Give me a holler with story ideas, suggestions, or questions: michelle.rotuno-johnson@patch.com. You'll see my bylines in NJ and PA, and occasionally other places on Patch. I live in southern Ohio currently.
I "began" my journalism career at the age of six when I decided to produce a paper for my neighbors with looseleaf paper, a pencil, and some very amateur drawing skills. Now, I am a general assignment editor for Patch with our NJ/PA team, providing local news coverage to our readers in the region. I really enjoy covering local news and working with other Patch journalists.
My work has appeared in newspapers, on TV stations, and for a radio station as well as on digital platforms. I have undergraduate degrees in journalism and religion from Ohio Wesleyan University, and a double Master's degree in journalism and mass communication from Ohio University and the University of Leipzig in Germany. In 2014, I wrote a local history book on the Marion Popcorn Festival, which takes place every fall in Marion, OH.
When I'm not "doing the news," I am usually thinking about Star Wars, The Kingkiller Chronicle by Patrick Rothfuss, or soccer. I am a big fan of Chelsea Football Club, both the men's and women's teams. I have a dog named Sprout and two cats, Scoops and Bast.
Take a look at some of the recent crime reports from police, including officers stopping a woman wanted on a warrant from Texas.
Tip your hat to our 16th president on his birthday next week, and score a free ski lift ticket if you can recite a certain 272-word speech.
Parking will be prohibited at all times along a section of Littleton Road. See the details:
The $2,750 grant will support nine Sunday afternoon Jersey Jazz LIVE! performances in Morris County.
Officials said the initial call came in as a tractor fire under a deck, and the flames created a "huge plume of smoke."
The board received 12 applications for an open position, and interviewed six candidates, before selecting a longtime township resident.
See info for detours over the next few months, as NJ American Water installs approximately 4,000 feet of new water main along the road.
The "Jersey Shore" star and her husband had to wait a little while for their food, but bodycam footage shows an officer delivering it.
Work will be taking place Tuesday and Wednesday near the interchange with I-80.
The Park Commission will be having their own Winter Olympics, to showcase different animal skills and do other nature-based activities.
All lanes are closed after a crash earlier Monday morning, according to NJDOT.
Police ticket people for jumping turnstiles at one Brooklyn subway station six times more than average, a Gothamist analysis found.
Officials said the pictured people are responsible for a pattern of thefts in two Brooklyn precincts in the month of January.
A worker died Friday after the first floor of a Borough Park building collapsed, and officials said a stop-work order was violated.
Preliminary plans for the reconstruction include dog-friendly turf, improved lighting and fencing, and drinking fountains with dog bowls.
Detectives are investigating a pattern of events where a stranger reportedly touched women inappropriately while they were walking.
The elderly victim clung to life for several weeks before dying, officials said. An 87-year-old woman was also injured.
Officials are investigating a hate crime, after a man placed a book with an anti-Semitic symbol outside a resident's home early Tuesday.
A revised Midtown bus terminal plan revealed Thursday shows the facility that will replace the 74-year-old eyesore.
Also in today's news: Cops save man who fell on tracks; record number of air travelers; new subway trains and garbage trucks unveiled.
