Arin Mikailian, Patch Staff

Email arin@patch.com Phone (323) 691-4108 Hometown Glendale, CA Birthday Feb. 25 Bio Since my childhood I knew that writing was going to be a big part of my future, and in college, I realized that journalism was going to be that outlet. I've written for college and community papers for almost the past decade, but I recently decided it was time for a change. That's when I found Patch.com and made up my mind that I was ready to continue my career in online journalism. Check out our Welcome to Calabasas Patch Video.

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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 I'm a registered Democrat, but I don't really like the idea anymore of sticking to one party's point view on all issues. I'm middle of the road, taking a liberal stance on some issues and conservative on others. Religion I'm Christian, but that's pretty much where religion stops for me. I'm not very observant, but I do enjoy getting Christmas gifts. Local Hot-Button Issues Having access to Calabasas Lake is gradually becoming a huge issue in town. Currently, only Calabasas Park Homeowners Association members have the right to visit the lake, although non-members pay for the park's maintenance through local taxes. I believe if you're paying for something, you should have the right to use it, visit it, see it, etc. I don't think non-CPHA members are being treated fairly.

And like many school districts throughout California, Las Virgenes Unified School District is going through some tough times and has to face some difficult decisions in the upcoming budgeting season. As far as drafting the budget goes, I strongly believe everything that costs the district even a penny should be reviewed before any teacher layoffs or class size increases are considered. But sometimes, there's no other choice.