Friday, November 4, 2011

Friday at Rocky's

Wow....I can hardly believe that it's been over two years since I posted on this site!

I've been putting out a weekly e-mail newsletter for almost three years. I try to keep it focused on local information that is related to local government and helps people know what is going on in their community. But I see a lot going on that I have opinions about and want to share with people.

Do we talk with each other enough? I know, I can't see you. We're not having a beer or glass of wine together. But there aren't enough hours in the day to break bread and clink glasses with all the amazing people I know.

So....the blog.....

Tonight I had a bite to eat and a few Michigan IPAs with old friends at Rocky's. We do this every first Friday of the month and the place is usually fairly empty when I'm there. I've heard from one of my adult children that it gets pretty busy after 10 p.m. but I'm usually in bed by then. But tonight the place was packed at 6:30 and it turned out it was full of employees and former employees of the G.R. Press. I know quite a few of them from my many years in local politics so I got an earful each time I walked by to refresh the contents of my beer glass.

This week's announcement of significant changes at the G.R. Press affected a lot of people. It may affect more of us than we realize. One conversation at Rocky's lamented the loss of accountability in local government if the press is no longer there to cover it. I think that's a legitimate concern, especially in Kent County.

My heart goes out to all those affected by the changes. I've grown to appreciate quite a number of G.R. Press reporters, photographers, etc. over the years. We're definitely in a new era. I hope that we'll be able to find a way to make it a better one!

1 comment:

m.y.humbleopinion said...

Jim, I agree that it is difficult for the folks who may be affected by the changes, but we need to recognize that in our community folks in nearly every industry have faced the same uncertainty and cuts. The reporters from the GR Press are more familiar to many of us, but this restructuring, the loss of jobs and even the loss of a workplace sense of security has been too horribly wide spread in our community for it to be a shocking, unfortunately.