In the grim wake of additional cuts to Bay Area newsrooms, here’s some good news.
Bay Area native and veteran journalist Mark Simon has signed on to become an important voice on the Peninsula as a columnist for the recently re-launched Climate Magazine, which now includes the hyper-local news website Climate Online.
“We are thrilled to have Mark join us at Climate. His knowledge of the Peninsula is second to none and his even-handed, let-the-facts-rule approach will be a thoughtful addition to Climate’s bench of award winning contributors,” said Climate Publisher Adam Alberti. “Climate’s relaunch is off to a fast start and we are excited about the many amazing things we have in the works that will expand our coverage of a place that is quickly becoming the capital of Silicon Valley.”
Simon is well connected and well known by Bay Area media and political types alike, having been a veteran journalist with more than 35 years of newspaper experience, including as a political reporter for the San Francisco Chronicle. In 2004, he took his skills to SamTrans, where he worked his way up to Chief of Staff before retiring this past December. Simon says he has no plans to slow down, particularly as an advocate for “fairness, facts and openness in government and politics” in his hometown.
“Everyone will get a fair shake from me and everyone will be held accountable for what they say, including me,” Simon said. “I have no interest in opinion masquerading as fact or opinion built on false assumptions.”
There is no better time than right now to be writing about Redwood City, Simon added.
“It will be a watershed political year at time when the city is poised to become the capital of the Peninsula, when change is occurring in every corner and when we all have to find a way to manage what is happening here,” he said.
But the best part will be writing about home, Simon said.
“I love my hometown, what it was and what it has become – dynamic, restless, always looking forward. The chance to write again about Redwood City and the Peninsula feels, in many ways, like a homecoming,” Simon said.
Simon’s column will appear regularly starting Tuesday, Feb. 6.
