Thank you to all the readers who helped us exceed 60,000 page views since our first investigative report was published a short seven months ago.  Our most widely read reporting was on the Cherry Street Project–the extravagant waste of scarce affordable housing dollars on a sixty-year old building that has been sitting on stacks of wood going on two years, providing shelter to no one as its costs have risen above $2 million.

Our reporting on how Jefferson County Prosecutor Michael Haas dumped a rape case against a man with a long history of violence against women and mistreated a victim came in second, followed by our story on the pending mass exodus from the Sheriff’s Office if the incumbent Sheriff, David Stanko, were elected.  (He lost, and we are told that morale has vastly improved in anticipation of new leadership.) That one article hit 1,000 page views in less than a day, making it our single “hottest” story.

Our reporting on the rising violence among Port Townsend’s transients and close-up looks at the work of police, sheriff deputies, and jail personnel also received a strong and positive response.

We were pleased to highlight the lamentable abuse of marijuana by our county’s teens at a time when voters were putting on the county commission and giving oversight of teen marijuana prevention programs to a man with a history of violations at his marijuana store and a practice of promoting the increased use of marijuana while downplaying its known health risks.

Our other most widely read stories included good news on the opening of the Crazy Otter in Port Hadlock and Sugar Hill Farms in the old Beaver Valley store.

Scott Hogenson’s op-eds and accurate reporting regularly provoked a lot of discussion and heated debate.  That’s what facts and new insights can do in the face of a local political monoculture that seeks to stifle dissenting speech and keep unwelcome truths from voters.

To this editor, the most rewarding posts came from the seventeen-year old Ravyn as she shared her most personal thoughts and feelings during her pregnancy.  Readers who followed Ravyn’s story could share in her joy, springing from the depths of despair, as her young husband stepped up to the responsibility of being a man and a father and her faith in God gave her strength and hope. She has promised one last installment after she holds her new son in her arms.

Now for some less happy news.

This is a solely volunteer effort.  We have done well and have made an impact with our small contributions to bring light to facts unreported, ignored or misrepresented by our local newspapers.  We earned those 60,000-plus page views with primarily Facebook as our delivery system, and with the invaluable help of readers who shared our posts.  We must also credit our detractors who reacted as we’d hoped and in mindless outrage spread our stories around the community.  While they were attacking us, we saw our readership and Facebook “likes” and “follows” steadily grow.

We thank all our contributors–Sky Hardesty, Kara Kellogg, Brett Nunn, Mike Howard, Ravyn and the anonymous city official who spoke honestly about who the “homeless” in Port Townsend really are.  Our biggest thanks goes to Scott Hogenson, a real pro, one of the smartest people we’ve ever met.  His standards of excellence in journalism are sorely lacking from today’s media. We were truly honored that someone with his impressive journalistic credentials would want to provide his time, talent and wise counsel to this humble foray into citizen journalism.

There is so much more to write about, so many more voices needing to be heard, so many investigations to conduct…but we’re not going to be able to do it in the near future.

The editor has faced the fact he does not have the time, at least over the next six months, to give this project the care, attention and mental energy it needs.  He has an employment commitment and an ongoing fiduciary obligation that will call him out of Washington state, as well as other personal and church obligations that leave no time for the Port Townsend Free Press.

We’ll keep the site up as an archive of our work. It can be always be reactivated, if the need arises.

With that said, we wish all of you a successful, happy and healthy 2019. Thanks everyone.  God bless you all.

Jim Scarantino

Jim Scarantino was the editor and founder of Port Townsend Free Press. He is happy in his new role as just a contributor writing on topics of concern to him. He spent the first 25 years of his professional life as a trial attorney, then launched an online investigative news website that broke several national stories. He is also the author of three crime novels. He resides in Jefferson County. See our “About” page for more information.