Christine Foster, Patch Staff

<b>Email</b> christine.foster&#64;patch.com    <br><b>Phone</b> 770-329-5906<br><b>Hometown</b> Alpharetta, Georgia<br><b>Birthday</b> April 21, 1982<br><b>Bio </b>Christine Foster grew up between California and Georgia, but considers North Atlanta to be home. Fascinated with news and journalism since she was young, Christine got her first shot as a city beat reporter at her college town newspaper after graduating from Lee University, a small liberal arts college in east Tennessee. From there she headed to the Florida Keys where she worked as the Key West Bureau reporter for the Miami Herald sister paper, The Florida Keys Keynoter. But if you think Key West is all Jimmy Buffett and Hemingway wannabes, think again. There is a lot going on in that tiny 5 square miles. Very few (if any) other U.S. cities of the same size deal with the kind of domestic and international issues that Key West does. After nearly two years there, she decided to move closer to her family in the Alpharetta/Roswell area where she grew up and got a job as a general reporter at Appen Newspapers, which owns a string of weekly papers covering the North Fulton area. She has also been a regular writer for the Sunday Paper in Atlanta, an online city guide called HelloAtlanta and several private corporations during a stint freelancing. Her journalistic experience runs the gamut from covering Fidel Castro&#39;s transference of power, to investigating whether the economic downturn has had any effect on fertility statistics in Georgia.

When she&#39;s not working, Christine is hanging out with her husband, Michael, renovating their home, baking, antiquing, taking &#34;Sunday drives&#34; on a Thursday evening (a true rebel!), traveling anywhere or spending time with family and friends. She gave birth to her first child, a daughter, in January 2011.

<br><b>Your Beliefs</b><br>At Patch, we promise always to report the facts as objectively as possible and otherwise adhere to the principles of good journalism. However, we also acknowledge that true impartiality is impossible because human beings have beliefs. So in the spirit of simple honesty, our policy is to encourage our editors to reveal their beliefs to the extent they feel comfortable. This disclosure is not a license for us to inject our beliefs into stories or to dictate coverage according to them. In fact, the intent is the opposite: we hope that the knowledge that our beliefs are on the record will cause us to be ever mindful to write, report and edit in a fair, balanced way. And if you ever see evidence that we failed in this mission, please let us know.<br><br><b>Politics </b>

In general, I am a conservative voter. I have voted for Republicans, Democrats, Independents and Libertarians in the past because I&#39;m interested in electing the best person for the job regardless of party. I believe a concerted effort toward bipartisanship is absolutely necessary for the good of all citizens, unfortunately, there usually isn&#39;t enough of it.

<b>Religion</b>                                                                                                                     

I am a non-denominational Christian and regularly attend church at Restoration Church of God. These Christian beliefs have played a big part in my life ever since I was young. Because I believe in Someone higher than myself, I try my very best to live an accountable life and I hope my life blesses others as much as I&#39;ve been blessed.

<b>Local Hot-Button Issues</b>

Transportation and district revitalization issues are probably the biggest Roswell is currently facing. With all of the metro-area bogged down in traffic, Roswell is looking at solutions for creating a better flow throughout the city, not only for automobiles, but bicycles and pedestrians as well. Because of the economic downturn, there are several retail districts throughout the city which lay vacant. District revitalization will be a topic in the city-wide discussion over the next few years as city council,  planners and residents decide how to boost current and future economies, while retaining the uniqueness of Roswell.