Dear Readers, I’d like to formally introduce myself, this being the third edition of this paper for which I’ve held the title of Editor. I am 24 years old and have no background in the newspaper or journalism business. Instead, I’m a Computer Science graduate from UC Santa Cruz, with experience primarily in building website systems. Around two years ago, I followed up on an ad in the paper, met Carl, and began updating and improving the website. Earlier this year, Angela, our Assistant Editor, emailed me to ask if I would be open to doing more for the paper, and with Carl’s input, we agreed on a 3-month internship starting in June. Just a week before the internship started, Carl broke his femur and underwent surgery, so I drove up in time to help produce the June 1st paper. I learned hard and fast what it takes to get a weekly paper printed with Carl out of the office recovering. Though his recovery was difficult, I’m glad Carl could take a step back from the business and, over time, build trust toward Angela and me as a team. When the internship ended at the end of August, Carl asked if I would stay as Editor, and I happily accepted. I am grateful for the compliments we’ve received over the last few months on the quality of our paper, and I plan to continue to put out great editions. My immediate goal as Editor is to streamline our publishing process and give our limited staff extra time and energy to cover more local stories. Over time, I plan to provide much more extensive news about what’s happening in our great Lost Sierra and beyond for our readers. I’m incredibly grateful to Angela and Carl for allowing me the opportunity to serve this wonderful community and our readership and for trusting me to continue the long tradition of California’s oldest continuously published weekly paper. If you have suggestions for how we can improve our paper or what we should be covering, please don’t hesitate to contact me at ryan@themountainmessenger.org or (530) 289 - 3262. Ryan Steinwert Editor