If you read this space last week you know there’s a new editor in town. I’ll tell you a little bit about my philosophy and myself much later. 

I want to jump in with some first impressions. Being new anywhere provides a vantage point that only lasts a short time. Port Townsend, and its surroundings, feels to me like an enclave that has dodged some of the more pronounced “world gone mad” changes that have slammed other places in recent years.

It seems like a place that has kept its personality despite the numerous visitors lured to the Olympic Peninsula each year. It has kept its historic charm, as one of just three Victorian seaports, through care and attention. It reflects values that have enabled a thriving arts community and honored the traditions of a maritime community. I have yet to scratch the surface of the obviously original and thriving local business community but am told that limitations on outside development have helped to foster it.

That isn’t to say there aren’t plenty of issues and problems. I’ve heard from many of you already about challenges, things amiss, and what can and should be done to improve things. I’ve heard even more about the abundant happenings here, from the Farmers Markets to the Connectivity Fair, which returns for its second time April 20, this time to Chimacum School.  All this, plus dozens — not an exaggeration — of other happenings.

I’m struck by the breadth of the input, and the pronounced demonstration of community involvement, that helps explain how Port Townsend has maintained its unique charm, and portends a continued bright future.   

I’m an old-school journalist who has worked a lot of places over the years, but it’s already clear to me why so many people want to call this place “home.”

Meredith Jordan, Editor