Drew Himmelstein, Patch Staff

<strong>Basics</strong>: To get in touch with me, email drew&#64;patch.com or call (650) 906-0853.

<strong>Hometown</strong>: Los Angeles

<strong>Birthday</strong>: Aug. 4

<strong>Bio</strong>:<br>I grew up in Los Angeles, and after an extended stint on the East Coast, I returned to California four years ago to live in the Bay Area.  I went to UC Berkeley for my master&#39;s degree in journalism, where I specialized in multimedia reporting and completed a radio documentary about the entertainment industry. 

I worked for a summer reporting local news at community radio station KWMR in Point Reyes Station.  I delved more deeply into online reporting through a fellowship at News 21, a multimedia news lab funded by the Carnegie and Knight foundations, where I helped create an innovative online news site about the 2008 election. 

As a freelance reporter, my radio stories have appeared on City Visions, Crosscurrents, The California Report, Making Contact and Day to Day, on NPR.  My print stories have run in the San Francisco Chronicle, Dwell magazine, and American Craft, and earlier this year I created and produced a podcast for The Bold Italic.

In my free time, I enjoy cooking, reading and exploring the Bay Area with my husband, Aaron.

<b>Your Beliefs</b>:

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 our editors to inject their beliefs into stories or to dictate coverage according to them. In fact, the intent is the opposite: we hope that the knowledge that their beliefs are on the record will cause them 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.

<strong>Politics</strong>

Philosophically, I lean left in many ways, but I have a strong pragmatic streak that that values realistic compromise over idealism. I&#39;ve found that political definitions tend to break down at the local level, and I don&#39;t think that my political ideology predicts my position on local development, local schools or local law enforcement.

<strong>Religion</strong>

My Jewish identity is very important to me, and I am involved in the Bay Area Jewish community through several organizations.  I embrace the Jewish tradition of questioning and debate, and that tradition pretty much defines my approach to religious observance.

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

I think one of the most important local issues is keeping up a high level of public services while dealing with budget constraints.  That&#39;s why in November, we&#39;re looking at a local school bond and Prop. 22 on the ballot, which would block the state from interfering in local municipal funds.  I think in times of economic contraction, it&#39;s important to balance saving money with making sure not to cut back in ways that hurt the economy further.  I&#39;ll be taking a close look at these issues and trying to figure them out for myself as I report them here.