<strong>Email </strong>darren.fishell@patch.com<strong><br>Phone </strong>909.274.8345<strong><br>Hometown </strong>Diamond Bar<strong><br>Birthday </strong>May 12, 1987<strong><br>Facebook </strong>facebook.com/DiamondBarPatch<strong><br>Twitter </strong>twitter.com/DiamondBarPatch<strong><br>Welcome Video</strong>
<strong>Bio</strong>
Darren Fishell has a passion for journalism that began early, as a sophomore reporter and later editor in chief for the Diamond Ranch High School paper. After those early years growing up in Diamond Bar, Darren shipped off to Maine to attend Bowdoin College, where he spent summers and spare time reporting in Brunswick for The Times Record on everything from church bazaars to snow plow contract disputes and gubernatorial debates. After graduation, he worked as a correspondent for The Times Record, reporting in towns dappling Mid Coast Maine. His reporting on four men battling prostate cancer earned him an award from the Maine Coalition to Fight Prostate Cancer and was collected and republished for distribution throughout the state.
At Bowdoin, Darren co-founded and served as editor in chief of a student and community news website called Curia that provided students a platform to read about and discuss the issues of the day. That site introduced Darren to a new take on community journalism as an extended and community-wide conversation – the resource that Diamond Bar Patch will provide.
Darren has also contributed reporting for the Maine Center for Public Interest Reporting, an investigative journalism non-profit headquartered in Augusta, Maine.
Growing up in Diamond Bar, Darren attended Armstrong Elementary, Lorbeer Middle School, and Diamond Ranch High School. In his senior year at Diamond Ranch, he received a school service award for his work as editor in chief of the school paper.
See Darren's welcome video to Diamond Bar Patch for a video guide to the site.<br><br><strong>Our Beliefs</strong><br>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.<br><br><strong>Politics</strong><br>I was a registered Democrat until the 2010 mid-term elections, when I became unaligned to follow a compelling Independent candidate for governor in Maine. I strongly feel that party affiliation is only the tip of the iceberg with any candidate and I follow politicians of any stripe who are thoughtful, nuanced, and caring. My only hard-nosed political belief is that a better-informed public is more capable of governing itself. <br><br><strong>Religion</strong><br>I am not religious, but I value strongly the idea of Buddhist teacher and thinker Thich Naht Hanh that we have much to learn and to take from every world religion. I would suggest his book Living Buddha, Living Christ to people of any creed. I believe our creation is magnificent and rife with mystery and I would point anyone to Carl Sagan's Cosmos as a brilliant illustration of that.<br><br><strong>Local Hot-Button Issues</strong><br>Development is an ongoing tension, both at the proposed site of the Los Angeles football stadium and at Site "D," owned by Walnut Valley School District. The future of Diamond Bar could be shaped by the fate of the Los Angeles football stadium project.
School budgets will also be a point of interest throughout this year as districts will likely see significant cutbacks from the state.
The city approved permits for T-Mobile to install a new micro-cellular antenna atop an existing light pole on Diamond Bar Boulevard to address a gap in service through that area.
A digest of this week's stories out of Diamond Bar Patch.
This 1-year-old Poodle mix is currently at the Inland Valley Humane Society and is awaiting her new home.
The 42nd Congressional District is likely to be split, putting Diamond Bar in the same voting district as cities like Walnut, to the west.
The California Citizens Redistricting Commission releases a draft plan with new state electoral districts on Friday. Here is what you need to know about Diamond Bar and the new districts.
Since incorporation in 1989, the city of Diamond Bar has been split into two ZIP codes — a problem that officials say is on its way to resolution.
Jackie Brown, principal at Castle Rock Elementary School, will be moving on to a position at the district level starting July 1. The district approved the move Wednesday and will now seek her replacement.
After 14 years with the Walnut Valley School District, starting as principal of Chaparral Middle School, Nancy Hogg is making a second retirement after a year as a volunteer administrator at the district.
A panel of lawyers will offer free legal advice during a Law Day open to Diamond Bar and Walnut residents and business owners Saturday.
A new national tenant is in the works for the former Diamond Bar Blockbuster according to the property management firm at the site.
The tabloid magazine In Touch Weekly quoted New England Patriots defensive end Bret Lockett as saying he was in a relationship with celebrity Kim Kardashian, but Kardashian's lawyers say the claim is bunk, according to TMZ.
![[UPDATED] Diamond Bar Grad Alleges Affair with Celebrity Kim Kardashian](https://test.patch.com/img/cdn/users/103599/2011/06/raw/2c5b015867f6a5bb6bc94325c4b9879b.jpg)
The City Council approved a 2011-2012 budget at Tuesday night's meeting, anticipating a $17.3 million surplus by year's end.
A Cal Poly Pomona student was arrested after a Santa Ana City Hall employee discovered a camera phone recording video in a City Hall men's room Friday. Police also suspect the man of recording in a Cal Poly library bathroom Thursday.
The Diamond Bar city council will look to approve a budget and announce municipal elections to be held Nov. 8.
A break-in at Xarposh clothing store, in the same shopping center as Mandarin Taste and the Aljibani Halal Market, marks the third at the center since the beginning of the year.
Supervisor Don Knabe announced Friday that three newborns have been surrendered to be placed with adoptive parents as part of the Safe Surrender program Knabe initiated in 2001.
The arraignment of 26-year-old Kyle Jacobs was postponed for a second time Monday. Arraignment proceedings will resume Aug. 11.
Local businesses would be hit hard by a bill proposing a ban on polystyrene foam containers, according to a recommendation from the regional Chamber of Commerce.
Diamond Bar's Pomona Unified schools held open houses throughout last week to mark the close of the school year and showcase student work.
Daniel Ortiz, 25, and Chanel Ortiz, 26, were released from a San Bernardino County jail Friday after being arrested in connection with the murder of their mother's boyfriend, 63-year-old Samuel Wiggins, Jr. of Diamond Bar.
