The Observation Deck

http://media.lakewoodobserver.com/issue_pdfs/Observer_Vol_10_Issue_25.pdf

All

So this is Xmas
And what have you done
Another year over
And a new one just begun
And so this is Xmas
I hope you have fun
The near and the dear one
The old and the young
“Merry Xmas (War Is Over)” John Lennon

As we look back at the 2014 year, how many of us kept our New Year’s Resolutions? Yeah, I know, me neither. But next year 2015 I will try for some of them again. This is the way life is and it does seem strange, Life itself is very linear, like time. You and everything around grows older every second we are here, or for that matter when we are gone. Yet in almost everyday we measure time, clocks, calendars, events and holidays are cyclical, almost taunting us with the fact that no matter how many times we come back, we and everything around us have moved on. The older we get, the more we cherish these moments of hanging on and remembering.

And every year, the Lakewood Observer Print Edition takes a short break from the grind so that LO Volunteers can enjoy the holidays. It also gives us a few weeks to look back and look forward into the coming year. Almost all of these discussions center around how we can take this volunteer community media project to the next level. How can we serve the community and the residents better? How can we serve the Schools, City Hall and Non-Profits as we set out to do, while engaging residents and starting discussions?

The Observer Project is an odd bird, and very hard to describe. We never set out to be a “Newspaper” we just chose newsprint. We never wanted to be “LATE BREAKING NEWS” but this year time and time again it has fallen into our laps. I mean who would have thought we would break the LeBron James Coming Back story? This effort was not about NEWS but how news affects a community. It was not “If it bleeds it leads” it was more, OK we have to do Common Core, how are we going to do it, and what do parents and administrators think?

My resolution for 2015 for the Lakewood Observer Project is simple, build that conversation to new levels, and build fun into those conversations. Too many take themselves too seriously. As TS Elliot’s fascist file clerk once said, “It ain’t rocket surgery.” We will continue to build on our already great relationships with Non-Profits like LakewoodAlive, Lakewood Community Service Center, PTAs, and we will enlarge our program of not just working with school administrators but with parents and students in the schools. At the end of the day they all matter, and all have great insight into how things are going.

We will continue to build on a great relationship with Lakewood Fire and Police to understand the safety issues facing Lakewood and make issues easier to understand. I look forward to building on the great rapport with Lakewood Courts and Judge Pat Carroll, who has always been there for the LO, helping us and residents understand what is going on with criminal court, housing court, substance abuse, nuisance violations.

We will take even deeper looks at our employees working the streets keeping us clean and safe. Again we will work with any business coming to us to get information out in a way they can afford and helps them serve Lakewood better. And of course we will build on our strong foundation with The Lakewood Public Library, the other institution in this community that demands open minds, intelligent thought and participation. For it is those core beliefs that gave rise to this history making project. Yes and more.

I will also take this time to invite the elected leaders of Lakewood, the Department heads at City Hall to once again open their computers, and instead of marginalizing the Lakewood Observer, and the thousands of residents that take part, to step in and engage, on levels you only dreamed about. At this point with 95% of Lakewood Professionals taking part, if you use an excuse like “no time,” or “my computer doesn’t work,” you are in an ever-shrinking minority, and I fear at this point could be marginalizing yourselves.

In 2004, we sat down to create a viable, sustainable vehicle of conversation that guaranteed EVERYONE, ONE SEAT AT THE TABLE, ALL EQUAL.

Please join with us.

PEACE LOVE and HAPPY AND SAFE HOLIDAYS TO ALL.

DAMN I love this city, and I love the community even more.

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