I'm both happy and sad to announce an important change at The Bay Citizen: I have stepped down as editor in chief, and my colleague Steve Fainaru will be taking over as interim editor in chief. I'm leaving to pursue a new opportunity, the details of which will be announced shortly.

It's hard to believe that it's been only 18 months since I arrived in a temporary office as editorial employee number one. I'm very proud of what we've accomplished since our May, 2010 launch -- breaking a lot of news, crafting a great Bay Area section for the New York Times, developing new modes of multimedia reporting, building a partner network, and generally establishing ourselves as strong journalistic force in the region. I will greatly miss my many wonderful and talented colleagues here.

I take some comfort in knowing that the editorial operations are in good hands. Steve is a terrific editor and journalist, and together with the hugely talented Jeanne Carstensen, who has been appointed executive managing editor, I'm sure he will lead the organization to even greater heights. Thanks very much to you, our readers and members, for making all of this possible. I'll always remain an ardent supporter of The Bay Citizen.