Email: james.price@patch.com
Phone 414-218-2779
Hometown: Wauwatosa, WI
Birthday: February 21, 1956
Bio: I've wanted to write ever since my father introduced me to the complete works of Mark Twain when I was a child, but I didn't get my start in journalism until 1986 when I began supplementing my income as an English major through freelancing for the Chicago Reader. Getting paid to write seemed better than not, so after graduating from the University of Illinois-Chicago, I applied to the graduate program of the University of Missouri School of Journalism, the first and I believe still the best J-school in the world.
Still a poor student, I begged my way onto the copy desk of the Columbia (Mo.) Daily Tribune. After five years of journalistic boot camp, I made my way to The Milwaukee Journal, settled in Wauwatosa, and I've been here ever since, editing and writing for The Journal and Journal Sentinel and teaching journalism at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. I'm thrilled to be a Patch editor in my adopted hometown of 22 years.
Our Beliefs
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 you to inject your beliefs into stories or to dictate coverage according to them. In fact, the intent is the opposite: we hope that the knowledge that your beliefs are on the record will cause you 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.
My Politics
I am unashamed to call myself a liberal in my personal political beliefs, and I don't think anyone should think it's a dirty word, because I believe this nation was founded on the most liberal principles the world has ever seen: that all people are equal and should govern their own affairs as equals. That said, I agree with my hero Thomas Jefferson about the limits of government and with many people today who believe that our government has in many ways outgrown that notion. In any case, I have 25 years of training and experience in journalism and I can assure readers that I have never let any personal beliefs affect my sense of fairness and balance in reporting or editing any story.
My Religion
I grew up in the Methodist Church, and although I do not practice any religion now, I still adhere to much of the guidance of that church, which taught that we should all act toward others and conduct ourselves in accordance with certain beliefs that underlie Christian morality.
Local Hot-Button Issues
The hottest button in Wauwatosa, I believe, is in the undercurrents that swell to the surface from time to time as we try to deal with being the closest suburban community to urban Milwaukee and the socio-economic issues that sometimes spill over our borders.
Driving west into Brookfield from Tosa, resident says she was on her way to Milwaukee – and, by the way, was dropping off her car for some work, but then again... maybe not.
Backyard photograph easily wins over voters who favored it above professionals' work.
It was routine and at the same time exceptional. Just knowing to investigate a car a bit out of place on an East Tosa street was enough to lead to arrest in homicide case.
Detectives leave no stone – or scrap of paper – unturned after Swan Pharmacy is robbed for drugs, and federal indictment leads to long sentence.
Judge interrupts plea hearing he had ordered and backs up to now order a competency hearing, even after insanity plea was rejected.
Woman stopped with a hoard of stolen goods including a load of laundry detergent, no good explanation of how she got it, and an avalanche of evidence against her.
Likely on the lookout for a used car just coming out of a thorough cleanup, pair in stolen Audi make off with an economy model, then abandon their luxury ride.
Pewaukee woman talks faster than she can think, and it's little wonder with the cocktail of illegal substances she admits she's been imbibing before driving.
War of 'words' between students turns into after-school fisticuffs and then into a one-sided contest leaving younger boy injured and three older boys facing criminal charges.
Making a name game of sobriety tests cuts no mustard with a patrol officer when it's 3:30 in the morning.
Neighbor saw vehicle backed into driveway but assumed it was a regular cleaning service. Homeowners say, though, it was not their house-cleaning day.
McKinley and Eisenhower elementary schools schedule events Wednesday to promote Safe Routes to School. Bike riding is the star of the day, but at Eisenhower, unique challenges call for unique solutions – and one parent has an answer.
Failing to snatch purse of victim with 5-year-old child, man pursues her and commits lewd act at bus shelter in mid-afternoon, then does it again to another victim four blocks away.
If you have a sheaf of arrest warrants in your name, it is perhaps best not to go around irrigating public trees at the top o' the morning.
Convicted of stealing upward of $80K from her Wauwatosa employer, a Greenfield woman's 4-year sentence is stayed in favor of 6 months in work-release jail. But that, too, is stayed after court is told no such program is available.
District 8 meeting will be at Currie Park Clubhouse instead of Madison Elementary School.
Swan Boulevard and Watertown Plank Road project plans would go forward on schedule even with spending delays, which would come out of later phases of interchange work, DOT says.
Convicted of stealing upward of $80K from her Wauwatosa employer, a Greenfield woman's 4-year sentence is stayed in favor of 6 months in work-release jail. But that, too, is stayed after court is told no such program is available.
Driving impaired with an open beer in his car and a fraudulent sticker on his license plate, man still calls his stop 'petty' and tells officer he's now on 'borrowed time.'
Weber's tenure has been marked by her advocacy for Wauwatosa's children and steady hand in setting policy and hiring leadership in the Tosa School District.
