Barbara Capella Loehr, Patch Staff

I'm an editor and writer with almost two decades of experience who's proud to call Lindenhurst my home. I've lived here all of my life, and love the town, all of it, especially the people and its history.

Lindenhurst and the people who live here have their own unique ebb and flow, and the town has given rise to such famous people as rock star Pat Benatar, Dan Lauria, star of The Wonder Years and Broadway's Lombardi, and Jack Barry, host of 1980s game show Joker's Wild.

Like Benatar, Lauria and Barry, I, too, am a graduate of Lindenhurst Senior High School, where I actually met my now husband of almost 15 years.

After graduating from the high school, I went to Stony Brook University, where I majored in History and Social Sciences, and minored in Socio-Legal Studies. While attending college I worked at the Lindenhurst Memorial Library as a Page.

I started college with the intent of becoming a lawyer, but that chapter of my life ended with an opportunity to go into publishing. I graduated from the university and started working as an assistant editor for a local B2B trade magazine.

I fell in love with publishing, and so during the next decade-plus, I worked my way up covering the residential and commercial design industries - even doing a start-up that served the metro-New York salon industry and becoming editor of a design website.

In recent years I turned my attention to covering the communities of Long Island, especially those on the South Shore.

Now I get to cover and serve the Lindy community as editor of Lindenhurst Patch. I truly love it here, and am proud to have lived here in Lindy on the Great South Bay all of my life.

My intent is to cover Lindy through the eyes of a life-long resident, providing the scoop on everything from the village and town government and school board and sports to the annual festivities and activities that we've all come to love through the years.

I want Lindenhurst Patch to continue to be the news and information resource for my fellow residents, all with their help, input and support.

I hope they enjoy this site, and turn to it for all things Lindy.

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

How would you describe your political beliefs? I have them.

Are you registered with a certain party? I’m a registered voter.

Religion

Do you consider yourself really religious? I have beliefs.

Do you identify with a certain religion? I have beliefs.

Local Hot-Button Issues

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

Specifically, school budget is a hot-button issue, as is attracting and supporting local business, and broadly keeping Lindenhurst a beautiful, safe and vibrant community and decision-making that takes into account all of the segments.

Where do you stand on each of these issues?

I think a strong community is one that respects residents, as well as the business community, and takes both into consideration when it comes to planning and legislation.