Greetings!
Profound apologies for the delay! Part of our series revolving around this year's county executive race, our promised look at the local black political community, will appear on these pages tomorrow. We are sometimes slow and stubborn learners, and the tasks involved in running this site sometimes interfere with our best-laid plans. But we hope tomorrow's read will be worth your while and your wait. In the future, we have taken a personal vow not to promise publication of any piece that needs anything more than final editing, proofing, etc.
That said, the numbers tell us that we have published more than 40 pieces since the appearance of Part II. Some are aggregated to supplement our local coverage. We commend in particular Thursday's Marshall Project piece on local judicial selection; produced in collaboration with several local outlets, it is an in-depth look at how judges are selected and the impact that has upon our community.
We will take a moment here to share a few words on what many of you have undoubtedly observed: an increase in our coverage of deaths in our community. This is partially natural and cyclical. Death is a part of life, and hence a reality of our community. All life is precious, and lives well-lived in this difficult world deserve especially to be commemorated and celebrated. Acknowledging the passing of a significant community contributor is important. And while we cannot honor every decedent with a fitting obituary, we have begun to offer a death notice section at a modest cost.
As we prepare to enter Year Three of the coronavirus pandemic, and the changes we have been obliged to make owing to COVID-19's mutating presence among us, we acknowledge how even our death rituals have been affected. You can read here our article on how the pandemic has altered death rituals and left many families without a sense of closure. Even before the pandemic, owing to other changes in our community, we understood how the loss of a friend somehow seems compounded when we learn that someone we cared about but with whom we may have not have sustained frequent contact, died some weeks, months, or even longer without our having been aware. The growth of our obituary section speaks in part to tend to that sense of community and hopefully mitigates to some degree that sense of loss. The number of notes and comments we receive, as well as the attention these obituaries receive, tell us that this contribution is valued.
There is more we can say, but one pledge we do honor religiously is to attend to brevity in these newsletters. Check out some of those 40+ pieces across our platform.
Incidentally, if you wish to reach us, please email us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. The email at the bottom of this page is not monitored regularly except to update our mailing list.
As always, stay safe and thanks for reading The Real Deal Press!
R. T. Andrews
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