San Clemente|News|
Courtney's SandCastle Has Funds to Finish Playground
The all-access playground will send it's second phase out to bid soon; the organization supporting it has raised all the money necessary.
Email: Adam.Townsend@patch.com
Phone: 949-436-3050
Hometown: Steubenville, Ohio
Birthday: July, 1983
Bio: I grew up in a small town in the greater Pittsburgh metro-area.
I attended journalism school at the Ohio University Scripps School of Journalism; I also studied studio art and Spanish at that school.
I've been a full-time newspaper and multimedia reporter for more than a decade. I started as a general assignment reporter at a small-town paper in the Ohio Valley and moved up through the ranks at that company as I completed my degree, doing piecework for other papers and magazines while classes were in session.
In September of 2006, I started as a reporter covering various cities in north Orange County at the Orange County Register. There I also administered the AroundDisney blog, shot hundreds of photographs, created feature and courtroom illustrations and designed informational graphics.
During my time at Patch, I've led local and national media on dozens of news stories, many of which have made national headlines. I cover everything from local business features to crime to elections and technology. I've been an occasional guest on KPBS Midday's Roundtable, speaking as an media expert on the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station.
I've always had a fascination with journalism – the excitement of the process, the leap into the vortex of events as they happen, the sociability of meeting and interviewing sources, the exposure of crime and malfeasance.
I'm also a practicing artist, completing large paintings and illustrations in my spare time. I'm involved in musical pursuits; I play a few instruments to varying degrees of proficiency, but the piano is my first love.
I'm a voracious reader, preferring smutty mystery novels as pleasure reading, literature and history if I'm looking for something meatier. I've become something of a World War I buff lately.
I do some skim boarding out on North Beach – near where I've lived in San Clemente since 2006. I also train at the local MMA gym, Finish Strong.
Growing up near Pittsburgh, I'm a rabid Steelers fan. Sorry, Chargers.
My wife, Laura Lee Townsend, and I were married at the Ole Hanson Beach Club in May 2009.
Laura Lee, who also has a background in journalism, now is a certified health and fitness coach and manages San Clemente Boot Camp. You'll be seeing her maiden-name byline -- Laura Lee Bloor -- on San Clemente Patch as a health and wellness blogger.
We're both involved in charitable causes, raising money especially for the Susan G. Komen Foundation, which fights breast cancer. We also put on a production of the Vagina Monologues at Knuckleheads in 2011. Sponsored by Patch, Knuckleheads and Buds Famous Hot Dogs, we raised more than $5,000 for Laura's House network of domestic violence shelters in south Orange County.
As San Clemente Patch editor, I am here to cover San Clemente and all that goes on here. My writers and I produce breaking local stories, feature pieces, profiles of locals, high school sports news, and whatever else affects our community.
My Beliefs
I believe in democracy, fairness and hard-nosed journalism that is vital, useful and relevant. I believe in God and Jesus Christ, but I am respectful of those with other beliefs.
I believe the First Amendment is the most crucial part of the Constitution and the best means of preserving our nation.
Politics
As a journalist, I'm not a member of any political party or organization. I lean toward candidates I believe offer the best path to good governance – independent of their political philosophy. I do not vote in the San Clemente City Council races or on San Clemente ballot measures because I am covering them and strive to maintain objectivity.
Religion
I'm a Christian who was raised as a Presbyterian, but I am not currently a member of any sect or church.
Local Hot-Button Issues
Planned development at North Beach is a subject of much controversy in town, as is the Marblehead development and outlet mall and the troubled San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station. Marine and military issues are also at the forefront, considering our proximity to Camp Pendleton Marine Corps Base.
The all-access playground will send it's second phase out to bid soon; the organization supporting it has raised all the money necessary.
The 405 Freeway will be closed in both directions Saturday night through Sunday afternoon from the 605 to Valley View Street.
The I-405 Freeway will be closed in both directions Saturday night through Sunday afternoon from the I-605 junction to Valley View Street.
The I-405 Freeway will be closed in both directions Saturday night through Sunday afternoon from the I-605 junction to Valley View Street.
The San Clemente City Council is set to initiate the competition at the Tuesday meeting.
Brand new playground equipment at Max Berg Plaza Park is already popular with the neighborhood kids, but it will be officially unveiled Saturday.
From rapes and murders to burglaries and DUIs, law enforcement officials say the state-of-the-art Orange County crime lab is vital to thousands of investigations.
Based on counts of fish found in cooling systems of five power plants along the California coast, fish populations have dropped by 78 percent.
Based on counts of fish found in cooling systems of five power plants along the California coast, fish populations have dropped by 78 percent.
Based on counts of fish found in cooling systems of five power plants along the California coast, fish populations have dropped by 78 percent.
Based on counts of fish found in cooling systems of five power plants along the California coast, fish populations have dropped by 78 percent.
Based on counts of fish found in cooling systems of five power plants along the California coast, fish populations have dropped by 78 percent.
One protected bird species might try to eat another protected bird species that lives at Seal Beach Naval Weapons Station's wilderness preserve.
The following is a list of stuff that will be useful or interesting for the week ahead.
The following is a list of stuff that will be useful or interesting for the week ahead.
The following is a list of stuff that will be useful or interesting for the week ahead.
The 44-year-old will receive three years' probation and other penalties.
The series of small quakes happened early Friday evening, according to the USGS.