Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Unhappy Holidays

A few exiting editorial employees of Copley Newspapers are being allowed by management to say their glum good-byes in print. Union-Tribune "readers' representative" Gina Lubrano bid her polite adieu last week, beginning with "It wouldn't surprise me if you missed the article that is changing my life forever. On Nov. 2, The San Diego Union-Tribune ran a six-line announcement on Page 3 of the Business section saying that 67 employees who have been with the company 30 years or longer had been offered 'voluntary retirement incentive packages.' That includes me." Lubrano went on to laud her also departing support staffer. "Over the last 10 years, many of you have been telephone pals with my assistant, Diana Mortenson, to whom I will be forever grateful for her patience, good humor and diligence on behalf of readers. She ended 40 years of employment as a Union-Tribune employee on Friday, too." Another longtime employee, arts writer Preston Turegano, says his final column was spiked.

Sponsored
Sponsored

Back at the Copley-owned Canton (OH) Repository, Rick Senften, who has written the paper's "Mustard Seeds" column since 1980, wasn't as politically correct as Lubrano in announcing the end of his career. "Now, it's time to say goodbye, well before I'm ready," he wrote. "The Repository is on the sales block, and I agreed to a buyout to help the company reduce the payroll. Copley Newspapers, the company for whom we've enjoyed working since 2000, wants to make sure the paper is attractive to potential buyers, and some positions must go for that to occur." He added, "Yeah, it hurts a lot, all the more each day as the calendar counts down to Dec. 29, my last day."

Then readers chimed in on the paper's website. One attacked "the bumblers at Copley" for offering buyouts "as they attempt to put their financial house in order -- a house that they ransacked themselves, no matter what spin they [want] to put on it." Proclaimed another, "I think we should all prepare to say 'goodbye' to the Repository. I don't see anything good ahead for this newspaper. If you're going to buy out employees who've worked there for 35 years or so, you can usually kiss the rest of them goodbye too. Everyone better get a computer, and learn to use it. This will really hurt those that need this paper the most; the poor, who don't have pc's, the elderly, who look forward everyday to reading their paper."

But in the midst of all the Copley cutbacks, publisher David Copley continues to back his favorite charities, including Hollywood's American Cinematheque; Copley Newspapers was listed as a top-tier "platinum sponsor" -- along with Warner Bros., Budweiser, Acura, Lyn and Norman Lear, Vanity Fair, and Giorgio Armani -- of the group's October tribute to actor George Clooney.

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Extended family dynamics

Many of our neighbors live in the house they grew up in

A few exiting editorial employees of Copley Newspapers are being allowed by management to say their glum good-byes in print. Union-Tribune "readers' representative" Gina Lubrano bid her polite adieu last week, beginning with "It wouldn't surprise me if you missed the article that is changing my life forever. On Nov. 2, The San Diego Union-Tribune ran a six-line announcement on Page 3 of the Business section saying that 67 employees who have been with the company 30 years or longer had been offered 'voluntary retirement incentive packages.' That includes me." Lubrano went on to laud her also departing support staffer. "Over the last 10 years, many of you have been telephone pals with my assistant, Diana Mortenson, to whom I will be forever grateful for her patience, good humor and diligence on behalf of readers. She ended 40 years of employment as a Union-Tribune employee on Friday, too." Another longtime employee, arts writer Preston Turegano, says his final column was spiked.

Sponsored
Sponsored

Back at the Copley-owned Canton (OH) Repository, Rick Senften, who has written the paper's "Mustard Seeds" column since 1980, wasn't as politically correct as Lubrano in announcing the end of his career. "Now, it's time to say goodbye, well before I'm ready," he wrote. "The Repository is on the sales block, and I agreed to a buyout to help the company reduce the payroll. Copley Newspapers, the company for whom we've enjoyed working since 2000, wants to make sure the paper is attractive to potential buyers, and some positions must go for that to occur." He added, "Yeah, it hurts a lot, all the more each day as the calendar counts down to Dec. 29, my last day."

Then readers chimed in on the paper's website. One attacked "the bumblers at Copley" for offering buyouts "as they attempt to put their financial house in order -- a house that they ransacked themselves, no matter what spin they [want] to put on it." Proclaimed another, "I think we should all prepare to say 'goodbye' to the Repository. I don't see anything good ahead for this newspaper. If you're going to buy out employees who've worked there for 35 years or so, you can usually kiss the rest of them goodbye too. Everyone better get a computer, and learn to use it. This will really hurt those that need this paper the most; the poor, who don't have pc's, the elderly, who look forward everyday to reading their paper."

But in the midst of all the Copley cutbacks, publisher David Copley continues to back his favorite charities, including Hollywood's American Cinematheque; Copley Newspapers was listed as a top-tier "platinum sponsor" -- along with Warner Bros., Budweiser, Acura, Lyn and Norman Lear, Vanity Fair, and Giorgio Armani -- of the group's October tribute to actor George Clooney.

Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Wild Wild Wets, Todo Mundo, Creepy Creeps, Laura Cantrell, Graham Nancarrow

Rock, Latin reggae, and country music in Little Italy, Oceanside, Carlsbad, Harbor Island
Next Article

Todd Gloria gets cash from McDonald's franchise owners

Phil's BBQ owner for Larry Turner
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader