• E-mail: laura.dudnick@patch.com
• Phone: 650-201-1559
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/SanMateoPatch
• Twitter: @SanMateoPatch

Bio: Laura Dudnick is the editor of San Mateo Patch. She loves covering all types of stories and most recently discovered a passion for making videos. Laura previously worked as the editor of Belmont Patch, which she launched on Oct. 6, 2010, bringing the readership into the thousands before departing to cover San Mateo. Prior to her time at Patch, Laura was the San Mateo County Bureau Reporter for Bay City News Service where her work appeared in the San Mateo Daily Journal, the San Mateo County Times, the Mercury News, the Oakland Tribune, the San Francisco Chronicle and the San Francisco Examiner. Born in San Francisco and raised in Corte Madera, Laura graduated from The Colorado College where she was the editor-in-chief of The Catalyst, the weekly student-run newspaper.

In her spare time, Laura volunteers at the USO at SFO, spends time with her amazing brother, and attends her talented father's music gigs! If you like jazz: check out his website.

Your 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 you to inject your beliefs into stories or to dictate coverage according to them. In fact, the intent is the opposite: we hope that the knowledge that your beliefs are on the record will cause you 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
Independent; it depends on the issue.

Religion
I was not raised with a particular faith, and enjoy learning about all types of religions.

Local Hot-Button Issues
Two major issues that face the city of Belmont include the High Speed Rail debate and the outcome of the fire department split with San Carlos. Another controversy that arose recently is whether dogs should be allowed off their leashes for several hours a day at Barrett Park. Stay tuned to Belmont Patch to find out the latest information on those and other important topics.