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.
As the number of U.S. Border Patrol agents has grown, so has the poundage of drugs seized and number of human smugglers potentially deterred.
The San Clemente boy who starred in Volkswagen's popular 2011 Super Bowl ad is joining his family to support Ronald McDonald House on April 1.
Several San Clemente City Council members received warning letters from the Fair Political Practices Commission about voting on their own board appointments, but the agency has reversed course, the city attorney said.
According to a claim against the Orange County Sheriff's Department on behalf of the family of Sgt. Manuel Loggins, the Marine was shot multiple times.
According to a claim against the Orange County Sheriff's Department on behalf of the family of Sgt. Manuel Loggins, the Marine was shot multiple times.
Council approved $66,000 to move the quiet zone project through the bureaucracy.
Who gets your vote? The voting deadline is this coming Tuesday. Don't see your favorite? Write it in the comments.
The San Clemente City Council left the door open for future dog beach consideration, however.
The annual gathering draws officials from the local police, military, city and benevolent organizations.
The Marine was killed by an Orange County sheriff's deputy on Feb. 7.
The Elks' San Clemente lodge is on the market for $3.5 Million.
Developers of the Playa del Norte project were attempting to get around the democratic process, judge rules.
Speed was a factor in the single-car wreck, a CHP officer said.
Council will vote March 6 on whether to allow dogs on a small portion of beach in San Clemente.
Brian Dunn, who works for the late Johnnie Cochran's firm, has handled a number of high-profile police misconduct lawsuits. He now represents the family of an unarmed Marine sergeant who was killed by an OC sheriff's deputy after a traffic stop.
Patch users over the next two weeks will determine the best pastries in town.
The competition was fierce, but Buds Famous Hot Dogs, nestled in the kitchen at Knuckleheads, was the dark-horse candidate that won the prize.
Agents stopped a Ford Explorer and found ten bundles worth hundreds of thousands of dollars.
The San Clemente Chamber of Commerce awarded their local achievement awards and swore in new officers Thursday night at the Talega Golf Club.
According to the U.S. Border Patrol, a young man and woman were hauling the drugs.
