Introducing "Eye on Kensington"

Welcome to the inaugural edition of El Cerrito Patch's "Eye on Kensington" — a look at the issues that affect Kensington as well as observations on the local scene.

My goal is not to cover every issue in the community — we have reporters for that — but rather to offer commentary, opinion and the occasional bon mot.

Before I start I think you should know a few things about me.

I have lived in Kensington about 10 years, which makes me a newcomer, but my wife has been here for almost 25, so she has a bit more "street cred" and will keep me in line. She is, by the way, a clinical psychologist, specializing in nutritional approaches to pain management and wellness.

Right now, I work out of my home as a personal and executive coach, helping people learn how to make better decisions. I have a more than passing interest in how the human brain works, and while recent research has given us a look and how the brain functions, we're still pretty clueless about the human mind — call it "fuzzy logic," to quote a good friend who coined the term.

Before my certification as a coach, I  spent over 25 years in journalism, and have done just about every job in the newsroom — from reporting to managing. Educationally, I have a bachelor's degree from Bucknell University in Pennsylvania and an MBA from Dominican University just over the bridge in San Rafael.

I like to garden and spend considerable time protecting my roses from the ravages of deer and fog.

I believe that Kensington is a wonderful little hidden gem of a community, with a fine school and a great mix of residents, from first-time home buyers with young families to retired professionals, who like the fact that many native Californians still have no idea where Kensington is.

I believe that good journalism and an informed citizenry are a necessary foundation for Democracy.

I believe that edited hyper-local websites like Patch.com are the future of journalism and that the newspapers that I grew up with have made some serious mistakes which may doom them.

I believe that well-meaning people who run for office are elected to lead, and should recognize that no matter what they do, someone will be upset, but they do their job anyway.

I believe that everyone is looking for something different when they define news. I learned long ago that the school lunch menu may be more important than what some politician has to say.

I believe that Kensington is part of a larger community. I support the local businesses both downtown and at Colusa Circle, but I also care about what happens in Berkeley, Albany, El Cerrito, Contra Costa County and Alameda County and in the great state of California. I watch the politics of San Francisco with some amusement, but I do care deeply about whether or not we'll ever have a new Bay Bridge.

I am a sports fan, and while the Giants, A's, Warriors, Sharks and 49ers are part of the local scene, I'm finding it hard to jettison 45 years of rooting for the Red Sox, Patriots, Celtics and Bruins. As a compromise, I'll try to stay away from sports, unless...

So, anything that falls into one of these categories is fodder for this column. I am trying to walk more these days, and hopefully it will give me a better chance to meet you in person and find some interesting ideas to detail in this space.

Finally I welcome comments, both pro and con, and I firmly believe that the purpose of a good column is to generate thought — not agreement, just thought.