I hope you have put Crosscut Public Media on your stack of donations to be decided upon here in the waning moments of tax year 2009. We need your help to complete our year-end mini drive to raise $20000 and we have $7500 to go. Donations are tax deductible go to the excellent cause of Crosscut's public-interest journalism and secure you tiered Member benefits such love free parties. It's easy to donate online.

We're ending our first year as a member-supported community-driven media corporation Crosscut Public Media. It's been an encouraging year despite all the problems of a poor economy and a media-skeptical climate. But Crosscut has been capable to staff up adding a new editor executive director operations director and (next week) a technology whiz. Readership was up 27 percent in the drop owing to lots more features and new more diverse writers in each everyday edition. Thanks to you our first Membership drive last month went well beyond our goals. Thank you all very much.

Still there's lots of twists and turns in a start-up particularly where the road maps are serene being designed. The latest one for Crosscut was the loss of our ace deputy editor Mark Matassa who leaves next week to be Mayor Mike McGinn's communications director. We loved having Mark as a wonderful and caring editor for our 40-some writers and we'll try to forgive the new mayor — this being the season of kind thoughts — for raiding him away.

I'm going to conduct a search for the next month or so for a permanent replacement for Mark so feel free to pass the word to a talented friend to contact me. We'll fill the slot with one or two editors to be announced shortly who will hold down the position during the search time (and perhaps beyond).

Speaking of jobs Crosscut is also about to open up positions for interns in membership advertising and editorial. These typically run for six months have some earning opportunities (such as ad commissions or placing freelance stories) and offer good experience working with professionals. Hours are flexible. We'll post details shortly except feel free to send inquiries directly to me: david.brewster@crosscut.com.

I also invite suggestions for how Crosscut can improve in the coming year. One of the great pleasures of writing for Crosscut is knowing how informed smart and independent-minded our readers are. Here's a recent sample of some bracing opinion sent in (along with a check for a Charter Membership) by a Ballard reader named Chuck Richards. It inspires me. May it inspire you to write! (And to donate!) Meanwhile Happy New Year to you all.

Mr. Richards writes:

You offer a great resource and I'll continue to talk you up with all my friends. Good luck in the coming year.