Kymberli Hagelberg, Patch Staff

<b>Email: </b>kymberli.hagelberg&#64;patch.com<b><br> Phone: </b>330-515-0550<b><br> Hometown: </b>Ravenna, Ohio<b><br> Birthday: </b>The first full day of summer

<br> <b>Bio: </b>Kymberli Hagelberg was a reporter long before anyone ever paid her to write. She was little kid who drove her mother crazy asking everyone around her how much things cost, how one thing or another worked and why anything and everything was the way it was. She got her start in journalism as a music critic, but soon realized that covering a  presidential election or a hurricane was more exciting than writing about rock stars.

For the last 16 years, Hagelberg has been an award-winning news journalist. Her work has appeared on National Public Radio, on the web and in major daily and alternative newspapers. She was a member of the Knight Ridder Newspapers team awarded the Pulitzer Prize for reporting on Hurricane Katrina. She was chosen for a Western Knight Center Fellowship for reporting on Islam and Muslims in the U.S. and has won numerous awards from the Cleveland (Ohio) Press Club and the Society of Professional Journalists.

Hagelberg holds a bachelor&#39;s degree in Communication and Creative Writing from Hiram College. Her first book, Wicked Akron: Tales of Rumrunners, Mobsters and Other Rubber City Rebels was published by History Press this December.

When she isn&#39;t writing, reporting or blogging, Hagelberg is riding her bike in the Metroparks, taking a yoga class or trying -- mostly in vain -- to tame her beautiful but haphazardly kept gardens. She loves cooking for friends, makes a mean pot of spaghetti and meatballs and bakes killer brownies.

<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 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.<br> <br> <b>Politics </b><br> How would you describe your political beliefs? I worry about how government spends money, not just whether it spends too much or too little. I want government to spend on things that protect our quality of life, safety and infrastructure. In my view, that&#39;s mainly education, public safety, caring for the sick and poor and finding ways to help business work and employees keep their jobs at a living wage and benefits. I believe citizens are a kind of public servants, which means I don&#39;t mind paying a tax that makes sure there are public libraries, safe streets and good public schools. Government at every level should be transparent and accountable to voters.

<br> Are you registered with a certain party? Yes, it varies. In Ohio, you are registered for the party of the candidate for whom you vote for in the primaries. <br> <br> <b>Religion</b><br> How religious would you consider yourself? I was raised Lutheran, but I respect the history and traditions of many religions. I believe in the Golden Rule as a measurement for my personal behavior. <br> <b><br> Local Hot-Button Issues</b><br> What do you think are the most important issues facing the community? I think the possible relocation of Wal-Mart and all matters of development will be a major issues in both communities of my Patch, even beyond the ultimate decision to move or not to move. School financing also is a topic of constant interest. One district in our Patch will hold a special election to make another try at passing its levy.

<br> Where do you stand on each of these issues? I recognize that businesses have every right to move. I think ideally those decisions should be made with some holistic sense for both communities. That never happens on the back end. Government and the business communities involved should prepare for the possibility of a move from the beginning, so that leases don&#39;t penalize the community left behind and, that in the community chosen for development,  environmental and zoning issues and potential tax revenue aren&#39;t shortchanged as a trade for new business.

Schools deserve our support, and in tough economic times voters deserve full assurance that their financial support is needed and will be used wisely.