Richard Oppel stated his intention to hire "up" when filling writing positions when he took over at the daily. We think his best new hire is lifestyle writer Patrick Beach who hit the ground running with a dead-on profile of local legend Eddie Wilson during his first week in Austin and then impressed us with a personal story about fighting leukemia with a bone marrow transplant in his own family. In a few short months, we've come to expect revealing, insightful writing beneath his byline and Beach does not disappoint.
