Jacob Kamaras, Patch Staff

<b>Email: </b>jacob.kamaras&#64;patch.com<br> <b>Phone: </b>201-994-6506<br> <b>Originally From: </b>Brooklyn, N.Y.<br> <b>Birthday: </b>4/14/86

<b>Bio</b>: Jacob began his journalistic career in college because he saw it as the best way to get involved with sports (his playing days were long gone). After expanding his horizons beyond sports as the editor in chief of the student newspaper at Brandeis University, he went back to sports writing at the start of his professional career, covering high school athletics for The Jersey Journal in Jersey City, NJ, on a temporary 11-month assignment. Moving on to The Jewish State, a weekly newspaper in Central Jersey, he covered the Jewish community in eight counties.

Whether at was his college newspaper or the Jewish newspaper, Jacob became intimately involved in the communities he covered, and that is his goal at Patch. While Jacob&#39;s hobbies consist of anything and everything sports, he is now focused on anything and everything Fair Lawn.

<b>Our Beliefs</b>

<i> 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. <br></i> <br> <b>Politics </b>

<i> How would you describe your political beliefs?</i> In general I&#39;m socially conservative, so although I&#39;m a registered Democrat I often feel more Republican. But for elections I like to vote based on how I feel about the issues, rather than being tied down to one party. Across the board, my views are moderate and I don&#39;t lose any sleep over local or national politics.

<i>Are you registered with a certain party? </i>Democratic Party.<br> <br> <b>Religion</b>

<i>How religious would you consider yourself?</i> As an Orthodox Jew, I observe the Sabbath and kosher dietary laws, and I pray on a daily basis.<br> <br> <b>Local Hot-Button Issues</b>

<i> What do you think are the most important issues facing the community?</i> Like many municipalities in New Jersey, budget cuts are fresh in the mind of Fair Lawn residents, with many public staffers accepting furlough days and municipal offices and the public library closed on Friday. There isn&#39;t one central downtown area in Fair Lawn, per se, but there are constant efforts to transform the Broadway, River Road, and Fair Lawn Avenue shopping districts into more business and community-friendly areas for residents and visitors, with more welcome signage and lower speed limits. On the municipal side, the borough is always trying to find ways to cut costs and change the way it does business, re-examining how public services such as water, recycling, sanitation, and park maintenance are delivered.

<i> Where do you stand on each of these issues?</i> In this economy, all municipalities need to cut costs and bring in more revenue, and Fair Lawn is making a concerted effort to do that. Whether residents will be on board with most of the borough&#39;s plans, or if they will be resistant to change, remains to be seen. It&#39;s an ongoing process, and measures in most areas are still in the exploratory phases, so it&#39;s wise to reserve judgement for now.

As a newcomer to Fair Lawn, I welcome your feedback and suggestions on what issues are important to you. Feel free to e-mail me: jacob.kamaras&#64;patch.com.