Email: peter.schelden (a) patch.com
Phone: 949-280-4719 | Hometown: Boulder City, Nevada (now Mission Viejo)
Hello, and welcome to the site. I edit and report on Mission Viejo, Laguna Niguel and Dana Point for Patch.com.
I have spent my professional life writing news in suburban communities, mostly in South County. Before joining Patch I worked for the Orange County Register, where I covered San Juan, Laguna Niguel, Aliso Viejo and Laguna Beach. I have also written for the Daily Sparks Tribune.
I studied British literature of the 18th century and will talk your ear off about Samuel Johnson if I am provoked. I also studied journalism.
When it opened its first California location in December in Mission Viejo, Hand and Stone had 12 employees. Owner Shahira Raineri says she has now tripled that number and is going strong.
A mandatory meeting later this month will determine who's eligible for the September junior lottery.
Today only, Whoppers are selling for 88 cents at 27702 Crown Valley Parkway during a special Burger King promotion.
Fewer patients and a bad economy have caused the cuts, says Mission Hospital spokesman.
Sheikh Yassir Fazaga, leader of the Orange County Islamic Foundation, tells the history of Ramadan and explains the practices during this holy month of Islam, in which Muslims fast during the day and celebrate with "iftar" every evening.
Homeless schizophrenic Kelly Thomas died five days after a struggle with Fullerton police last month. Now one city leader is calling for the chief of police to step down.
An Orange County optometrist is honored for pioneering a lifesaving screening and one city searches for a new fire chief.
Tonight the Mission Viejo City Council will decide if it should keep the city's redevelopment agency as restructured by Gov. Jerry Brown.
His employer Capstone Federal Credit Union says a Mission Viejo man stole over $70,000 in a month.
Remember McGruff? National Night Out is hosting crime prevention rallies in several Orange County cities Tuesday night.
"He's almost halfway dead." That's how one witness described Kelly Thomas, a schizophrenic homeless man who died five days after a confrontation with Fullerton police.
A casting agency says they want the next Prince William and Kate Middleton. A new reality series is recruiting Orange County for "influential couples in elite society."
Dana Point plastic surgeon John Hatherley has had his medical license revoked for probation violations including prescribing himself sleep medication.
A coyote attacks a pet dog and a German shepherd recovers from a violent beating.
Police arrested Grant Louis Lemke of Mission Viejo early Wednesday morning.
Ryan Morris, a classical vocalist, will perform a recital Aug. 14. The Sage Hill High graduate is attending Chapman University in the fall.
Annual fundraiser for Trabuco Hills High team is marred by theft Saturday, officials say.
Joey Roberts of Mission Viejo has been heating up the Internet with his YouTube sports videos. He's been an ESPN intern working for NFL quarterback Trent Dilfer, and Trinity College has singled him out for an award.
Michael Stuart Patterson will spend 180 days in jail after beating and blinding his neighbor's dog.
In this video patchcast, two cities reclaim their redevelopment agency money from the state, a woman stops a suspect with a case of Coors Light, and Calvary Chapel students try wheelchair tennis.