Hi there,

I'm Hollie Ferguson, your SPIN editor. We're a few days into our Spring Supporter Drive and a handful of you have pitched in toward our fundraising goal of getting 30 regular readers to sign up by June 22 — enough to keep our reporting going through the October municipal election.  

We have a ways to go, and a contribution of any amount you can afford each month goes a long way toward sustaining this news service so it’s free for people who can’t afford it.

Today, meet your reporter Noelle Suzuki — the journalist writing the local stories an AI summarizer simply can't.

Q. Noelle, what story this year had the biggest impact?

The health centre. Sun Peak residents have relied on us to get to the bottom of the closure of the clinic, and they want answers about when it will reopen. 

Access to healthcare is a necessity, and the reader survey responses have made clear how much this affects daily life — full-time residents, part-timers and the original donors who helped build the centre.

Q. What's next for SPIN's coverage?

More on the health centre — including mental health services and how other care providers are filling the gap. I'll also keep covering the municipal politics and events leading into the October election.

A chatbot can't sit in council chambers or knock on a doctor's door for follow-up. Sun Peaks residents deserve a trained journalist with editorial oversight and fact checking to get the information they need every week.

As one supporter wrote: "It is good to have local media to stay informed." — Nancy R.

Thanks for reading and being here,