Thought folks might want to be aware of the sad fact that Bob Williams is no longer a Reporter for The Almanac....a victim of the economy, the decline of print media in general and personnel reductions in the overall print enterprises of the Washington, PA based Observer - Reporter Corp., parent company of The Almanac. Bob's former duties will be assumed by a reporter from the Observer-Reporter and stringers reporting for The Almanac. Bob created a lot of *sunshine* for the public in area governance matters over 17 years of coverage, both municipal and school district, with fair and balanced research and reporting. I'm not at all confident he will be replaceable in kind.
The loss is certainly felt first and foremost by Bob himself, but it's also a loss for Mt. Lebanon, too. No print publication today offers sustained coverage of the ordinary processes of municipal governance here. Bob's work was straight reporting, but more than any other local writer he covered the Mt. Lebanon government beat as it should be covered -- closely and thoroughly.
As the fourth anniversary of this blog approaches, I'm more aware than ever that Mt. Lebanon residents who care about good government need a public place, independent of the Municipality, to raise and debate issues of interest and concern -- whether those concerns have to do with the Mt. Lebanon Commission, the Board of School Directors, the Parking Authority. For now, and unless a better venue emerges, that's a major goal of the blog.
Eventually, I hope that our elected and appointed representatives will find ways to respond.
Agree or disagree with Mr. Williams, his coverage of all aspects of Mt Lebanon government should be appreciated. Here's hoping the Almanac realizes the thirst that our residents have for information regarding the actions of our public officials and assigns someone who will invest as much time as Mr. Williams did in covering Mt Lebanon.
ReplyDeleteJames