Happy Anniversary, Moorpark Patchers!

Hello Moorpark,

It's hard to believe it was three years ago that we launched Moorpark Patch. Sometimes it seems like it was just yesterday; other times, it seems like eons ago. One thing's for certain: We've all changed a bit since then. The site's changed, Patch has changed and, most importantly, Moorpark's gone through some changes.

On Sept. 29, 2010, the day the site launched, I attended my first Moorpark city meeting. The big action at the Planning Commission was expected to be in regards to a proposed tattoo salon opening near Moorpark College. It was to be the first in the city, but it was dropped from the agenda at the last minute. Instead, the planning commissioners spent the meeting grilling a couple of guys who were hoping to brew a little bit of beer in a Moorpark warehouse, another first.

The main issue, if I remember correctly, was how much beer folks were going to be able to sample on the premises. So I wrote about that instead — and got a nice letter from the guys' dad when I published the article. To this day, I have a soft spot for Enegren Brewing Company, and not just because the owners are so nice, make tasty beer and have an awesome blog, but it was the first live reporting I did for the site.

Oh, and that tattoo salon? It did eventually find a home in Moorpark right on Los Angeles Avenue. Rick Sutherland and the rest of the staff at Clear Vision Tattoos came in and started doing their thing, which includes contributing to community causes, the following April.

Since then, the city's gained other businesses. And we lost some. People came and went. And we lost some loved ones who helped shape the city—people like Charles Schwabauer, who greeted me so warmly at my very first Country Days.

We've had the next generation of leaders dig in and really establish their places in the community, too, getting involved in business and service organizations and school activities and benefits and causes— people like the joined-at-the-hip Doug Ridley and Brian Angel and so many others.

We've had school events and Third of July celebrations, city council decisions and Veterans Day observations, Civil War re-enactments, we saw the creation of an annual beer festival that raises a ton of money for charity, we've seen the High Street Arts Center stand on its own and we've seen the Ruben Castro Human Services Building open. 

And through it all, you've let us be a part of it. And we thank you for that.

Though the site's reins have been passed along—now to the incredibly talented Susan Pascal—I feel so lucky to get to be a part of it now and again. My role at Patch has changed and I now work with a dozen sites in the greater Los Angeles area and not officially with Moorpark, but I'm drawn to the site and at least get to work with Susan now and again, pass along tips you pass to me and visit the city often.

You might have heard Patch Media Corp.'s parent company, AOL, is cutting Patch costs by cutting some of Patch's 900-plus sites, of which we were one of the first. We're still waiting for word on which sites across the country will continue, but no matter what happens here, I remain so grateful you've embraced us a part of the community and part of your daily routine.

--Becca Whitnall, Community Editor