Phone: (925) 348-2464

E-mail: sarah.decrescenzo@patch.com

Hometown: Lafayette, Calif.

Birthday: Sept. 29

Bio: Before becoming editor of Lake Forest Patch, Sarah de Crescenzo worked as a general assignment reporter at the Daily Republic in Northern California and the Porterville Recorder in California's Central Valley. Both newspapers were traditional media outlets, so much so that they had their own printing presses.

Now, Sarah's back in Southern California, where she first caught the journalism bug. At UC San Diego, she wrote about campus goings-on for the college paper, the Guardian. She also interned with BizSanDiego, a local magazine, and Elsevier, an international publishing company. Both of those experiences helped her confirm that her passion lies in daily news reporting.

When she's not chasing down stories, you can find Sarah with her nose buried in a book, thrift shopping for oddities or checking out the local sushi joints.

My 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 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.

Politics 

I'm a registered Democrat, which is primarily a reflection of my liberal slant on social issues. Fiscally, I think our government needs to start caring for taxpayers' money in the same way that we would if it remained in our pockets (carefully, with an eye to those who are less fortunate.)

Religion

I'm not a practicing member of any faith but I am always interested in learning more about people's beliefs. 

Local Hot-Button Issues

What do you think are the most important issues facing the community?

At the moment, the community is fired up about the way the school board is dealing with its deficit. It's also watching how Gov. Jerry Brown's budget proposals could influence local politics and city governance. As a newcomer, I'll be discovering additional issues through my involvement in the community.

Where do you stand on each of these issues?

I'm thrilled that Lake Forest residents are making their voices heard on these and other issues. I'm here to provide a platform for discussion, bolstered by timely and accurately reported facts.