I have some good news – and some bad news. Funny thing is: It’s the same news.
Bill Lucia, our intrepid City Hall reporter, will be leaving Crosscut at the end of the month. He’s heading to the other Washington to ply his trade in the nation’s capital – and be with his longtime girlfriend. We certainly can’t begrudge him that. The upside is that we'll now have a mole in DC.
Bill joined Crosscut in September 2013 fresh from the University of Washington’s Evans School of Public Affairs. He was an impact player from the start, bringing a zest for data, a dogged work ethic, a curious disciplined mind and a fierce integrity that has elevated Crosscut’s City Hall reporting – and hopefully the civic dialogue around public safety, Bertha, life and violence in South Seattle and the inner workings of city government.
We will miss his nose for news and his thoroughness and professionalism and his daily struggle to be accurate and fair. Mostly, we will miss his love of reporting, the underappreciated engine that drives any real news organization. Reporting is an art, and Bill is an artist.
We wish him well, and we forgive him, and we envy the editor who gets him next.
Meantime, we are actively looking for his replacement. And remember, you sources out there: Bill isn't leaving until November 30, so don’t get any ideas about not returning phone calls or record requests. ;)