When people talk about “being thankful,” they’re always talking about something you should do individually. Send thank-you cards. Make a list of things you’re grateful for. Each Thanksgiving, studies reappear to remind us thankfulness has health benefits.
It’s been a while since I’ve shared an in-depth look at The Portager’s progress and future plans. And with so much in the works, I want to bring you up to speed.
We've made significant progress toward the launch of weekly print home delivery. Below you'll find information about our progress, next steps and what to do if you already paid for a print subscription and wondering where your papers are.
We’re now seeking a general assignment reporter to help us deliver high-impact stories about the people and institutions who shape the character of our community. We’re not looking for someone who can do it all — the county is much too big for that. Instead, we need an experienced reporter who can identify subjects our readers will care about, find answers and deliver solutions-oriented articles that have the potential to make Portage County a better place to live.
Just like the Gym Annex, Star Wars Day is unwittingly demolishing history
Hey Portagers! Over the last week, I’ve received nervous messages from readers mentioning the abrupt closure of The Devil Strip, a news startup that has done for Akron what we’re creating for Portage County. That won’t happen to us, right? The answer is no.
The first time I heard about Covid-19, I put it in my mental file for Asian viruses that did not affect my life. SARS, swine flu, MERS and so on. The outbreaks came and went. Even ebola stayed put. I had such an impoverished understanding of contagion. Didn’t we all?
I need to confess some deep and belated gratitude to the small businesses, nonprofits, political candidates, churches, agencies and individuals who have helped make The Portager what it is.
On Friday, I asked Portager readers if they have a paid subscription or not. If the answer was no, I asked people if they would like to share the reason.
One of the nice things about local news is that it helps us to remember how far we’ve come. Without a chronicle of the time and place we inhabit together, it would be easy to think we collectively accomplished very little this year.
There were so many big stories in Portage County in 2022. There have been fires and tragedies of all sorts. The kinds that can hit the soul of a community and bring people together. And lots of moving acts of solidarity and courageous leadership.
If you want to know whether The Portager and the people who read it are having an impact in Portage County, just ask any elected official or nonprofit organization. You are making your influence felt through your emails, calls and, crucially, through your donations to the areas that need support the most.