Photo: Andy Castro/Flickr

Friends,

Well, another calendar year is coming to a close and it’s time for Streetsblog to go dark for a couple of days.  This year has been an amazing one for me personally as well as professionally.  Most of you remember that this year saw the birth of my son who reminds me on a daily basis why it is we do what we do for this city and for our streets.

Professionally, Streetsblog Los Angeles has continued to grow.  Our daily readership has nearly doubled from last year at this time and it seems that everytime I go out with my Charlie Brown T-shirt or Gunpowder, it seems as though I run into someone new who reads Streetsblog and takes part in what we’re trying to do here.  We have some exciting expansion plans for next year, pending my ability to fundraise.  Keep your fingers crossed!

In addition to my family, I’d like to single out a couple of people that have really helped me.  Joe Linton, Dana Gabbard, and Stephen Box have been with me seemingly every step of the way providing ideas, backgrounds, and, when necessary, corrections.  Also a thanks to the group of writers that covered my back during paternity leave and Browne Molyneux for suggesting the Eastside Safety Ride, which was probably my favorite story to "research" this year.

And we’re not going completely dark…come back next week for the Streetsie Awards!  There will be a new post everyday starting with the nominees for "Livable Streets Person of the Year."  Check back Monday for the nominees, and vote often!

Happy Holidays,

Damien