Sharon McLoone, Patch Staff

Sharon McLoone has been a journalist for about 20 years. Most recently, she's covered issues of interest to small business and entrepreneurs for The Washington Post, New York Times, CNN.com as well as smaller more specialized publications. McLoone also spent some time covering Capitol Hill. She spends a lot of time enjoying the neighborhoods of Old Town and Del Ray with her family.

She's also worked at National Journal covering technology, politics and policy and USA Today's Money section. She's always loved online journalism and loves to monitor its evolution, including cool new projects like Patch.

While she has a college degree in journalism, she also learned a lot from working as a waitress in a small Mexican restaurant, as a receptionist numerous times, on a construction site, bagging groceries, working with disabled kids in an arts therapy center, and making baked goods at a boutique grocery store in Boston, among many other jobs.

Sharon grew up in Arlington, Va., and has been enjoying Old Town since she was a tot. She still feeds the ducks there with her kids today.

She graduated from Emerson College in Boston, but has also completed coursework at Carnegie Mellon University, the University of Arizona's School of Business Journalism and the University of Caen in Normandy France. Caen is Alexandria's European sister city, by coincidence.

Sharon spends a lot of time in Del Ray and Old Town with her family and dog. She has to leave her 20-year-old cat at home. You'll often find her swimming at the YMCA, playing on the Alexandria Master's Soccer league, biking and enjoying the arts at various venues around the Washington, D.C., metro region.

At Patch, we promise always to report the facts as objectively as possible and otherwise adhere to the principles of good journalism. However, human beings have beliefs. So in the spirit of simple honesty, the Patch policy is to encourage editors to reveal their beliefs to the extent they feel comfortable. As a daily, professionally trained journalist for nearly 20 years, I strive to report and edit in a fair and balanced way.

How would you describe your political beliefs?

I am not registered with a political party, but I'm probably something like a fiscally conservative Democrat. After working for eight years at National Journal, a non-partisan political magazine, I gained a lot of training and experience in the importance of providing fair and accurate reporting on all political parties. As a reporter, I have covered hearing on Capitol Hill for about 15 years, and so far have maintained a good reputation as a fair reporter on political issues.

How religious would you consider yourself?

I am not an extremely religious person, but enjoy the family unity that many religious celebrations can bring. I have friends of many different faiths and I revel in learning and understanding their religious views on life whether it be through discussion, books, food or family.

What do you think are the most important issues facing the community?

I think education and taxes, especially real-estate taxes, are a huge issue for the community. During this time of deep budget cuts, residents are increasingly asked to shoulder more fiscal responsibility for their schools, parking, construction and other issues. There's also a lot of planned construction and change in Old Town and nearby, such as the ongoing debate about the waterfront or the potential new metro station at Potomac Yard.