Myles Ma, Patch Staff

<b>Email </b>Myles.Ma&#64;Patch.com

<b>Phone </b>(201) 364-2286

<b>Hometown </b>Paramus, NJ

<b>Birthday </b>November 5, 1987

<b>Favorite Movie</b> The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou

<b>Favorite Album</b> &#34;On the Beach,&#34; Neil Young

I was born in the Philippines, but I was raised right here in Paramus, the land of the wild turkey. After graduating from the College of New Jersey in 2009, I left for a year to work for a group of community newspapers based in Mercer County, but I&#39;ve returned to live in and write about my hometown. In addition to that experience, I&#39;ve written for the Jersey Journal in Jersey City and the Press of Atlantic City.

Aside from professional stuff, I&#39;m intensely invested in the perennially woeful New York Knicks, to a lesser extent, the New York Jets and to a much lesser extent, the New York Yankees. I also enjoy reading, writing (creatively, not just the stuff on here) and when I have time, running (recreationally, not just around town covering stuff.)<br> <br> <b>Your Beliefs</b><br> 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.<br> <br> <b>Politics </b><br> How would you describe your political beliefs?

Though I lean left on many things and believe in some kind of safety net, I am also pretty libertarian on many social issues. The way I lean really depends on the issue.

<br> Are you registered with a certain party?

I am an independent.<br> <br> <b>Religion</b><br> How religious would you consider yourself? (casual, observant, devout, non religious)

Like many Filipinos, I was raised Catholic, and I used to be a regular attendee of the noon mass at the Church of the Annunciation until I went off to college, where I didn&#39;t have my parents pushing me out the door every Sunday. I would consider my religious devotion extremely casual, but my Catholic upbringing is at least a baseline for my morals and beliefs.<br> <br> <b>Local Hot-Button Issues</b><br> What do you think are the most important issues facing the community? Where do you stand on each of these issues?

The one sort of recent event that bugged me was the construction of movie theater at the Garden State Plaza really made an already congested place in even more of a quagmire. From a borough perspective, from what I can tell, Paramus is a very political place, and I wonder how much that gets in the way of progress here in town. But aside from that, I&#39;m interested to hear what you, the readers and my fellow residents think.