Today’s newsletter is presented by Kaiser Permanente.
Hello, La Mesa!
The May edition of the La Mesa Courier is set to be delivered tomorrow. Here’s some top stories to look for:
- City council bans high-speed e-bikes for kids under 12 by editor Dorian Hargrove
- The 125th anniversary of the La Mesa Women’s Club by freelance reporter Karen Pearlman
- 5 things you didn’t know about La Mesa (or forgot you knew) by history correspondent Debbie Sklar
- Tappi Sushi Lounge opens by food critic Robin Dohrn-Simpson
You may notice a few new names in that list, and the absence of some previous ones (We wish you well Dave Thomas!). Times of San Diego just finished an almost year-long hiring process initiated by GM and editor Andrew Keatts that finalized our editorial and print teams.
The staff is excited for what’s next. To explain this new editorial approach, I asked Keatts a few questions about what to expect.
How is the production process for publishing the La Mesa Courier going to change?
The only change that anyone outside the newsroom might notice is that our stories will no longer be assigned, edited and published on a news cycle based around a single monthly deadline.
We already spent plenty of time covering important La Mesa stories as they happen and publishing them as soon as possible, but that will now be our process for nearly every story. When it comes time for a new issue, we’ll then select the most pressing, interesting and essential stories and arrange them into the La Mesa Courier.
What will the new editorial staff, and their approach, bring to the La Mesa Courier?
Tom Melville will be new to La Mesa Courier readers, but he’s been putting together our coastal papers for years and now he’ll do it in La Mesa too. Dorian Hargrove is a new face for us, but I suspect his accountability-focused reporting will be familiar to anyone who follows local public affairs. And Chris Baker has been designing all our papers since I got here, and he’ll just have more authority to make them look even better now.
All of the other Times of San Diego newspapers are located in the city of San Diego. La Mesa Courier gets to be special! Why do you think maintaining coverage of our city is important?
La Mesa is big — maybe residents like the small-town feel, but it deserves and warrants regular, high-quality coverage.
The question really isn’t “Why should La Mesa have its own paper?” The better question is, “Why don’t National City, Lemon Grove, Chula Vista, et al also have their own dedicated coverage?” And the answer to that is, “We’re working on it.”
Bonus: What’s your favorite thing to do in La Mesa?
It’s Anthony’s Fish Grotto. There’s a sameness that seems to be taking over every restaurant in America in the social media-influencer era, and that sameness is NOT present at Anthony’s Fish Grotto. Taking my kids there on a weekend afternoon is like giving them a little staycation. They love it.
Drew Sitton
La Mesa Courier newsletter host
La Mesa story spotlight
Family sues Liberty Military Housing after toddler’s fatal fall from an open window in La Mesa
By Dorian Hargrove • Times of San Diego
The family of a 13-month-old who died after falling from a second story window sues military housing operator.
La Mesa Courier thanks our corporate sponsors. Find out more about sponsorships and advertising opportunities here.
More La Mesa news
La Mesa Courier thanks our corporate sponsors. Find out more about sponsorships and advertising opportunities here.