Amy Jeffries, Patch Staff

<b>Basics:</b>

amy&#64;patch.com

510-460-0034

twitter.com/PiedmontPatch

facebook.com/AmyAtPatch

<b>Hometown</b>: New Canaan, CT

<b>Birthday</b>: September 8

<b>Bio</b>:

Amy Jeffries reports on two wheels; her silver scooter is getting to know the twists and turns of Piedmont&#39;s hills very very well.

Amy is a wannabe Californian and a native Yankee. Before returning to the East Bay to start Piedmont Patch, she launched a site for Patch in her hometown—New Canaan, CT. That site, newcanaan.patch.com, was Patch&#39;s first in Connecticut and sixth overall. She is proud to be serving her new California home through the act of journalism.

Before joining Patch, Amy was a staff reporter for WNPR in Hartford, CT and a contributor to National Public Radio. She also did a brief stint with the Associated Press in Johannesburg, South Africa.

She has mentored teen journalists in youth media projects in Connecticut and California and taught radio to graduate students at the University of California, Berkeley, where she herself got a masters in journalism.

Her reporting has taken her to China, Zimbabwe, South Africa, hurricane-ravaged Louisiana, economically-challenged Ohio, and now Piedmont.

<br><br><b>Beliefs </b><br><i>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 and human beings have beliefs. So in the spirit of simple honesty, our policy is to encourage our editors to reveal certain key beliefs to the extent they feel comfortable. <br><br>This disclosure is not a license for our editors to inject these 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 force us to be ever mindful to write, report, and edit in a fair, balanced way. And if you, the user, ever think you see evidence that we failed in this mission, we wholeheartedly invite you to let us know.</i><br><br><br><b>Politics</b>

<i>How would you describe your political beliefs?</i>

Political humor makes me laugh.        <br><br><b>Religion</b>

<i>How religious would you say you are? Casual, observant, devout, non-religious?</i>

I&#39;m a devout agnostic. I wouldn&#39;t even pretend to know. <br><br><b>Local Hot Button Issues</b>

<i>What do you think are the most important issues facing the community?</i>

Resolving the city and school district budget deficits caused by the drop in property values and sales, the undergrounding overruns, and state cuts to education funding.

<i>Where do you stand on each of these issues?</i>

Poised to report on them in detail.