As the New Year begins, it’s a good time to reflect on what we accomplished last year and what we are looking forward to in 2024.

2023 was a busy one! We continued to cover stories and issues affecting the region and individual communities, as you will see from the year’s recap in this week’s issue. We reported on the ongoing grassroots efforts to save Sharon Hospital’s labor and delivery service; food insecurity and efforts to combat it; and several important environmental issues — including efforts to replant Housatonic Meadows, and efforts to thwart the spongy moth invasion and that of the hard-to-kill aquatic weed hydrilla, which turned up at Twin Lakes.

Various community plans to address the local affordable housing crisis and homelessness made our pages. We covered the local stories we love: school sports, student successes, business openings, profiles of local artists and community leaders. We recognized the passing of beloved community members and marveled at the contributions they made during their lifetimes.

We covered town meetings and elections across the region. A Pew Research/Knight Foundation study has revealed that strong local news habits are closely associated with civic engagement—including voting in local elections and having a strong connection to community.

We made changes to our editorial team. Riley Klein became the Managing Editor of The Lakeville Journal. John Coston became our Editor-in-Chief. I joined The Lakeville Journal Company as Publisher in February. Roxanne Lee joined Mary Wilbur on our advertising team.

We revived our internship program. The Lakeville Journal and The Millerton News were both blessed with outstanding contributions from aspiring young journalists, including Ella Hewins, a 2023 graduate of Housatonic Valley Regional High School, Sadie Leite, a Tufts University senior, and Emma Spindler, now a senior at Kent School.

We also helped some third-year students at Marist College produce an excellent short documentary film on the shortage of local EMS volunteers.

In August we held Jam on Academy, our 2nd Annual Lakeville Journal Community Fair, featuring 30 local nonprofit organizations. To begin the New Year with a bang, we are pleased to announce the launch of the new Lakeville Journal website. It is a significant milestone in our commitment to providing the best news and arts coverage of our communities, wherever/however you prefer to read it. This launch is just the beginning of our work to bring you an enhanced, free, online experience.

Our mission, however, remains the same: to help our readers make informed and inspired decisions through coverage of towns, governments, and regional issues, and to help make our readers aware of this area’s rich cultural offerings.

Let’s look forward to a year in which empathy and kindness flourish. Let’s support our local entrepreneurs and businesses. Let’s imagine a year in which volunteering becomes matter of fact. Let’s renew our commitment to the environment.

Finally, many thanks to our readers. Your letters and emails and feedback remind us that journalism is not just about ink on paper or words on a screen. Thank you to our advertisers and our donors for believing in the power of community-driven media.

Sincerely yours,

Susan Hassler, Publisher

Latest News

A scenic 32-mile loop through Litchfield County

Whenever I need to get a quick but scenic bicycle ride but don’t have time to organize a group ride that involves driving to a meeting point, I just turn right out of my driveway. That begins a 32-mile loop through some of the prettiest scenery in northern Litchfield County.

I ride south on Undermountain Road (Route 41 South) into Salisbury and turn right on Main Street (Route 44 West). If I’m meeting friends, we gather at the parking area on the west side of Salisbury Town Hall where parking is never a problem.

Keep ReadingShow less
Biking Ancramdale to Copake

This is a lovely ride that loops from Ancramdale north to Copake and back. At just over 23 miles and about 1,300 feet of elevation gain, it’s a perfect route for intermediate recreational riders and takes about two hours to complete. It’s entirely on quiet roads with little traffic, winding through rolling hills, open countryside, picturesque farms and several lakes.

Along the way, you’ll pass a couple of farmstands that are worth a quick visit. There is only one hill that might be described as steep, but it is quite short — probably less than a quarter-mile.

Keep ReadingShow less
Taking on Tanglewood

Aerial view of The Shed at Tanglewood in Lenox, Mass.

Provided

Now is the perfect time to plan ahead for symphonic music this summer at Tanglewood in Lenox, Massachusetts. Here are a few highlights from the classical programming.

Saturday, July 5: Shed Opening Night at 8 p.m. Andris Nelsons conducts the Boston Symphony Orchestra as Daniil Trifonov plays piano in an All-Rachmaninoff program. The Piano Concerto No. 3 was completed in 1909 and was written specifically to be debuted in the composer’s American tour, at another time of unrest and upheaval in Russia. Trifonev is well-equipped to take on what is considered among the most technically difficult piano pieces. This program also includes Symphonic Dances, a work encapsulating many ideas and much nostalgia.

Keep ReadingShow less
James H. Fox

SHARON — James H. Fox, resident of Sharon, passed away on May 30, 2025, at Vassar Brothers Hospital.

Born in New York, New York, to Herbert Fox and Margaret Moser, James grew up in Hastings-on-Hudson, New York. He spent his summers in Gaylordsville, Connecticut, where he developed a deep connection to the community.

Keep ReadingShow less