Publisher’s Note: We have all been changed

The Pleasanton Weekly staff’s excitement about being able to resume printing this week is tempered by the continued concern and stress brought about by the health and economic crisis and the civil unrest of this week.

We have all been changed by these events.

Pain, grief and injustice became personal. Most people know at least one family who has lost a loved one from the coronavirus or someone who has been irrevocably harmed financially by the shelter-in-place order that closed businesses.

Then, just when shelter restrictions started to lift, we were hit with another plague that caused fear for our safety and financial future — the “civil unrest” that led to curfews, riots and looting in nearby communities and the presence of National Guard troops posted at intersections here where we live.

The need to exercise their First Amendment right to protest against injustice became personal for many Americans after we watched in horror as Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin knelt on George Floyd’s neck for more than eight minutes as Floyd said “I can’t breathe” over and over and over. Until Floyd died.

The peaceful protests in the Tri-Valley this week have been inspiring, emblematic of communities dedicated to creating positive change.

But the way protest can be bastardized became personal too, when we watched in other cities as some subverted protests against injustice to incite violence and steal, further ruining our businesses, inhibiting our ability to enjoy life and all but diminishing the feeling of safety and well-being in each and every community.

The importance of credible local news outlets — and the value of professional journalists — also become personal. When chaos ensues, people need accurate and timely information. In the Tri-Valley, they looked to PleasantonWeekly.com and its sister site, DanvilleSanRamon.com.

Our editorial staff — editor Jeremy Walsh and reporters Ryan Degan and Julia Baum — braved the frontlines under threat of illness and harm to continue the critical duty of providing news and information to our audience. For more than two months they worked with the stresses of covering emotional and continuous breaking news while coping with social isolation and the needs of their extended families.

The entire Pleasanton Weekly staff salutes the many readers who stepped up to help us financially. Hundreds became subscribing members and others made one-time contributions. We are humbled by your support of the local journalism the Pleasanton Weekly provides the community.

Our future, and the future of all local news organizations, will depend on the ongoing subscription support of readers. Advertising can no longer sustain us. Whether the news comes to you on newsprint, in a daily email newsletter like Express or on our website, quality and dependable local journalism will not survive without many more readers subscribing at $5, $10 or more per month.

Like many businesses now, we have to make difficult decisions. Going forward we will only be able to guarantee delivery to those who have become paid members. This will ensure that we aren’t going to the expense of printing and mailing the paper to households that don’t read it or don’t find it worth at least $5 per month.

Thank you for your patience during the suspension of our print edition of the Weekly over the last two months. We urge you to start a membership subscription (or make sure your subscription is current) at PleasantonWeekly.com/subscribe to keep your Pleasanton Weekly coming.