After writing a hundred of these editor’s notes, you’d think they’d get a bit easier, so in a way, I’m sort of thankful this is my last one. By the time this issue hit stands, I’ll have packed up my stuff on Mona Lisa Rd., off for new opportunities at Visit Tucson. If you’re wanting to call me “smarmy” (the insult of the moment, it seems), you’ll have to take it to my Twitter feed or something.

I covered my quota of maudlin sentimentality last week, especially since my four total years at the Weekly are barely a drop in the bucket of the paper’s history, so I’m using this space to discuss some of the ideas I couldn’t get into the paper during my time here. I’m sure you can imagine how great these would have turned out.

• A cover story on Jon Justice. The guy has an office full of Best of Tucson awards and like it or not, he has some influence in this town, even if it’s a matter of debate how much. Mostly I wanted to talk about Depeche Mode, but I think it would have made for an interesting profile.

• A guide to downtown and Fourth Avenue’s best and worst public (and semi-public) restrooms. Which ones are least likely to expose you to the bodily fluids of others? Which might have toilet paper on hand? News you can use.

• A comic book-style issue. The whole thing, by various local artists, from the editor’s note to the music features, all illustrated. Time consuming (and kind of expensive), but I think it would have been memorable at very least.

• Spending an evening as a staff at the Tanque Verde Swap Meet. Mostly I just wanted an excuse to hang out at the swap meet on dollar beer night.

• An issue celebrating the greatest releases in Tucson music history. Chalk this one up to not having the time or staff to pull this off, but someone should take this on at some point.

• Getting to the bottom of how magnets work. Still confused on that one.

Perhaps some or all of these will get done under the new leadership, but I’m sure the Weekly still has great issues to come and I’m exceptionally glad I get to be a part of this local institution’s history.

This article appears in Dec 4-10, 2014.

The editor of the Tucson Weekly. I have no idea how I got here.

6 replies on “Editor’s Note”

  1. Would love to have seen what amazing things the Weekly would have done under Dan’s leadership. Bummed he’s leaving the Weekly but best wishes to him in his next adventure.

  3. Getting to the bottom of this magnets thing is going to take a task force with reporters from a multitude of news orgs. Too bad you won’t be able to spearhead that one ; )

    Safe travels, Dan.

  4. Dylan, one good physicist could solve your and Dan’s magnet problem quite easily. Understand magnetic fields. It’s the fields that’s key to the whole thing.

  5. Now I’m trying to wrap my head around the miraculous vision of ICP covering 69 Love Songs.

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