
Though only three young girls are included in the charging documents filed against Richard John Rack, 50, two other alleged victims have come forward.
The first- through fourth-place prizewinners for the annual Plein Air contest held by the San Clemente Art Association were announced this past weekend.
The Patrol found 364,000 in meth south of the I-5 Checkpoint
Chris Kline died after crashing his car last week.
