Delighted by the Return of Local News

I’ve always loved local news.

As a kid in the early 1960s, I lived in Grand Terrace— a small southern California town situated between the cities of San Bernardino and Riverside. With no hometown paper, my parents subscribed to both the San Bernardino "Sun" and the Riverside "Press Enterprise".

I avidly read both papers, always looking for local news—stories about people, places and events I could relate to.

There wasn’t much in either paper about Grand Terrace. At that time, the Terrace was an unincorporated community of about 3000 people and 100,000 orange trees, and not much happened that was of regional significance.

Television news was even more remote. Los Angeles had seven stations and virtually no news about the "Inland Empire" sixty miles away.

In 1962, my father invested in a start-up community newspaper and for the next few years— until the paper folded— I got plenty of local news. I even got to write some, on occasion.

When I moved to Fair Oaks in 1977, I was delighted to find two major "local" newspapers and four "local" television stations. I immediately subscribed to the evening "Sacramento Bee", which soon became the morning "Sacramento Bee".

Working in downtown Sacramento, it took me awhile to realize I didn’t know much about what was going on in Fair Oaks. Annually, the "Bee" would highlight Fair Oaks in a special community supplement, and I gradually began to realize what a unique and special place I had landed in.

Unfortunately, I landed in Fair Oaks halfway between two excellent local newspapers. The "San Juan Record", published from 1935 to 1980, was a beloved part of the community. Today old copies of the "Record" provide an invaluable record of people and events in a transformational period of Fair Oaks’ and Citrus Heights’ history. But, it was gone before I got a chance to know it.

Then, in 1984, former KCRA-TV reporter, Otis Turner, began publishing the weekly "Fair Oaks Post". Journalistically, the "Post" was an incredibly good paper, but eventually it succumbed to financial stresses.

Meanwhile, the "Bee" began publishing special regional sections called "Neighbors" which covered local news very well. I was sorry to see that feature withdrawn.

Fair Oaks has had many papers over the years, starting in 1901 with the "Fair Oaks Register".  The "Fair Oaks Citizen" followed in 1911.

Prior to the "San Juan Record", the "Fair Oaks Progress" was the longest running local paper— 1918 to 1931. It can be read on microfilm at the California State Library.

Fair Oaks even had an early on-line newspaper in the mid-1990s. You can still search many issues of the "Fair Oaks Voice" online and read about the community’s 1995 centennial celebrations.

Now, Fair Oaks has "Patch", and access to local news has never been more immediate or interactive. No more waiting for letters to the editor. You can comment right now, and even interact with the reporters.

As print newspapers get more financially pressed (excuse the pun), and TV news is eschewed by young people who, increasingly, get their news from their phones or portable media players, online venues like "Patch" will become, I believe, the savior of local news.

And that delights me!