• Peter SurowskiPatch Staff Verified Patch Staff Badge

  • Temecula, CA

<b>Email: </b>peter.surowski&#64;patch.com

<b>Phone: </b>951-315-7784

<b>Hometown: </b>Menifee, CA

<b>Birthday: </b>Sept. 6, 1979

<b>Bio: </b>Peter Surowski is the editor of Temecula Patch. For about five years before joining Patch, he covered Temecula as a newspaper reporter.

He was born in Anaheim just a few blocks from Disneyland, but his folks dragged him kicking and screaming from the happiest place on earth when he was seven and planted him in Canyon Lake.

Despite all the fun things for kids to do in Canyon Lake in the late &#39;80s, such as kicking rocks and whistling, Peter holed up in his bedroom, played video games and read comic books for about ten years.

When he was a teenager, he decided it would really irritate his parents if he learned to play drums, so he did. To his dismay, they supported him. He inflicts this hobby on his neighbors to this day.

Somehow, he managed to make a living giving music lessons and playing gigs through his early 20s. Meanwhile, he had a daughter and named her Annabelle Lee. She makes a mess, disobeys him and costs him a lot of money, but he loves her uncontrollably. He does not know why.

In his early 20s, Peter got tired of trying to be a rock star. He went to college and got a bachelor&#39;s degree in history. Failing to find any classified ads seeking professional historians, he took up freelance writing.

Something about this work enchanted him. The long hours and low wages likely appealed to his ascetic nature. He&#39;s been at it ever since.

He was a staff writer for City News Service, Valley News and the Long Beach Press-Telegram. He also wrote for the Press-Enterprise, Inland Empire Magazine, Inland Empire Weekly and too many other publications to remember on a freelance basis. 

Having failed to learn his lesson the first time, he went back to college and got his master&#39;s degree in communications. He also became a contributing editor to Specialty Coffee Retailer magazine, which worked out well, since he drank gallons of coffee while staying up all night writing his thesis anyway.

Totally unrelated to his job, he loves reading. He especially loves reading while camping, especially if he&#39;s camping in a foreign land.

He runs marathons, which are a lot like his college career: long, painful and arguably fruitless.

Today, he lives in Menifee with his daughter. She is surviving his parenting rather admirably.

<b>Your Beliefs</b><br>At Patch, we promise always to report the facts as objectively as possible and otherwise adhere to the principles of good journalism. However, we also acknowledge that true impartiality is impossible because human beings have beliefs. So in the spirit of simple honesty, our policy is to encourage our editors to reveal their beliefs to the extent they feel comfortable. This disclosure is not a license for you to inject your beliefs into stories or to dictate coverage according to them. In fact, the intent is the opposite: we hope that the knowledge that your beliefs are on the record will cause you to be ever mindful to write, report and edit in a fair, balanced way. And if you ever see evidence that we failed in this mission, please let us know.<br><br><b>Politics: </b><strong>How would you describe your political beliefs?</strong>

I&#39;m politically agnostic. I only know one thing for sure: I don&#39;t know what&#39;s best for this country, and neither does anybody else.

Take the economy, for example. It&#39;s too complex for human comprehension. This is why even the savviest experts are wrong all the time.

It&#39;s just as H. L. Mencken said. &#34;For every difficult and complicated question there is an answer that is simple, easily understood and wrong.&#34; Asking somebody&#39;s political persuasion is like asking, &#34;Which set of simplistic, almost-always-wrong ideas do you think are true?&#34;

Rather than seeing issues through the lens of a certain ideology, I think it&#39;s better to consider each issue on its own merit and pay attention to the details.

<strong>Are you registered with a certain party?</strong>

I&#39;m a registered democrat. I noticed democrats tend to be less driven by ideology than the folks in other parties, so I feel a little more at home with them.

I don&#39;t agree with a lot of things the party as a whole espouses, but that&#39;s a long conversation. Ask me in person sometime.

<b>Religion: </b><strong>How religious would you consider yourself? </strong>

Religion&#39;s a funny thing. Loosely, it&#39;s a collection of beliefs one has in common with others. If you have those beliefs in common, you&#39;re a member of the same religion.

The problem with this question is, not a single pair of humans have even one belief in common, because every mind is different. We each visualize God, Buddha, Mohammad, Jesus, Krishna differently. They are different people in our minds.

Each of us is a member of a different religion with a congregation of one. To put labels on our beliefs is to put up walls where none exist. Instead, I share the sentiment of the great philosopher, Thomas Paine. &#34;My country is the world, and my religion is to do good.&#34;

If you&#39;d like to talk about my favorite philosophers, such as Rene Descartes, David Hume, Ludwig Wittgenstein, Bertrand Russell, I&#39;d love to chat in person sometime.

<b>Local Hot-Button Issues: </b><strong>What do you think are the most important issues facing the community?</strong>

Temecula always has a hot-button issue du jour. On almost any given weekend, I can find a group of people standing someplace with picket signs, usually on the opposite side of the street of an even bigger counter-protest. There&#39;s a lot of talking, a little yelling and then the topic fades and Temecula&#39;s no better or worse for it.

Right now, the hot topic&#39;s a planned mosque. In the past, it was immigration, the Vagina Monologues, the flopped medical center plan, the washed out water park plan and a far-fetched idea to somehow turn the perpetually dusty Murrieta Creek into a San Antonio-style river walk.

Also, with the economy down, unemployment high and countless foreclosed houses sitting empty, how to get the local economy back on track is a big issue.

<strong>Where do you stand on each of these issues?</strong>

The economy is a problem that reaches way beyond the local level. The city reached out to help, which is great, but most importantly, people have been helping each other. This makes all the difference, and in the past, I reported on this to show how people can get through the tough times.

As for the other more ephemeral hot topics, despite all the kvetching, cooler heads always prevail and Temecula rolls on. It keeps life interesting, though.

Posting Activity

Temecula|News|

Blood, Guts and Cussing

A book approved for Temecula high schools has harsh language and violence.

Blood, Guts and Cussing
Temecula|News|

Patch Merges with Huffington Post

Arianna Huffington is the new editor-in-chief of the more than 800 Patch sites in the U.S.

Patch Merges with Huffington Post
Temecula|News|

Weekly Photo Gallery

Here are some scenes from around town this week.

Weekly Photo Gallery
Temecula|News|

Vegan Heaven

If you’re a lactose-intolerant vegan who’s allergic to gluten, Pizza Fusion is your place.

Vegan Heaven
Temecula|News|

Alleged Car, Jewelry Thief Behind Bars

He stole a Jaguar, jewelry and expensive electronic gear, led deputies on a chase and was bitten by a police dog, sheriff’s officials say.

Alleged Car, Jewelry Thief Behind Bars
Temecula|News|

Anti-Mosque Group’s Crusade Ends

The Concerned American Citizens are content with the mosque plan, and no plans to sue are in the works.

Anti-Mosque Group’s Crusade Ends
Temecula|News|

Your Evening Patch Cast

A round-up of the major developments in the region for Feb. 2.

Temecula|News|

Anti-abortion Group Gets Public Funds

The City Council is set to vote on whether to give Birth Choice $5,000, while turning down applications from less partisan organizations.

Anti-abortion Group Gets Public Funds