The Outlook is now serving more than just Gresham

For loyal readers of The Outlook, the revelation that there have been some recent changes to this newspaper won’t be breaking news.

During the past year, we’ve seen changes in our ownership, a change of location, and adjustments to the distribution of our product.

And that’s just the beginning.

Unfortunately, due to financial constraints, we were forced to shut down the print products for the Sandy Post, Estacada News, and the Portland Tribune. Those subscribers are all now receiving The Outlook. We also reduced the frequency of The Outlook to one day per week and laid off several valued journalists and personal friends.

It should come as no surprise to anyone that the journalism industry has been facing financial challenges for several years. We are no exception.

That being said, we are making significant progress toward

The good news is that, along with other regional journalists in our company, local reporter Christopher Keizur is still here and continues to do a great job. I’m thrilled to be working with him. Our advertising department, comprising Jesse Marichalar, Laura Davis, and Shelli Lundgren, will continue to serve the advertising needs of the local business community. advertising@theoutlookonline.com

And then there’s me.

I’m the new editor and publisher of The Outlook. If you don’t know me (which I’m sure most of you don’t), I grew up in East Multnomah County, attended Lynch Wood Elementary School, Lynch Terrace Middle School (Go Tigers!), and graduated from Centennial High School (Go Eagles!). Yes, I know two out of those three schools had their names changed, but that was long after I wandered the halls of those institutions.

I played Little League baseball at the old Meadowland Little League fields next to the Meadowland Dairy on Powell Boulevard. Both the fields and the dairy are now a mobile home park.

I learned to bowl at the bowling alley that once stood on 164th (which has now been replaced with an apartment complex) and bought scores of comic books at what, until recently, was Bearly Read Books.

All in all, the area I grew up in has changed dramatically since I lived there. All that aside, I still find myself in East County and Gresham frequently. My mother still lives in the house I grew up in, so you can imagine that when I told her that keeping regular office hours (I don’t know what those are yet) in The Outlook office would mean I would see her more often, she was thrilled.

Once I get my desk set up The Outlook offices, I’ll let you all know. Heck, if you can figure out the relevance of the name of my column (45 Words), I’ll buy you a coffee.

Looking forward, we will continue to do our best to cover the news in the Gresham area. We always appreciate hearing about what’s important to you. So, if you have news stories or tips, send them to us at: news@theoutlookonline.com  

And if you have opinions you’d like to share or thoughts about The Outlook or the communities and events we cover, we’d love to hear from you.  Send in your letters to the editor or guest opinion pieces to: opinion@theoutlookonline.com

Comments on issues are always going to get priority when it comes to what’s included on the opinion page. If you’re simply going to run down a person or business, don’t be surprised if your letter doesn’t get published. And if you’re planning to run for office, be advised that we’ll welcome a guest column, but only one.

I’ll be writing regularly, and I hope you do too. Only by working together can we improve our community and the newspaper that serves it, The Outlook.

Cheers.