Hoa Nguyen, Patch Staff

Email: hoa@patch.com

Tel:  203-816-7613

Bio: I started off with a reporting internship at Newsday in Long Island, and then landed a staff job at Greenwich Time for seven years before working as a night reporter for nearly two years at The Journal News in Westchester. In a nutshell, I&#39;m a local news reporter.<br> <br>Oh, and just to throw this into the mix: Before attending journalism school, I worked as a software consultant for several years.

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

<b>How would you describe your political beliefs? *</b>

Just as I am not affiliated with any political party, my beliefs seem unaffiliated as well. That might just be a way of saying that I am not rooted in any particularly strong set of political beliefs.

<b>Are you registered with a certain party? *</b>

Like the majority of Newtown voters, I am a registered unaffiliated voter.

RELIGION

<b>Do you identify with a certain religion? If so, which one? *</b>

Catholic

LOCAL HOT-BUTTON ISSUES

<b>What do you think are the most important issues facing the community? *</b>

Budget and managing the town&#39;s finances seem to be a universal concern in town.

The only issue that would surpass that would be education, at least among parents and those who believe real estate values are tied to how good the public schools are.

A close third -- though it appears rooted in the fear of issue no. 1 (town finances) -- would be the future of the Fairfield Hills campus.

Finally, had the economy not taken a nose dive, concerns about open space, controlling development and preserving the environment would probably be a more frequent topic of debate.<b><br></b>

<b>Where do you stand on each of these issues? *</b>

I don&#39;t live in town -- at least for the moment -- and so I am saved from having to take a stand on those issues (namely the debate over taxes.)

Hopefully that will allow me to report on the issues in a fair and balanced way. I would add, however, that I&#39;m fiscally conservative with my own money, and so I can appreciate trying to keep expenses down.<b><br></b>