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.
The local group had been meeting daily at downtown's Lincoln Park but for safety opts to move to the park nearest to 2nd Street and Cherry, a local founder says.
A 14-year-old boy and 15-year-old girl are jailed for felony arson after Long Beach police say the suspects set fires in residential alleys near P.C.H. and 15th, among dozens of yearly Christmas tree fires.
District Attorney and the L.A. Coroner are investigating the death of the man arrested at his home on suspicion of drug possession Friday night. Two hours later, he's found hung by his sweatpants.
The $45,000 will ensure Long Beach's only children' hospital has pediatric support in its emergency department.
Actor and angler Henry Winkler tells Patch fishing columnist about his new book, 'I've Never Met an Idiot on the River," and his idea of the world's best fly fishing spot.
Widespread reports of the white balls covering lawns, soon melting, as temps inched down to the low 40s.
The beloved pet with a brindle coat and boxer face heard an engine backfire and bolted out of her driver's car, and she remains missing.
Two brothers and a juvenile were arrested a week ago by Long Beach police, who disclosed it after criminal charges were filed in the 2010 slaying.
Police find a Long Beach woman dead and her male companion critically injured at the Orange Avenue apartment where they lived.
Long Beach sees crackdown on alleged swindlers of social service agencies.
The Manhattan Beach chain wants midnight cutoff. At two cordial meetings, residents mostly seem to support it with noise-reducing conditions and same cut-off as Quinn's, Me Soo Hungry.
We launched Dec. 13, 2010 with big ideas and big interest in what our community's residents uniquely wanted, and wanted to say, on their micro-local website.
Dark clouds lend a blustery beauty to our ocean backyard. A rain storm is forecast.
The demonstrations target SSA Marine in the Long Beach Port because Occupy says Goldman Sachs is majority owner and protesters are aimed at the busiest port traffic of the year: the holidays.
Give yourself a break Monday and sloooooooow down on the roads.
Police say he is expected to survive.
Officers will focus on areas of Long Beach with a high number of traffic accidents.
You could win a $20 prize. Bonus points if it glows in the dark.
The Aquarium of the Pacific's sea otter, stranded from her mom as a newborn pup and rescued from Northern California last winter, nears her first birthday and Holiday Animals Day in this slideshow.
Have a photo of cool holiday house lights from the neighborhood? Upload here for "Deck the House" Contest, and odds are less than 1 in 800 we could win for our district.
