Adios Jim Hemig and a hardy welcome to Don Rogers

Our little newspaper sure has had a lot of folks running it over the years.  There has been a few long term Publishers and news reporters but not many.  I was told long ago that these smaller community papers were the training grounds for the ones in the big cities.  So these folks come and learn their trade and move on and up the ladder.  Not different from most other businesses.  After-all this is the land of opportunity.  And if you work hard and keep your nose clean, there is nothing a person cannot accomplish.

I only met Mr. Hemig a couple of times and he was certainly a nice man.  He ran the paper well and I was happy to read it.  My little schedule is simple.  I get out of the sack, make my coffee and get the Union.  Sit on the back deck, weather permitting, and read it from front to back.  I have done this for a long time.  Even though the paper has shrink in number of pages it still let's us read what is going on here in our little burg.  Of course the same shrinkage is happening to all the newspapers of America,  Paper is thinner, pages fewer but information is still there. 

Having been in politics for many years I was familiar with the people running the paper.  I had a spate of critics early on in the 80's.  I did not fit their view of a politicians I guess.  I was even blindsided by the local paper when it decided at the last minute to endorse another candidate in my Assembly run in 1992. 

I was endorsed by the Paradise Post for Assembly but my local paper did a turnaround.  They said they would not endorse but ended up doing so. Well, I finished third out of seven running for the Republican primary and the second place finisher, the paper's endorsee, blamed me for his loss because I got quite a few votes in Truckee, denying him h numbers he need for victory. But even with what I felt was a betrayal at the time I still have great respect fr that publisher.

During that time I was a outspoken person about most issues.  Sort of like a Trump without the nasty personal attacks though.  So I gained some lefty critics and the Editor at the time did not care for me either.  I was chewed on a lot but after a while I got used to it.  It did not harm me in the community as people generally like my stands on local and state issues.  Common sense.  I outlasted that Editor.

Over the 90's the paper saw a few more publishers, some remembered, some not.  I do recall a lady Publisher, actually kind of attractive, who was more left than right, but I liked her.  She once jumped naked into the pond at Starry Starry Nights.  Along with others, (not me) she became kind of famous.  She had a nice figure I was told so she did not scare anyone.  Then she left fairly quickly and the paper had some others.  They all left fairly quickly too.  Of course there was John Seelmeyer who was the Editor for a few years.  I was not a critic until he pulled some shenanigans about me when I ran CABPRO.  Very unprofessional and unethical as I saw it.  News articles about things made up from whole cloth.  I was happy to see him gone. 

Then along came my old friend Jeff Ackerman.  He and I knew each other when he covered the Board of Supervisors for the Union in 1985.  He and I were the same age and after the Tuesday meetings we would sometimes go have a beer at the National.  I found him to be honest and a man with common sense.  As a home builder, common sense is really important, so I knew he would do a good job.  When he returned as the Publisher  I was hopeful he would return the paper to one of local importance and common sense.  He did.  His tenure was long for the paper and he had a good impact on local happenings.  He was a very good representative for the Swift Corporation.  The only thing he did that I questioned was his hiring of Jeff Pelline.  He turned out to be a bust and was not well received here.  Ackerman finally booted him and we all know what a bust he is as blogmeister here ever since.

Now we have this new fellow in charge of our treasured paper.  My hopes are he does as good a job as Jeff Ackerman and Jim Hemig did.  If he does and if he does not let the rabid leftists intimidate him, he will be welcomed by most.  If he is a liberal type person he may have some rabid critics from the center-right.  I wish this new Publisher great success in his responsibilities of our Union.