Deborah Straszheim, Patch Staff

I was born in Boston, Mass., raised in Maryland and went to college at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where I majored in journalism and history.

I took my first job at The Gazette, a weekly newspaper in Montgomery County, Maryland, then began writing for dailies.

I have covered education, local government and general assignment news for newspapers in Framingham, Mass., and Lowell, Mass, and formerly worked at The Daily Press in Newport News, Va.

I took a break from journalism in 2000 to stay home with my children for several years, then returned to the workforce, moving to Eastern Connecticut five years ago.

I wrote for the Norwich Bulletin before joining Patch two years ago.

I have a college-age daughter and three school-age sons. 

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 am a registered Democrat but have supported candidates from both major parties. I've become a bit more conservative as I have gotten older, but on balance believe I tend to be more liberal than conservative.

Religion

I was raised Catholic but do not belong to any particular church.

Local Hot-Button Issues

Major concerns in Groton include redistricting the public schools, determining whether to terminate the superintendent's contract, and managing the local budget during difficult times.

Residents are also awaiting word from Pfizer, one of the community's largest employers, about whether it will tear down the sprawling building complex on Eastern Point Road.