I fell in love with newspapers at a young age.

It started with the funnies section, followed by the sports section and onward to local and national news as I grew up. Early on, my parents would have to help me navigate the paper – I couldn’t seem to grasp why articles jumped to all sorts of different pages.

When I began high school, smartphones were just becoming the norm. I was introduced to the true power of the internet, social media and the world of digital news. All the articles I wanted to read were at my fingertips – same for just about any sort of information I was after. As I’m sure you remember, it was a big blow to newspapers across the world and remains something this industry is grappling with. Newspapers everywhere got thinner, were printed less frequently and many have since folded entirely.

But I was determined to enter the industry as a newspaper reporter, knowing full well that it was a rapidly changing environment where I will likely be part of ushering the industry into a new chapter.

That new chapter is here.

March 28 marks the last edition of the Scarborough Leader and South Portland-Cape Elizabeth Sentry. To put it simply, a free local newspaper that relies on print advertising is difficult to sustain in 2025.

From here on, you can read my articles on Scarborough, South Portland and Cape Elizabeth online at pressherald.com, subscribe to my free weekly email newsletter and view a new free ePaper product, which replicates a newspaper in a digital format. You can also continue to read articles from Scarborough High School students, who have been submitting their work to the Leader as part of an extended learning opportunity, in these mediums.

Losing the print product is tough, to say the least. I can empathize with the many people who prefer reading their news in a physical form and sympathize with those who aren’t used to getting their news online at all. The transition will be easy for some and difficult for others.

One thing won’t change: I will continue the hyper-local coverage of your community, as I have done for the past 3 ½ years for the region. “The big guys” come in and cover the key benchmarks of whatever issue your community is grappling with at the time, but we’re the ones covering those issues every step of the way. I can’t count the hours I’ve spent watching municipal and school meetings over the years. I’ve also met so many people in your communities – small business owners, volunteers, conservationists, librarians, veterans, parents, seniors, teachers, students, firefighters, police officers, town clerks, town managers, town councilors and school board members, to name a few.

The world is a topsy-turvy place right now, but staying up to date on what’s happening in your own backyard is just as important as staying educated on happenings across the state and nation. You have the power to make change in your community – I’ve witnessed it firsthand countless times.

I hope you will continue this journey with me: continue to pitch stories, submit corrections, provide constructive criticism, be my sources and my readers.

It’s been an honor and will continue to be so.