With more than 25 years experience in journalism, I’ve written and edited newspapers in California, North Carolina and Virginia. In California, I worked for a weekly paper in the San Francisco Bay Area, where I’m from originally.
In North Carolina, I worked two years (1990-92) at the Sun Journal, a daily paper in New Bern. There, I covered county government, commercial fishing – which is a big industry there – and the Gulf War.
New Bern is near the Marine Corps Air Station in Havelock, so I did lots of stories on the effects the war had on the wives and children left behind while the husbands and dads were fighting in Iraq. As one elementary-school teacher told me, “If one child’s father or mother is killed, the security for the rest of the students is shattered.”
In addition, my photographer and I were lowered by helicopter onto the USS Iwo Jima as it returned to port in Morehead City after deployment. I got to interview the sailors and Marines aboard ship and experience, firsthand, their welcome back by local residents who greeted them in the water in hundreds of small boats to escort them home.
I also interviewed parents of Marines killed in the war, as well as a Marine pilot whose aircraft had been shot down overseas. He spoke about what went through his mind while parachuting into the desert and what happened to him while he was a POW. Luckily, it was toward the end of the war and he was eventually freed to return home.
I also worked three years for the Prince William Journal, covering the cities of Manassas and Manassas Park, as well as a slew of criminal cases. And I’ve been with Centre View for almost 19 years, covering Centreville, Chantilly, Clifton, Fair Oaks and Fair Lakes. For the past few years, I’ve also covered Fairfax and some of Lorton and Fairfax Station for the Connection.
Recent Stories
Local Nonprofits Need Your Help
Britepaths, Lamb Center seek holiday donations.
Britepaths, Lamb Center seek holiday donations.
Fairfax Ballet Company Presents ‘The Nutcracker’
Chantilly High student dances with NYC professionals.
Nutcracker
‘Reminder of the Painstakingly High Cost of Freedom’
Fairfax City celebrates America's veterans.
Fairfax City celebrates America's veterans.
John Mason Honored by General Assembly
‘Emblematic of the unflinching spirit of our veterans.’
John Mason Honored
Reimagining of a Classic Story in Futuristic Setting
Centreville High’s Cappies play is ‘Antigone: 3021.’
Theater
Read Wins Re-election as Fairfax City’s Mayor
One Council seat is yet to be decided.
One Council seat is yet to be decided.
‘Like an Adam Sandler Movie with Shakespeare’s Language’
Fairfax High presents ‘Much Ado About Nothing.’
Much Ado
Glebe View Townhouse Project at a Glance
Fairfax Presbyterian Church, at 10723 Main St. and Presbyterian Way in Fairfax City, has donated some 1.6 acres of its land for affordable homes, called Glebe View Townhouses, to be built there. Habitat for Humanity NOVA is the developer, and nonprofit Homestretch/Sacred Homes will own two of the houses. HomeAid will provide building materials and tradesman expertise at reduced prices.
‘A Joyous Day Filled with Hope, Progress and Possibility’
Ground is broken for affordable homes in Fairfax City.
Ground is broken for affordable homes in Fairfax City.