We just celebrated my favorite holiday: Thanksgiving.

In addition to enjoying great food, gratitude is at the very core of my being. I am sincerely thankful for so many people and things in my life.

I feel extraordinarily lucky to have been born into a loving family, to have been brought up in a great little town on Long Island in New York (yay, Merrick!), to go to a great college (thank you, Stony Brook) and to be motivated to move to San Francisco in 1978.

I truly love this City and feel especially lucky to be connected to the Richmond and Sunset districts. When the opportunity to buy the Richmond Review and Sunset Beacon newspapers came up almost six years ago, I had the good fortune to purchase them from a friend who has kept a close eye on his babies over these years. Paul Kozakiewicz started both publications and helps me edit the final copies every month. Trust me, everyone needs an editor – even editors.

I have had the opportunity to work with some terrific writers and am especially proud of the students who had the courage to step forward and offer to write for their neighborhood papers. In addition to several talented high school students who have submitted stories for publication, one of our better writers is in the eighth grade. He recently turned 13 years old. I am so proud of him.

Good Luck, Angelina!

I received word, recently, that Angelina of Angelina’s Deli and Cafe will be retiring soon.

Angelina’s was voted “best deli” in the Richmond District by the readers of the Richmond Review in a survey we conducted several years ago. If you haven’t tried the great food they serve, make your way to California and 22nd. Delicious food and great people await you.

Angelina’s has been a supporter of the Richmond Review for more than 30 years! In addition to Angelina’s monthly ad, the great Maria Gloria (Angelina’s mom) has been a very generous contributor to help our little neighborhood paper survive. We are sincerely grateful for them both. Thank you.

Best wishes to Angelina for a long, healthy and happy retirement.

Congratulations Connie Chan

Connie Chan won a close election to remain the supervisor of the Richmond District. At one point during the vote tallying process, both she and one of her opponents, Marjan Philhour, were tied at 11,001 votes each.

I wish Connie a very successful term working hard for the Richmond.

Happy holidays to all!

Michael Durand is the editor and publisher of the Richmond Review and Sunset Beacon newspapers and the RichmondSunsetNews.com website. He can be reached at Editor@RichmondSunsetNews.com.