Marc Shapiro, Patch Staff

Marc grew up in Owings Mills and Reisterstown and has been a journalist since high school, where he wrote and edited editorials for the school&#39;s newspaper. He attended Timber Grove Elementary School, Deer Park Middle Magnet School and graduated from Franklin High School in 2003.<br><br>As a student at the University of Maryland College Park, Marc covered music in the Baltimore and Washington, D.C. metro areas. He interviewed and photographed a wide variety of musicians including George Clinton, Richie Havens, members of The Wailers and 311, Ozzy Osbourne&#39;s guitarist, Zakk Wylde, and his favorite band, the Red Hot Chili Peppers.<br><br>After graduating in December 2007, Marc went to work for The Maryland Gazette in Glen Burnie, MD, where he covered business and western Anne Arundel County. The diverse beat had him covering the effects of the Great Recession on small businesses, crime in low-income neighborhoods and the hotbed of development around Arundel Mills Mall.<br><br>Marc left The Maryland Gazette for the Carroll County Times in January 2010, where he covered Westminter and business. His investigations into certain closed-door practices of the town government earned much praise from the community and prompted changes to legislative procedures.<br><br>In his spare time, Marc plays guitar in a funk/rock band called Joe Keyes &#34;The Late Bloomer&#34; and The Late Bloomer Band, which has performed several times at Micho&#39;s on Main Street. He also plays lead guitar in The Rez, a four-piece rock fusion band of musicians who all went to Franklin High.<br><br>He&#39;s excited to dig into his hometown in a new way and give Reisterstown an informed, well-connected media presence.<br><br><strong>Your 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 us to inject our beliefs into stories or to dictate coverage according to them. In fact, the intent is the opposite: we hope that the knowledge that our beliefs are on the record will cause us 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>How would you describe your political beliefs?<br>My beliefs vary issue to issue and I am registered unaffiliated because of it.<br><br><strong>Religion</strong><br>How religious would you consider yourself?<br>I was brought up in reform Judaism and was very active in my synagogue and youth group throughout middle and high school. These days, my Jewish heritage is still very important to me, but I am not observant.<br><br><strong>Local Hot-Button Issues</strong><br>What do you think are the most important issues facing the community?<br>The biggest mistake I could make would be starting this job with a preconceived notion of what the issues are. However, I know that revitalization of Main Street and redevelopment of other parts of Reisterstown is very important to local businesses and residents.