A local newsletter like ours can’t hope to match the breadth and scope of statewide or citywide newspapers…nor should it. Each publication, big and small, establishes its own niche, and for the B-W Newsletter, it’s all about providing readers with inside scoops on neighborhood activities, events, businesses, personalities, and issues—purposely reported from a decidedly local perspective. Take for example the feature article in this issue on the demolition/development issue. While stories on this topic abound in the Portland media, you would be hard-pressed to find more than a cursory reference, if that, to the active role BWNA is playing behind the scenes in collaboration with other neighborhood associations to bring about substantive building code reform. The B-W Newsletter fills that void.
Within the framework of our niche, we’re constantly on the lookout for innovations that can enhance the product. One such experiment in progress is the “Letter to the Board” column, launched a couple years ago. Prior to that time, concerns about increased volume of articles and intensity of controversy confined editorial commentary to the “President’s Message” alone. But those worries proved unwarranted. To date, less than a dozen Letter to the Board editorials have been submitted, and contentiousness has not been the source of any kind of recrimination that we’re aware of. Most importantly, the content of these editorials has been uniformly stimulating and diverse in topic, running the gamut from illegal unleashing of dogs to traffic safety concerns. Accordingly, in this issue we experiment with the juxtaposition of back-to-back editorials based on two compelling but radically different incidents experienced in our neighborhood. Though diametrically opposed in tone and message, the respective narratives are no less thought-provoking and heartfelt—which are precisely the qualities we’re looking for in editorials. For instructions on submitting a Letter to the Board editorial, go to the BWNA Web site www.bwna.us and click on “Newsletter” at the top of the home page. You will then be transported to an entry page.
An additional source of newsletter editorial commentary, albeit modest, is what you’re reading right now. Making its debut last spring, “Editor’s Notes” has afforded me the opportunity to expound on newsletter content and format, as well as share some thoughts about the inner workings of BWNA. But the column has also provided me with a platform from which to recruit volunteers for the newsletter team, and the fact is that we’re currently in dire need of at least one additional writer. At present, the reporting and writing staff is comprised of BWNA President John Sandie, B-W resident Mark Mohammadpour, and myself—a three-legged stool situation that can get dicey if even one of us, due to personal or professional commitments, is unable to fulfill his assignment. This was the case recently with Mark. Fortunately at the last minute we found a “pinch reporter” for Mark—Jeff Gwilliam, who graciously volunteered to write the article on new Board member and the Gwilliams’ good friend Barb Strunk. Thanks again, Jeff! If you have the inclination and can spare some time every other month to assist with reporting and writing, I encourage you to contact me at editor@bwna.us for details. It’s a gratifying way to contribute to your neighborhood.