Email nicole.ely@patch.com 
Phone (415) 307-1595 Hometown Fair Oaks, Calif. Birthday  Jan. 19, 1987 Bio  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. Politics 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. Religion Although I think faith is a beautiful thing, I do not attend any church and consider myself an atheist. Hot Topics: Although I'm new to San Rafael, three big issues that are on neighbors' minds are: the possibility of a new Target store opening in the area, the health effects and privacy issues surrounding PG&E's SmartMeters and funding for the SMART train.