• Denise TaylorPatch Staff Verified Patch Staff Badge

  • Somerville, MA

Email: deniset&#64;patch.com<br>Phone: o 617-863-7025, c 617-216-7810<br>Hometown: Somerville (since &#39;92), raised in Silver Spring, MD

Like most journalists, I&#39;ve always been excessively curious. How curious? Once, I charged past the guards at an East German University just so I could chat with students about life behind the Iron Curtain. (Ask me sometime how that one ended.) So although I took a roundabout route to newspaper work (I started out working for nonprofits including Somerville Community Access TV), I soon found that having good reason to head out with pad, pen and an excuse to ask a million questions was a good fit.

I spent the last 12 years as a <i>Boston Globe </i>correspondent covering community news, arts, local economic trends, human interest, food and education. The last six of those years were spent covering the 53-town <i>Globe West</i> beat, where I wrote a weekly column and numerous features on topics ranging from storm water management to competitive hip-hop dancing. I also ate my way through eight years of Cheap Eats reviews for the <i>Globe, </i>which are featured in three books titled <i>52 Weeks: Cheap Eats</i><i>.</i><i> </i>Along the way, I served for two years as the journalism advisor to Bentley University&#39;s <i>The Vanguard; </i>as editor of<i> Summer Success Reading Magazine,</i> a national glossy used by schools; and as a writer and editor for numerous other projects and books including <i>The World of Words.</i>

 

My roots in Somerville go back to February &#39;92 when I moved here with just one suitcase, a few hundred dollars and a lease on a room in Davis Square that rented for just $147 a month. I soon found my way to Somerville Community Access TV (SCATV), where I spent seven years as a volunteer producing local TV programming and the same number of years writing grants for SCATV&#39;s projects serving local youths, domestic violence victims and the community. I&#39;ve also been tilling the good, lead-free earth of Somerville for nearly two decades as a committed Tufts Community Garden member (call me midsummer if you want some zucchini).

Curiosity aside, I&#39;m a journalist because I believe strongly in the role that media plays in keeping us all informed enough to help point our officials on the right path—and to keep us connected with our neighbors and community. I&#39;m looking forward to covering our city and reporting on your concerns, interests and viewpoints. So, feel free to be in touch with tips and suggestions.

Beliefs At Patch, we promise always to report the facts as objectively as possible and otherwise adhere to the principles of good journalism. If you ever see evidence that we failed in this mission, please let us know. 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.

<strong>Politics </strong>I&#39;m an open-minded voter with a highly active bull detector and no tolerance for scapegoating. Come up with good, smart, well-intentioned proposals based on fact, and I&#39;ll vote for you regardless of party.

<strong>Most controversial opinion</strong> I love winter. I wait for winter. I even like digging my car out of the snow. But I&#39;ve learned that once the temperature drops around here, this is an opinion best kept quiet.

<strong>Local Hot-Button Issues </strong>Tight budgets will continue to put pressure on the city to find ways to avoid cuts in services and staffing. A number of major development projects all bring up numerous issues for residents including Assembly Square, MaxPak, the Citywide Comprehensive Plan, Green Line Extension, Community Path Extension and the Union Square (and beyond) DIF (District Improvement Financing). I&#39;ll also be watching the changes taking place with the end of the Choice Program at the Healey School and progress on renovation of the East Somerville Community School. Let me know about other hot-button issues that affect you.

Posting Activity

Somerville|News|

Ruby is One Serious Snuggle Bug

Saved from an overcrowded home, Ruby&#39;s looking to join a multiple-pet home--where she can snuggle up to a loving family.

Ruby is One Serious Snuggle Bug
Somerville|News|

Interactive Police Log: Nine Arrests in Four Days

Nine arrests were made in Somerville from Feb. 7 to 10, including two drug arrests, four assaults and one arrest on warrant charges of assault with intent to murder.

Interactive Police Log: Nine Arrests in Four Days
Somerville|News|

True Bistro: Fine Vegan Cuisine for All of Us

With flavorful dishes, an elegant space and affordable prices for fine dining, this is a vegan restaurant even discerning meat eaters can love.

True Bistro: Fine Vegan Cuisine for All of Us