Let’s get down to business, shall we?

First off, take a quick glance down there in the bottom left-hand corner of this page.

See that staff box (or our online “Contact Us” webpage)? Note that our emails have changed — that’s super important if you want to get a hold of us! For the moment, we still receive emails from our old addresses, but not for long.

And second, local columns — you may have noticed that the Community Columnist Program has taken a little hiatus. Unfortunately, several health complications and a two year-old kept me fairly busy over the summer and I had to put my pet project on hold for a little bit.

Once election season is done, I hope to pick it up again in some form, whether it’ll be in full swing or as a modified program.

On the note of opinions, though, I hope that you will enjoy some new columns from Seattle Times’ Brier Dudley, Editor of the Free Press Initiative.

The Free Press Initiative was created to cover the growing pandemic (Too soon? I don’t think so.) of newspaper closures across the country.

We’re lucky here in Washington — Western Washington especially — where you have not only the Seattle Times, an independently-owned paper, but many other local paper like the Courier-Herald, The News Tribune, and so many more that have staff who care about their communities.

But, and maybe you’ve noticed, many papers aren’t what they used to be. The Courier-Herald can easily be considered a “ghost paper” as I am the only full-time reporter/columnist/photographer/website and social media manager.

I’m good, but I simply can’t be everywhere at once.

In response, the Initiative covers what’s happening around the country in terms of local news, specifically newspapers: those opening and closing, being bought and saved, or hollowed out, and what various levels of government are doing to either help newspapers thrive, or hinder their recovery.

His columns, as the name of the program suggests, are free, and will be reprinted here, at least occasionally. I urge you to read them and become more familiar with the dire situation facing local news and why it’s so vital for communities that want to thrive.

To borrow a phrase: you don’t know what you got, ‘til it’s gone.

That’s all for now, folks. Keep reading, and I’ll keep writing! I hope to see you at Brewskis with a Newsie (first Wednesday of the month, 5 to 6 p.m., at The Cole Street Brewery) or hear from you via letter to the editor or a phone call.