Note: I received a tip about Chief Lanyon from a source inside the city. I started asking the city spokeswoman about the investigation, but she cited the city’s policy of not discussing personnel matters. However, my persistence paid off when she called me and confirmed that there was an investigation and that the chief had …

Note: The hot car death of Cooper Harris and the subsequent investigation into his father Ross Harris was one of the last big stories I covered for Patch. The incident happened in the Smyrna area, which was the main town I was covering before the 2014 layoffs and one of the towns I was assigned …

Note: This was one of the fastest-moving, longest-lived, most controversial stories I had the pleasure of covering during my time at Patch. Most of the Georgia team was shifted on to this story, as it was a huge statewide story. If anyone saw new updates on this, they were encouraged to tack on an update …

NOTE: This was the first big story I covered on my own as a Local Editor at Northeast Cobb Patch. I remember the adrenaline rush I got from reaching out to official spokespeople for the first time. The story generated dozens of comments for my site, which was the metric the higher-ups in New York …

NOTE: Writing for insurance is a totally different experience than writing for news. Every term has an exact meaning, and every sentence needs a thorough examination to ensure (heh) you’re saying only what you intend to say, leaving no ambiguity or wiggle room for readers. I was able to combine my technical knowledge with a …

NOTE: It’s fun little stories like these that turn mundane or stressful days at the office into islands of joy. I couldn’t keep from singing along with the team when I first saw the video, and knew I wasn’t going to be alone. KSU and its community was very excited for its inaugural season of …

NOTE: This story was a lot of fun to write. I wanted to do Doris “justice” by fleshing out her career and demonstrating that she was no run-of-the-mill thief. It took me longer than I’d like to admit to get all the details researched and correct, but I think going that extra mile made the …

NOTE: This is a story I had originally written at Canton-Sixes Patch in 2013 as a standard police and fire article. Soon after I wrote that article, I was contacted by Luca’s “American Mom” Kelley to do a more in-depth piece on his life. She shared the stories I wrote about below and provided some …