Goodbye, Joann

Those of you who closely follow staff-box changes (I know you exist, and I also know that you probably should consider getting a life) have noticed that the name Joann Hardy Carranza has disappeared from ours.

Joann was our general manager for the last six years; she oversaw all of the functions in our little building, except for the editorial ones. From what I hear--I've only been around for four of those six years--she was brought in on what was supposed to be a temporary basis, to help smooth the transition when the Weekly moved from its downtown offices to our airport-area digs.

Well, that "temporary" gig officially ended on Nov. 30. She stepped down to help her husband with his sign business.

She's already missed around the office. Her newspaper-biz knowledge helped keep the lights on and the checks clearing. Plus, she is a hoot when it comes to just sitting down and bullshitting about the latest political gossip, often at a local restaurant, a glass of wine with ice in her hand.

Good luck, Joann. We miss ya.

· On a separate note ... good God, the holidays are here. How do I know, other than the fact that it's, um, Dec. 14, and you can't escape Christmas tunes and decoration, no matter where you go? Well, we have our 20-page GASP! last-minute gift guide in this week's issue, and on the cover is our Get Out of Town! issue, the first salvo in our holiday triple-header. Next week we get all lovey-dovey with our Local Heroes issue (and our special New Year's/Resolutions Guide), and on Dec. 28, we become cynical twits again with our annual year-in-review issue.

I suppose I should think about starting my holiday shopping ...