I was just 19, and still at Golden West College, when I was hired by the Los Angeles Times Orange County edition for the lowliest job in the newsroom: clerk. Apart from being asked to get a fake ID so I could buy the night copy desk beer and pizza, and to keep wives and girlfriends on different phone lines, I was ecstatic: A college sophomore, actually working at one of the three great newspapers in the country as a teenager. I did my homework in the newsroom on weekends in the event big news broke and they'd need a reporter so bad that they'd send the college newspaper student to pinch hit. And I did.
I cut my teeth on the police beat and still love breaking news, but also grew into a better writer by learning from some of the best in the country. After two decades at a newspaper, and having to commute three hours daily to L.A., I opted to reinvent myself as a more focused mom and wife and learn more about online writing. I also had more time to volunteer, and enjoy the outdoors around me.
I am a native Southern Californian, born in Whittier, where I grew up swimming in pools, building go-karts and playing kick-the-can. One thing I love about Belmont Shore is that I can be outdoors and have so many places to be. I love to swim and do laps at the Belmont Plaza Pool, float on Alamitos Bay or cycle down the bike path to the Long Beach Museum of Art. Movies are something my son and I love to do together, followed by an hour or more reading at a bookstore. I also try to meet a minimum weekly quota of one double-double, no cheese.
Your 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.
Politics
Knowledge is power, and people need to understand how decisions are made in their community and how they can participate.
I believe in government for the people and by the people, and that public officials should do what they promise. I also believe that citizens have to work harder to ensure that they do. This is where Patch journalism will be key.
Religion
I believe in God. When I hear Gospel music in church or in concert, I feel God.
Local Hot-Button Issues
Balancing the rights of residents, visitors and businesses. Public safety. Traffic, particularly along Second Street into the intersection with Pacific Coast Highway. The future of the Los Cerritos Wetlands.
U.S. Marshals Service, Long Beach Police and state corrections wraps 4-day operation with 280 arrests, including 51 "high-risk sex offenders," agencies say.
Those were the 2 epiphanies in this installment by Long Beach blogger John Pierson from the AIDSLifecycle benefit ride by thousands of Californians.
Police and the Coroner were on scene Thursday after the man was discovered in the bay off PCH.
Long Beach police and the Coroner were on scene Thursday after the man was discovered off PCH.
John Pierson of Long Beach has been riding in AIDSLifecycle and will have pedaled 545 miles when he reaches Los Angeles. Join in his journey.
Former LAPD detective pleads no contest after 2011 arrest by Long Beach police. The DA said he struck housemate with a knife, threatened her with a shotgun, and threatened a witness.
Democratic state senator and Republican city councilman will face off in the November election.
James Otto, the supervising judge at the Long Beach courthouse, was ahead in early balloting counts.
John Pierson has been pedaling down the coast since the weekend as part of a Southern California team of riders raising about $300,000 toward preventing HIV/AIDS. Come along on his journey.
The Belmont Shore Business Assn. sent out an e-alert from Long Beach Police Department.
Show off your 'I Voted' Sticker by uploading your own election day photo!
We've collected your nominations, some outside the Shore but patronized by residents. Now it's time for you to tell us where's the best place for your Tree Pose and Downward Facing Dog.
Long Beach police say the balloon toss led two local teens into a median and one impulsively tried to cross street.
The Boeing aircraft that crashed in Nigeria had prior incidents, one involving Long Beach Airport.
Show off your 'I Voted' Sticker by uploading your own election day photo!
The young man and another youth were crossing a street when one was struck and killed.
Day 1 of the ride as new Patch blogger John Pierson posts from the day's journey. Come along!
The National Weather Services is predicting the threat of flooding and beach erosion in the low lying coastal areas Sunday and Monday.
Thousands raised to defray legal costs for Bonnie Sheehan and Pamela King-McCracken, arrested en route to Virginia relocation with more than 100 crated dogs in a U-Haul truck and an SUV.
Long Beach resident John Pierson will be cycling - and blogging - from the AIDS Lifecycle benefit ride that begins Sunday. Share in his journey and that of thousands bicycling down the state.