I was just 19, and still at Golden West College, when I was hired by the Los Angeles Times Orange County edition for the lowliest job in the newsroom: clerk. Apart from being asked to get a fake ID so I could buy the night copy desk beer and pizza, and to keep wives and girlfriends on different phone lines, I was ecstatic: A college sophomore, actually working at one of the three great newspapers in the country as a teenager. I did my homework in the newsroom on weekends in the event big news broke and they'd need a reporter so bad that they'd send the college newspaper student to pinch hit. And I did.
I cut my teeth on the police beat and still love breaking news, but also grew into a better writer by learning from some of the best in the country. After two decades at a newspaper, and having to commute three hours daily to L.A., I opted to reinvent myself as a more focused mom and wife and learn more about online writing. I also had more time to volunteer, and enjoy the outdoors around me.
I am a native Southern Californian, born in Whittier, where I grew up swimming in pools, building go-karts and playing kick-the-can. One thing I love about Belmont Shore is that I can be outdoors and have so many places to be. I love to swim and do laps at the Belmont Plaza Pool, float on Alamitos Bay or cycle down the bike path to the Long Beach Museum of Art. Movies are something my son and I love to do together, followed by an hour or more reading at a bookstore. I also try to meet a minimum weekly quota of one double-double, no cheese.
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
Knowledge is power, and people need to understand how decisions are made in their community and how they can participate.
I believe in government for the people and by the people, and that public officials should do what they promise. I also believe that citizens have to work harder to ensure that they do. This is where Patch journalism will be key.
Religion
I believe in God. When I hear Gospel music in church or in concert, I feel God.
Local Hot-Button Issues
Balancing the rights of residents, visitors and businesses. Public safety. Traffic, particularly along Second Street into the intersection with Pacific Coast Highway. The future of the Los Cerritos Wetlands.
Patch's summertime awards for the best of local services and business, from restaurants to spas, hair salons to health stores, are open for your votes!
Ride, who founded Sally Ride Science, which worked to engage school students, was 61.
Tonight, East Division Commander Michael Beckman invites public in and around Belmont Shore and Heights to learn what residents and businesses need to know about recent crime activity.
Long Beach police say the victims were part of a family gathering and are not believed to be gang members. Man, 39, and woman, 41, survive attack by two young Pacific Islander males.
Californians Aware is asking voters to sign a petition that would protect key provisions of the Brown Act, the state's open-government law. The City of Long Beach wouldn't stop upholding it regardless.
Long Beach police SWAT and L.A. County Sheriff's bomb squad were on scene after suspect allegedly had his car and home rigged with what appeared to be explosives.
Day after a Friday night shooting involving two groups, three more people are wounded Saturday.
Police said a motive remains unclear but the murder, 2 miles from the Belmont Veterans Pier, may be gang-related.
14 hours after a masked gunman killed 12 and wounded 59 in a Colorado cinema attack, Long Beach department vows to increase movie theater presence.
Children’s Hospital specialists urge parents to encourage their children to share their thoughts and feelings and monitor their media exposure to the Colorado shooting tragedy.
The country's second-largest movie theater chain, with 300 locations nationally and 22 in SoCal, says security has been beefed up and 'The Dark Knight Rises' will screen as scheduled.
The final evening of Second Street's popular two-night 'taste of Belmont Shore.'
Angler on a charter boat off Southern California Coast landed a hefty mako after the shark chomped on his hooked fish.
Bonnie Sheehan plead guilty to 14 misdemeanors, in return for dismissal of charges against co-defendant and U-Haul passenger. Sentence: $500 fine and no jail time.
Former Long Beach dog shelter operator Bonnie Sheehan and friend will face trial start in Tennessee after declining a settlement on endangering animals charges because they'd have to give up having pets.
The Council selected Robert Garcia to serve for the two year rotation.
High number of arrests, DUIs, over-serving are called excessive burden to Long Beach Police Department and public nuisance to Belmont Shore.
Cal State board committee approves the pay packages of seven presidents, some of whom will get raises, but full board must still OK, with private foundations kicking in funding.
The state suspended mandates such as the government noticing of public meetings and votes to cut related costs, but city attorney's office said there are no changes in policy.
Long Beach business owner struggled with would-be robber Monday, but 'several people' came to his rescue and detained intruder, police said.
