Concord|News|
City To Hold Public Hearing on Proposed Budget
The meeting takes place Tuesday, June 25 in the city council chambers.

I grew up in the rural green belt of London, England where I fell in love with literature and literary history. During my undergraduate degree at the University of Kent in Canterbury, and namely an exchange year abroad at UCLA, that love for literature transitioned into a passion for journalism and California sunshine. I moved to Los Angeles in 2007 to pursue an MA degree in journalism at USC and continue a freelance career in multimedia storytelling. And I have never looked back.
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My experience includes local, national and international reporting for news outlets such as the LA Weekly, Southern California Public Radio and the New Zealand Herald Tribune. My fascination with hyper-local journalism spawned a thesis about the future of the industry (titled, Can Grassroots Journalism Help Underserved Communities?) and, in 2008, led me to help found a hyper-local website covering South Los Angeles. I was managing editor until early 2011, when Patch became my next adventure.
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Now I live in Concord with my husband, reading, writing, exploring the Bay Area and continuing to drink my tea with milk.
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Beliefs:
1. Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle. - Plato.
2. Never discuss religion or politics at the dinner table.
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Politics: I am a registered Democrat with an open mind to all opinions and factual arguments. I believe that the mind should be a thoroughfare for all thoughts and not a select party.
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Religion: Non-denominational Christian, with an almost pantheistic love for the outdoors and a strong appreciation for being still (Psalm 46:10.)
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Local Hot-Button Issues: Social justice issues that affect quality of life or access to opportunities, including education, immigration, health care and social welfare.
The meeting takes place Tuesday, June 25 in the city council chambers.

A new website and Facebook page encourage residents and visitors to shop locally. Do you?
The Clayton police activity report from June 14 to June 20 includes five arrests, two traffic accidents and a burglary.
See people trashing Dinosaur Hill Park? Call the police, says the Pleasant Hill parks supervisor.
The award-winning war drama is screening Sunday and Wednesday as part of the Cinemark Classic Series.
Here are the movies playing at the Solano Westwind drive-in movie theater in Concord, Friday, June 21 to Thursday, June 27.
Proceeds go to the Concord-based non-profit organization that helps women facing unplanned pregnancies.
The city has launched a contest to re-name the Pleasant Hill Education Initiative. Here's how you can participate.
This week's burglary report from the Concord Police Department lists 15 incidents between June 12 and June 19.
The plaza is about to get funky with big band pop, rock, jazz and soul.
The single-car wreck occurred around 11:15 a.m. near the Willow Pass Road exit.
The fast food chain withdrew an application for a restaurant on N. Main Street but is still planning another location somewhere nearby, a company official says.
A ukulele player serenaded passersby on a recent afternoon in Todos Santos Plaza. Here's a video of his rendition of a famous uplifting medley.
More California cities are passing plastic bag ordinances or exploring the option as a way to deal with negative environmental impacts.
The 99 Cents Only store on Clayton Road has applied for a permit to sell beer and wine. Do you think it's a good idea?
Residents in the area say the park is regularly littered with cans, bottles, cigarette butts and more.