Nicole Ely, Patch Staff

I spent my childhood in a small town nestled in California's central valley. After graduating high school, I came to the Bay Area to study journalism and completed a bachelor's degree at San Francisco State University.

Before coming to Patch, I spent two years reporting for print, online and broadcast. Most recently, I wrote articles and developed new web features for Stanford Business Magazine.

My guilty pleasures include movies, food and pop music.

<br><b>Politics </b>

I tend to vote on issues rather than associating with any one political party. That said, I do lean to the liberal side on many topics. <br><br><b>Religion</b>

Although I think faith is a beautiful thing, I do not attend any church and consider myself an atheist.

<b>Hot Topics:</b>

Although I&#39;m new to San Rafael, three big issues that are on neighbors&#39; minds are: the possibility of a new Target store opening in the area, the health effects and privacy issues surrounding PG&amp;E&#39;s SmartMeters and funding for the SMART train. <b><br></b>