A note from the editor: The Independent now has a sister publication in Reno, Nevada.

the Independent has a new sister newspaper in Reno, Nevada, the Reno news and review.

The first non-collegiate journal signature I ever had was in the Reno News and Review, during a summer internship in 1996; at that time, the RN&R was just over a year old. My second visit to RN&R came about a year and a half later. After graduating from college, I worked for the Associated Press bureau in San Francisco for five months, before deciding to return to Reno to take care of personal and family matters. the RN&R had just hired a new editor who couldn’t start for about two months, so I filled the void as interim editor before moving to a small daily in Sparks, Nevada.

My third stint came about a year and a half later, when I became the RN&R news editor. Not quite six months later, the editor left and the owner offered me the job. I agreed and became editor of my hometown weekly a few weeks before my 25th birthday.

In the scary madness that followed the attacks of September 11, 2001, I moved to Las Vegas and went to work for Las Vegas city life as a political journalist and editor. A little over a year later, I was offered the job of editor at City lifesister newspaper of, the Tucson Weekly. I spent 10 years there, before my husband and I decided to move to Palm Springs to start the Independent. This happened a little over nine years ago.

Over the years, I have kept in touch with the RN&R. My writings appeared in the newspaper from time to time. I stayed in contact with the owners, Jeff von Kaenel and Deborah Redmond; I even sat with Jeff on a board of directors for a few years.

Then came March 2020. The RN&R, like many newspapers, has suspended its paper edition; he has struggled along online ever since.

This brings us to last April, when my husband I traveled to Reno to visit our parents for the first time since the pandemic hit. It seemed like every friend we saw asked me some variation of the question, “Hey, do you know if the Reno News and Review will ever come back?

This led me to email Jeff and Deborah and ask if there was anything I could to help the RN&R. Jeff and Deborah responded – and it sparked a series of conversations that culminated in Coachella Valley Independent LLC becoming the RN&R‘s owner as of January 31.

Don’t worry: as I begin my fourth stint with the Reno News and Reviewnothing will change with the Independent. I will always be there as a writer and editor. I might be a little more frazzled than usual and will be spending more time in Reno (not a bad thing, since my mom and hubby’s dad live there) – but Palm Springs is my home and I love it the Independent more than ever.

Note: This is the editor’s note that appeared in the March 2022 print edition. Much of this column originally appeared online in the January 31 Indy Digest.