Tara Conry, Patch Staff

<b>Bio </b><br>Tara Conry is a lifelong resident of Malverne, who has more than nine years of experience reporting and editing for newspapers, magazines and the Web. Always passionate about writing, Tara knew journalism was her calling after her first experience reporting for her college newspaper at Hofstra University during her freshman year. At Hofstra, Tara pursued her B.A. in Print Journalism with a minor in Political Science, while also devoting countless hours to honing her craft in the field. She held several positions for her college&#39;s award-winning publications, including editor-in-chief of The Chronicle during her senior year, while also reporting breaking stories for Long Island bureau of The New York Daily News. She has covered local crime, politics, civic events, health, business, education, science, sports and people of various walks of life. Before joining Patch, Tara worked on the staff of Reader&#39;s Digest, contributing to the magazine&#39;s 2009 win of the American Society of Magazine Editors&#39; award for General Excellence. Tara is thrilled to now apply the skills and experience she has acquired from her years reporting on national, regional and local issues to giving her neighborhood of Malverne, Lynbrook and West Hempstead the top-notch, 24/7 coverage it deserves.

<b>My Beliefs</b><br>A<i>t Patch, we promise to always 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.</i><br><br><b>Politics </b>

<b>How would you describe your political beliefs? </b>I don&#39;t believe in trying to label myself or contort myself to fit into a rigid box. This applies to every aspect of my life, including politics. Therefore, I like to hear all sides of an argument and base my decisions on reason as well as my own core values, instead of those of any particular party. I may be conservative on some issues and liberal on others, but regardless of what I believe, I never let my opinions affect my duty to report the truth and include all relevant sides of an issue.

<b>Are you registered with a certain party?</b> I am Independent.<br><br><b>Religion</b><br><b>How religious would you consider yourself?</b> I am Catholic, but don&#39;t consider myself very religious.<br><b><br>Local Hot-Button Issues</b>

<b>What do you think are the most important issues facing the community?</b> From speaking with the leaders of schools, civic groups, political offices and religious organizations in Malverne, Lynbrook and West Hempstead, as well as residents, it&#39;s apparent that the two main concerns are taxes/home values and the development of the youth of these communities.<br><b>Where do you stand on each of these issues? </b>I think it&#39;s important to invest in infrastructure, education and public services, but leaders need to be mindful of the financial burden placed on taxpayers. This is especially true in these economic times when many are facing foreclosure, unemployment, declining home values and other hardships.