By Michael Durand

The big news in the Sunset District has been the Upper Great Highway/Sunset Dunes controversy.

Things have heated up to where enough signatures were obtained to put the recall of Supervisor Joel Engardio on the ballot to be distributed later this month. The deadline to submit your vote is Sept. 16.

It has been a challenge to keep up with all the letters and comments we have received on our website. I try to be fair and offer our readers a chance to share their thoughts.

I have had to draw the line a few times when some commenters have shared the same thoughts over and over, or have even been downright nasty. The limit for letter writers to 350 words for the newspaper(s)and 500 for the website has been enforced, so the extra long notes to the editor have been cut back a bit. Nasty comments are never welcome.

I enjoy reading the thoughts of our readers; both sides make some interesting points. I’m not a big proponent of astrology, but I do find that I exhibit some of the qualities attributed to Librans (my birthday is in October). I tend to look for a balance, to see both (or multiple) sides of an issue. Thank you to the commenters who have wirtten thoughtful letters and replies.

Our website has been a great forum for sharing information and giving our readers a place to engage in conversations. Here are some numbers so far this year:

• January: 23,500 views by 11,100 visitors.

• February: 22,260 views by 13,300 visitors.

• March: 25,000 views by 10,900 visitors.

• April: 26,200 views by 13,800 visitors.

• May: 32,300 views by 18,500 visitors.

• June: 26,912 views by 13,813 visitors.

• July: 28,815 views by 12,613 visitors.

Thanks to our neighbors for sharing your ideas with our community.

Travel Photos

Remember to bring a copy of the Richmond Review or Sunset Beacon with you on your next trip out of town. Take a photo with it and send it in so we can share it with our readers. Better yet, wear your RR or SB hat or shirt, or carry an SB or RR bag or mug. Send me an email to learn how to get your own swag.

Pet Pix

When I started the Pet Pix feature, I thought we would be sharing people’s pet photos one at a time. The influx of pictures has been overwhelming (in a good way). We have had so many submissions we have taken over a full page – 15 photos this month – and we are only up to posting pictures we received in March. If you sent in your best friend’s photo a while back, don’t despair. We will make sure each pet has its month to shine.

Thank You

All of us at the Richmond Review and Sunset Beacon are so thankful to the lovely people who have send in beautiful notes thanking us for our work putting the papers together each month. We are honored when you show your gratitude with a contribution. We treasure our generous supporters who have signed up with Patreon to make a monthly donation. Thank you!

Special thanks to Giselle Garza Lerma, one of our new writers/photographers. She is studying photojournalism at San Francisco State University and offered to take my headshot photo for this column. I like that I still have some color in my hair as I approach my 70th birthday!

Enjoy the rest of the summer.

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