• Mary MacDonald, Patch Staff Verified Patch Staff Badge

  • Milford, MA

E-mail: mary.macdonald@patch.com	 Phone: 508-317-6136 Hometown: Hampton, NH Position: Local Editor, Milford Patch

Mary started her 20-year reporting career in New England, initially at the Vineyard Gazette on Martha's Vineyard, and later Foster's Daily Democrat in southern New Hampshire, where she covered local news in Rochester and Portsmouth, as well as in York, Maine.  She left her native New Hampshire for a job as a police reporter at The Florida Times-Union in Jacksonville.

After covering police, government and higher ed in Jacksonville, she moved to Atlanta to become a reporter for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. She specialized in education reporting for most of her nine years in Atlanta, later moving to general assignment, where she wrote news and feature stories from Atlanta's northern suburbs.

In 2009, Mary left the Atlanta paper to go to grad school, thinking she would like to try teaching. She taught English in Springfield (MA) for nearly two years, and has a master's degree in secondary education from University of Massachusetts Amherst. 

When she's not working, Mary enjoys cooking, running, hiking and spending time with her family in Rhode Island. 

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 writers to inject 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 of writing, reporting and editing in a fair, balanced way. And if you ever see evidence that we failed in this mission, please let us know. Politics

I am a registered Democrat who occasionally crosses over and votes Republican. I follow the issues most important to me, typically crime and education. 

Religion

I'm not particularly religious. I was raised a Catholic but am not observant. 

Posting Activity

Milford|News|

Heat Wave, Thunderstorms Expected This Week

A heat wave, defined as three consecutive days of temperatures at 90 degrees or more, will lock in on Massachusetts this week.

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Heat Wave, Thunderstorms Expected This Week
Milford|News|

5 Things You Need to Know Today: July 15

Four residents of Milford recently helped to raise money for the Franciscan Hospital for Children. And get ready for a five-day heat wave, beginning Monday.

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5 Things You Need to Know Today: July 15
Milford|News|

A New View of Louisa Lake

Walkers, bikers and runners can now see the lake from a stretch heading toward the Shadowbrook Condominiums link.

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A New View of Louisa Lake
Milford|News|

5 Things You Need to Know Today: July 12

The Worcester County Sheriff is encouraging people to sign up for a free smartphone app that will send alerts from the office to user's smartphones.

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5 Things You Need to Know Today: July 12
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