Thank you for bringing local journalism back to life in our community. You are meeting a need for accurate and timely coverage of what is happening here. I especially appreciate your focus on local governance, and your platform for public engagement on those local governance issues.
In this era of click-bait journalism, it is tempting to emphasize the negatives and is easy to imply that the problems under discussion are the fault of careless or incompetent decision makers.
It is important to remember that most of our community runs on volunteer efforts. Our local
Boards–the nuts and bolts of our local governance and decision making–are made up of unpaid volunteers who dedicate considerable time and effort to making Estes run smoothly, to making Estes a better place to live and work and play. They are often faced with difficult choices and incomplete information. Negativity weighs heavily on our public servants, and too much negativity can drive away our most selfless volunteers and public servants.
I applaud the Voice’s dedication to being “a watchdog over government,” but would like to see more emphasis on the context. The Voice could up its game by providing enough background that readers could understand the often-conflicting imperatives behind governance decisions.
After all, the most useful public engagement comes with a thoughtful and informed public.
Joan Hooper, Estes Park