The Virginia Press Association (VPA) asked me to be the keynote speaker at their annual conference and awards banquet, held May 4 at the Omni Hotel in Charlottesville, VA. This year’s theme was “Beyond the Fold (Navigating Tomorrow’s News Landscape).”The association was founded in 1881 by the Virginia General Assembly. Current VPA Executive Director Betsy Edwards liked the hopeful tones of my book “Beacons in the Darkness (Hope and Transformation Among America’s Community Newspapers).”
By request here is a lightly edited version of my 40-minute talk. Post-conference updates are denoted by ***. Enjoy.
No place is a place until things are [...]
William W. Powers State Recreation Area–in Chicago.
Urban camping has spread its wings at the William W. Powers State Recreation Area.
The 580-acre park is the only State Park in the City of Chicago. The recreation area is at 130th Avenue O on the far southeast side of the city. The park’s jewel is the 419-acre Wolf Lake that borders Hammond, Ind., and although it has been described as a “hidden gem,” nearly half a million people visit annually.
Interim Site Superintendent Levi Bray said that at least 60 per cent are minority outdoors enthusiasts, which skews up from national camping demographics. There’s [...]
