Over the next few weeks, the Spotlight will be asking readers to take one small step: enhance your free reader account by choosing a password.
The process takes less than a minute, and once it’s done, the system will recognize you automatically when you return.
Why now?
Over the past two years, the Spotlight has grown from a small local publication into a community resource read by more than 15,000 people each week. Most new readers still arrive the old-fashioned way: through friends, neighbors, and shared stories. As the Spotlight grows, a little basic housekeeping becomes necessary. Reader sign-up helps keep the site secure, protects original reporting, and prepares the way for future Spotlight features.
Over the past few weeks, it has been wonderful to see the support Spotlight readers have shown for Jenny Jacoby and her work as she leaves the Spotlight for her next adventure. The genuinely warm welcome extended to Anita Li and Sinclair Holian as they prepare to join the Spotlight is also impressive.
This transition brought back a memory.
Jenny’s first story for the Spotlight was about the Cuda Chess Club. You may remember it. Parents, students, and young chess players gathering together to learn a challenging game, enjoy one another’s company, and spend the morning laughing, competing, and building friendships.
Rereading that story recently, it struck me how much of the Spotlight’s story has followed the same pattern.
One neighbor shares something worth knowing. Another neighbor reads it. Someone forwards it to a friend. A conversation starts. The community grows–much like the Spotlight’s journey.
If you have not yet created a password, please take a moment to do so.
And thank you for helping the Spotlight continue to grow while remaining free and accessible to everyone. You can support the Spotlight’s reporting by donating here. It does make a difference. Thanks.
Warmly,
Mel Meinhardt
Publisher
The Coconut Grove Spotlight
Local news. Local matters.
