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.
Daniel Plevak waives his preliminary hearing on attempted homicide charge stemming from what police say was a long plot on the verge of concluding with the murder of an old friend in Wauwatosa.
Innovation? Bah.... History? Bunk.... In this day and age, where to park your car appears still to be the overriding concern when it comes to getting down to business.
Boy is searched on information that he may have marijuana but instead gives up prescription narcotics including Oxycodone, police say.
In a recent spate of attempted phone frauds, one victim felt forced to turn over money when the caller made threats of harming her family.
In four arrests, two drivers are unconscious behind the wheel; two are three or more times over the .08 alcohol limit, and one is driving far, far about the speed limit.
There are some places you just don't go if you are halfway aware of events going on around you. This guy didn't consider that.
Plan Commission meets; informal topics group Brookfield Brew holds quarterly meeting; and high schools hold fundraisers.
School semester ends with a party; city officials talk over TIF on County Grounds; and high-profile criminal cases have days in court.
UWM ask suburban police for an assist in arresting a 33-year-old Brookfield man as the suspect in the thefts of loads of toilet and urinal valves throughout the Milwaukee area.
Man has repeatedly ignored orders to stay away from ex-wife and children and now is accused of showing up at Roosevelt Elementary at end of classes.
Youth may face a serious felony charge for grabbing phone out of woman's hand. He was one of a group of five who seemingly conspired to rob her – but whose friends thought better and brought back her property.
Caller's suspicions of two men prowling East Tosa prove well-founded when one of them turns out to have an iPod taken in another burglary – one that hadn't even been discovered yet.
Hearing breakage from basement window, homeowner pulls aside curtains and confronts the young man who's intent on breaking into his house. It's possible the perp was the more surprised.
Time Warner service man reported that a man he reached on the phone inside said he was being robbed, but police say two occupants of the home were house guests, with no resident inside, and that all was found in order.
Any delay in finishing the project will cost not just the area, not just the region, but the whole state in economic development and other benefits, say key legislator and commercial interests.
Driving down the main drag on two flat tires, a Brookfield man calls himself to the attention of a patrol officer who finds he wasn't fit to be driving at all.
Tosa Police, turned down by DA, will present new evidence for charging this week after run-in with suspect in liquor theft that featured a tense shotgun standoff and a takedown by K9.
Police are a bit leery of circumstances, but man claims he and someone he'd met just once elsewhere happened upon each other on State Street and the guy pulled a gun on him.
Another conviction could land man in prison for up to six years. Also, another Wauwatosa driver was arrested for his second time on suspicion of operating while intoxicated.
A keen eye for the out-of-place puts investigator on the tail of couple entering Mayfair Mall, and sure enough, she recovers a stolen vehicle.
