I'm the editor of Ramona Patch. I may be reached at Julie.pendray@patch.com.

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I began my broadcast career when I won a contest on Auckland, New Zealand's rock station, Radio Hauraki, at age 18. The station was looking for a female DJ, and I had the bare minimum of experience at Auckland University's radio station. I also needed the prize money because my motorcycle had just been stolen. I won and was given the graveyard shift on Saturday nights. I'd like to thank whoever stole my motorcycle and launched my career.

I also worked for Radio 1XI and Radio Whakatane in the Auckland area, during college, then became a news reporter and newscaster for Radio New Zealand. I was posted to Dunedin and Timaru. I look back on those days as like working for a mini BBC in the South Pacific. It was great training. I am still in touch with many fine journalists from that era, who now live around the world.

My B.A. in Political Studies is from Auckland University, and my  Journalism Certificate is from what is now called Auckland University of Technology. I also studied TV production at Palomar College.

In 2009, I taught Journalism as an adjunct instructor at Palomar College, and I tutored in the English Department there for about three years.

I've lived in North Inland San Diego county for 30 years. My resume includes being on staff at Channel 8 TV as an assistant assignment editor and news writer and working at The San Diego Union-Tribune as North County Community News Editor. My earliest digital videography was as a freelancer for North County Times. I gained more web experience while freelancing as San Diego News Network's North Inland Editor.

Ramona residents may remember my freelance Ramona Sentinel coverage of the Witch Creek Fire survivors and their biggest lawsuit against SDG&E. I also covered the planning group and the Sunrise Powerlink opposition for the Sentinel.

Before joining Patch, I wrote freelance news articles for The Washington Times in D.C. as well as The San Diego Union-Tribune and other outlets. My most notable stories have been on the legislation following the murders of Chelsea King and Amber Dubois, coverage of the day of the Michael Jackson memorial, the Los Angeles Station Fire, South Pacific tax havens, the expansion of the People's Republic of China in the South Pacific and the increase in shortwave radio listening after 9-11.

I have freelanced for most of the San Diego county print publications. My photography has been published in The Washington Times, Copley News Service, Union-Tribune and a variety of other media outlets.

There was a time when I took a break from journalism. This gave me solid background in environmental issues, government and politics. I co-managed the successful non-partisan campaign to elect John MacDonald to county supervisor in the 1980s. In the environmental field, I spent 10 years managing grants, testing properties for contaminants, coordinating multi-agency educational projects, researching property uses, advocating for state funding and writing lengthy technical reports.

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All Patch editors were asked to provide readers with the following information.

Beliefs:

I believe in ethics, compassion, respect and dignity.

Politics:
How would you describe your political beliefs?

Moderate.

Are you registered with a certain party?

No, I am non-partisan. I have always believed that it's important for me, as a journalist, not to join or donate to political groups. Also, generally, I do not like partisan politics. I vote according to the issue or the candidate.

Religion:
How religious would you consider yourself?

I've been a Christian for 30 years. I do not favor any denomination. I believe they all have something to offer, and so do other faiths.

I prefer to keep my own beliefs out of my work because I believe that's the ethical and fair approach. I also do that because I don't believe any of us have all (or even most) of the answers.

I would add that this is a very private area for me, yet I did not want to skirt around the Patch mandate to provide an answer.

Local Hot-Button Issues:
What do you think are the most important issues facing the community?

We are in for some tough economic times in the United States and other parts of the globe. We are seeing it here in Ramona, with small businesses struggling.

In that climate, what decisions will local leaders and businesses make about how to keep Ramona thriving? 

People in Ramona have already gone through the fires. They can weather this too. I anticipate that people will join together and help each other through these tough times, because of the sense of community here. There will be some great stories to come out of that.

Growth is the other big issue, though I believe the economic downturn will mitigate that somewhat. How to manage inevitable growth has been a huge issue in Ramona for at least a decade. All the wonderful natural assets of the backcountry draw more and more people to this area. Some residents would like to cap the growth and stay a country town. Some are comfortable with allowing more development. Reaching a workable consensus and communicating that in an effective manner to the county are tough challenges.