Castro Valley|News|
Welcome to San Lorenzo Patch!
Meet Editor Sonja Sharp and the San Lorenzo Patch team
I'm a Bay Area native and a UC Berkeley graduate (B.A. History and Spanish Literature), but I've spent most of my career covering culture/immigration, education and crime in New York City, reporting from Brooklyn for Columbia's Graduate School of Journalism (M.S. 2009) and Queens for the <i>New York Daily News</i>. My work has appeared in the <i>New York Times</i>, the <i>New York Daily News</i>, Los Angeles' <i>Daily Breeze</i>, and <i>Mother Jones</i> magazine. You can reach me at sonja.sharp@patch.com or 510.507.0859.
I'm an energetic writer and a voracious reader—I love all the Russians, the Wunderkind (Zadie Smith, Gary Shteyngart, Junot Diaz, Shalom Auslander, Aravind Adiga, etc) and Roald Dahl. My husband, Dr. Tal Sholklapper, and I are big nerds who adore Bollywood movies, international travel and anything pickled. I speak Spanish and Russian; my identical twin sister is a professional translator.
POLITICS
<i>How would you describe your political beliefs? *</i><br>I'm what the Soviets called a <i>byezrodnie kosmopolit</i>, a rootless cosmopolitan. I follow international affairs and local politics, but not much in between. Generally, I vote between the <i>New York Times</i> and the <i>Guardian</i>. <br><i><br>Are you registered with a certain party? *</i><br>I'm a registered Democrat. My husband is a registered Republican. We haven't burned the house down yet.
RELIGION
<i>How religious would you consider yourself? (Ie, casual, observant, devout, non-religious). *</i>
We're observant, but not always observant as our parents would like.
<i>Do you identify with a certain religion? If so, which one? </i>*
I'm ethnically, culturally and religiously Jewish—I count both Hasidic rabbis and bacon-eating apostates among my great friends. My husband is Israeli-American and speaks Hebrew as a first language—he studied in a religious school for eight years before transferring to the LAUSD for high school. The two of us are happily <i>frei</i> (secular), but we keep a kosher home, observe holidays and festivals, and attend prayer services regularly.
LOCAL HOT-BUTTON ISSUES
<i>What do you think are the most important issues facing the community? *</i>
The most important issues facing San Lorenzo seem to be education, economic recovery/development, and immigration issues.
<i>Where do you stand on each of these issues?</i> *
I taught preschool in the Bay Area and covered education extensively in Los Angeles and New York before coming here, so it's a subject close to my heart. I'm also a product of California public schools.
Economic redevelopment in the wake of this recession is something everyone is interested in, and we at Patch hope to keep you abreast of the latest developments.
Similarly, immigration is a reality— in San Lorenzo as it is all over California, across the nation and around the world. As a closet immigration law dork, I look forward to new federal legislation that will address some of the more glaring inequities in our system, and build a path to citizenship for hard-working residents who contribute so much to their communities. Growing up, my religious community was very active in resettling refugees from the former Soviet Union, where my family originates, and the process made a lasting impression on me.
Meet Editor Sonja Sharp and the San Lorenzo Patch team
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Police say they suspect arson in an early morning fire at the Ashland Little League fields near Edendale Middle School.
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He says pancakes and I say donuts—let's call the whole thing off?
He says pancakes and I say donuts—let's call the whole thing off?
Rosa Maria and Marco Ramirez brave the cold, advertising local cookie sales with a smile
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San Lorenzo's immigrant population has exploded in the past 10 years. This week, we introduce you to a few of your newest neighbors.
Despite 24,500 local ballots still uncounted, little change seen in the Nov 2 election results.