Editorial Field Highlights

>NORTHEAST PATCHES

+ From Anthony Duignan-Cabreras Corner:

In New York: East Meadow LE Mike Ganci was quick to localize a story about a terrorist killed in a military attack in Yemen. The man was an East Meadow native. Ganci broke the story and several major news outlets followed suit, some even linking back to his story. Merrick LE Emily Cappiello jumped in to help fellow LEs with a breaking news story last weekend, again and again. The first story was about a suspicious fire in Levittown. Then onto a young Autistic boy whole stole and subsequently crashed a car in Seaford. On Sunday she covered a story about a foul-smelling dumpster that caused a stir in Bellmore (turned out to be a decaying deer carcass) and a serious motorcycle accident in Wantagh. Rockville Centre LE Anthony Bottan jumped on social media to break the news about a home invasion suspect who was on the loose Friday afternoon. A-RE Matt Hogan has finished a long stint as fill in LE in Lynbrook and we now welcome (transfer) LE Steve Nicastro to the position! Matt increased engagement on the site and was multitasking while helping the group in his normal daily responsibilities. Northport LE Leah Bush has vigorously pursued a story about a man who was severely injured when he was thrown from his moped while fleeing from Suffolk County police. One of the cruisers bumped his moped and threw him into a utility pole. What made Leahs work special was that she stuck through the coverage through the very early hours of the next day, trying to run down a video of the accident, plus she engaged readers who came onto the site, some to challenge the police account and others who came to defend the police, and still others who questioned why she was writing about it. She was able to find, and interview, witnesses to whole scene for a strong follow-up story. Bedford Patch LE Lisa Buchman picked up on a comment made about food and classroom celebrations during a public forum at a school board meeting. There was no board discussion and it seemed to end there, but after interviewing the commentator, and several others, Lisa asked the community for input and posted a story that now has 50 comments. Yorktown Patch LE Plamena Pesheva has 1,305 Facebook recommendations and counting for an article about a local supermarket owner picking up the bill for a disabled woman's service dog. Truly PatchyPlamena saw the story in a local paper, pursued a different angle and made it a community conversation.

In New Jersey: Clark LE Jessica Remo has spent months researching an odd phenomenon in an online gaming reality that is gaining popularity among teens to twenty-somethings across the country. Slender Man, who many might call a modern-day bogeyman lives online, in YouTube videos and sometimes makes "appearances" in real life. Such is the case in Clark, NJ, where what appeared to be a scene from an animal sacrifice was actually the work of a couple teenagers trying to spook their Slender Man fearing friend. Check out her two-part series, Part 1 & Part 2, and how the stick man is gaining popularity locally.

In Rhode Island: Editors here continue to have success with live blogging efforts. Attleboro LE Patricia Resende recently did a nice job blogging a local GOP debate. Meanwhile, LE Abigail Crocker tried it for the first time at an East Providence council meeting and received positive response from users. Patricia has also started an engaging new feature called "Mayor for a Day," where she asks one local resident what they'd change if they had the city's keys. She then engages the mayoral candidates on their thoughts. Finally, ARE Lindsay Wilkes-Edrington has just begun implementing a daily regional poll on the sites. Our first, on a new RI illegal immigration measure, generated 2,000+ votes and 150+ comments.

In Western PA: Cranberry LE Jessica Bruni Sinichak was the first to report concerns bubbling up about controversial drilling for Marcellus Shale gas on a local farm that supplies milk and dairy products to local school districts. She brought us a fair, thorough story and video package from an "October Outrage" weekend protest, in which she merged interviews with protesters and surrounding land- and homeowners. North Hills LE AmyJo Brown has kept anxious readers abreast of the ongoing investigation of a mother's abrupt disappearance, joining searchers over the weekend while they combed neighborhoods for her body and missing property.

For ALL Northeast Editorial highlights - including more from NY and NJ - please click here! [I will update link later -LEK]
......................................... >WEST COAST PATCHES + From Marcia Parkers Corner: In California: Laguna Niguel-Seal Beach LE Paige Austin, San Juan Capistrano LE Jenna Chandler, Belmont Shore LE Nancy Wride, with a hand from RE Laura Nott and ARE Roy Rivenburg and Lake Forest LE Sarah de Crescenzo and Rancho Santa Margarita LE Martin Henderson, covered the tragic massacre at a crowded Seal Beach hair salon by a man wearing body armor and guns strapped to his body that left eight people dead, another in critical condition and the beachside community stunned. They blew away the competition; Paige and Nancy also produced the first profile of the killer. San Juan Capistrano LE Jenna Chandler exposed a local councilman's plagiarism in submissions for his Patch blog, no less - he has been abruptly dismissed from his job as a professor at a local university. Jenna had faced attacks by this councilman but stuck with the story. Mill Valley LE Jim Welte is in the middle of his communitys major event of the year, the 34th annual Mill Valley Film Festival, bringing the film community to Marin County each year, which draws extraordinary attention, stars and lots of traffic to Mill Valley Patch. Cupertino LE Anne Ernst covered the funerals of the first of three people killed by a man at a local cement plant.

Monrovia LE Nathan McIntires series of stories about a controversial decision by the school district to ban a summer body building competition generated more than 80 comments and was picked up by other L.A. blogs: http://monrovia.patch.com/articles/musd-bars-body-building-over-scantily-clad-women La Canada Flintridge LE Donna Evans summary of a new ban on open-carry guns generated more than 50 comments and was cross-posted to all towns in the jurisdiction of the bills sponsor, Anthony Portantino Sierra Madre LE John Stephens follow up on the plight of an autistic student has roiled debate in his town and generated more than 300 comments since it went live 2 weeks ago A pickup by Altadena LE Dan Abendschein on the Occupy L.A. demonstrations garnered 28 comments and counting Eagle Rock LE Ajay Singhs opinion piece about marijuana smoking at a local music festival generated more than 40 comments and was picked up by a couple of local blogs Montrose LE Nicole Charkys recent poll about a Starbucks coming to town got mlore than 60 responses and a lot of comments San Marino LE Jessica Hamlins coverage of an Occupy L.A. demonstration in town, and the police depts apology for not doing more to handle it, led to a poll that got 126 responses and generated a lot of commentary: Impending elections for city council in South Pasadea have generated a lot of comments on several posts and blogs put up by LE Kristen Lepore. Belmont Shore-Naples LE Nancy Wride and Palm Desert LE Jessica Davis aggressively jumped on the OWS spinoff protests in Palm Desert and Long Beach. Banning-Beaumont LE Guy McCarthy gets credit for recognizing the appeal of a news tip and turning it into a talker about a group of Vietnam veteran bikers who say they were mistreated after wearing their biker outfits into a Southern California casino. Walnut LE Melanie Johnson chased down this edgy tale about a couple of fraternities at the local State U getting in trouble for hazing. Substitute Diamond Bar LE Catherine Garcia showed her ability to find a story that connects with that audience. Turns out rapper Snoop Doggs sons will be attending Diamond Bar High School. Poway LE Hoa Quach worked with all of the local editors in San Diego county to organize a series titled 30 under 30, profiling 30 young county residents who are making a difference. The 30 will be honored at a reception in November. Sherman Oaks LE Doug Kriegel produced an excellent video report on a shower truck that makes the rounds in the San Fernando Valley, providing bath facilities and fresh clothes for homeless people. Studio City LE Mike Szymanski was the first to report on a hats-off crimeprevention policy proposed by LAPD that would require customers entering businesses in Studio City and North Hollywood to remove hats, hoodies and other head coverings. The story was followed by other media outlets in Los Angeles.

For ALL West Coast Editorial highlights please click here! [I will update link later -LEK]

......................................... >SOUTHERN PATCHES

+ From Tim Windsors Corner:

In Maryland: Laurel LE Joshua Garner got a heads up from commenters that two mayoral candidates faced liens on their homes and a foreclosure. One of the candidates had foreclosures as a major part of her campaign platform. The candidates confirmed what readers were saying, resulting in this exclusive. Elkridge Patch LE Elizabeth Janney saw in her elementary school principal's newsletter that Halloween was being canceled this year. She did a quick post of the principal's statement and got 48 comments, most of them negative and accusing the school of political correctness. Westminster Patch LE Kym Byrnes posted a letter a group sent criticizing the county government for "extreme views," garnering 22 comments and a follow up.

In Virginia: ALE Lauren Sausser, provided up-to-the-minute coverage of a Fairfax County woman accused of killing her granddaughter. It was a shocker of a trial that ended with a guilty verdict.

In Georgia: Oconee Patch, in operation for about 10 months, has surpassed The Oconee Enterprise, the county's newspaper of record for 125 years, in Facebook likes. Congratulations to LE Stephanie Gross! Kudos to LE Michael Stone for making Powder Springs-Lithia Springs Patch the place to go for municipal election information and opinions simply by being the open election forum people have never had before in Powder Springs. Even the mayor, who hasn't been a Patch fan since she started taking heat on the site, turned around last week and submitted a column. Columns solicited by Michael from the top mayoral candidates such as this and this have driven traffic and spurred dozens of comments, which, of course, in turn drive more traffic! Lilburn-Mountain Park LE Theresa Waldrop's Oct. 5 Greatest Person of the Day feature was still driving traffic six days after publication. The article on Tom Wargo, founder of a nonprofit food bank for pets, has drawn 3,700 UVs thus far and 500 recommendations on Facebook. Freelance photographer Jonathan Phillips shot a Viewfinder on a popular haunted house in the Norcross area. The photo gallery generated strong traffic on several sites, including 5,000 UVs on nearby Duluth Patch.

For ALL Southern Editorial highlights please click here! [I will update link later -LEK] .........................................
>MIDWEST PATCHES

+ From Sherry Skalkos Corner:

In Illinois:

Algonquin LE Savannah Ziegelbauer and Lake in the Hills LE Amie Schaenzer officially launched their Chowdown Showdown engagement initiative this week. Amie and Savannah sought out the best places to get certain types of food in their towns and received a huge response on Facebook and in polls. Readers had great reasons to come back multiple times to vote, to find out the finalists and then finally the winner.

In Minnesota: As protests of #OccupyWallStreet began to resonate across the country, Fridley LE Chris Steller saw an opportunity to localize the protests as the #OccupyMN demonstrations rolled in the Twin Cities. Steller drove to downtown Minneapolis' protests and found more than a half-dozen residents from Minnesota Patches carrying signs and joining the protest. Steller quickly turned around a photo gallery of some two dozen photos and shared the story to all the Minnesota Patch sites with protesters there. Now Chris is trying to round up photos of more Fridley protesters in "the other 99 percent" to build a gallery of local voices. Great work, Chris! St. Michael LE Mike Schoemer proved this past weekend that being well connected in one's Patch can lead to remarkablealbeit tragicstories that no other media outlet was able to tell. Schoemer was already investigating a tip that a local high school teacher had been killed earlier Saturday morning, but few knew the details until he heard of breaking news nearly 200 miles away: two men in the teacher's hometown had been arrested in connection to a murder. Schoemer worked late into Sunday night and through Monday to provide remarkable coverage of the teacher's death, as well as its impact on the community. His first interview was with the school superintendent.

In Ohio:

After Knight training we were inspired to try using video to highlight local pets available for adoption. Avon LE Melissa Hebert took on the challenge and the videos are adorable. In addition to an increase in traffic for these features, the animals are getting adopted too. The latest success was Ivan, a construction site cat that lost a leg. He found a home in just a few days of the video running on our site. Likewise, James got a home just a few days after our video ran.

In Missouri:

The weekend was all about Cover it Live. On Friday, St. Charles LE Kalen Ponche and ALE Joe Scott teamed up to blog from the Sarah Palin & Glen Beck rally. Contributing photographer Peter Lacy took photos for specific articles and for an extra photo gallery. As a team they managed to find quotes and photos of people so that other area LEs could use and localize the story. Meanwhile, Missouri RE Kurt Greenbaum teamed up with Philly-area Patchers to use Cover It Live for some good natured cross country smack-talk as the Cards and Phillies

faced off. Kurt continued the conversation Sunday with Milwaukee Patchers, including Wisconsin RE Mark Maley.