By: Daiyu Tang – ‘The Girl Behind the Lens’
It’s been quite a month my dear reader and while we’ve not yet outlived that gossip account (see last month) the Observer and our reporters are going as strong as ever. This month has been exceptionally busy and when combined with staff on holiday and other factors, I just want to say a big thanks to all my colleagues and contributors.
While all is not rosy in the gardens of Hathian, I know that Stanley is very happy with the paper’s performance and despite a few instances of over-eager journalism (without sourcing enough interviews or whatever) the vast majority of citizens trust the Observer to try and be there, try and capture the news and do our best to ensure their awareness and safety in Hathian, Columtreal and to a lesser extent Port Laveau.
As you’ll be aware, the ‘Month in Review’ showcases a few of the articles from August that we hope you didn’t miss, but if you did gives you a chance to visit them! For those interested in seeing a digest of some of the top stories, you can checkout our Year in Review for 2023 the January 2024, February 20224, March 2024, April 2024, May 2024, June 2024 and July 2024 ‘Months in Review’.
In August 2024 we had 43 main articles published… A brief search of the archive shows it was in 2012 when the paper was last that busy… But our being busy is only a reflection of you (horrible / sexy) lot doing things to be newsworthy, so thank you!
Anyway, here are your Editor’s top three for this month as well as honourable mentions!
Honourable Mentions
The storm we warned about in July hit Hathian and while there was damage, gators and more it seemed to be a slightly less destructive event. Citizens got acquainted in various shelters around town, although rumours of screaming at HGH have evolved into a running story…
If you skipped town during storm Blanche, then you can check our our reporting HERE which also links to other storm related articles.
The ‘Hathian Against Corruption (‘HAC’) organisation, deemed a terroristic group by the HPD was fingered as the perpetrators behind the live-streaming and torture of ‘respected’ HPD Officer Carter Ellis. This Faustian story of revenge, betrayal and more has now blighted our City for many months. All suggestions at non-violence, including most recently our Chief of FDH have been met with further escalation. Where will this end for our city and the cries for peace, justice and freedom from brutality?
Hey Big Spender… After the Luxe of Lunacy event at the Hathian Museum & Galleries, $2.7m was raised for the refurbishment of the asylum. I don’t know about you readers… but I could think of other places in need of that kinda cash… Who would’ve thought it was possible!
It was such a busy month that you might also want to check out the story about the Gein burning down. We can probably thank ‘Jodie the Witch Hater’ for that. There was also an outbreak of anthrax over in Port Laveau, we know it’s a dirty town, but seriously! Over in Hathian, the Rejects and HPD were fighting again and while my notes were misinterpreted, I have to say that the Rejects are pretty stylish in a firefight… Finally we got to see intimate pictures of Estelle as part of a photo contest for the ‘Artworks of Humanity’ contest… taking it extra ensured she and her date won top prize.
And now for our top three or so…
Number 3 – Bobby Boxer Attempts to Read the Mood
Reading the mood is a skill and we’re not sure here at the Observer if Mayor Bobby Boxer is a genius, or an idiot. In either case, if he had a shred of sense he might regret upsetting the HPD and FDH… although it does seem his latest statements try and divide and conquer, praising the HGH while dumping on Chief ‘Pentewhine’…
Number 2 – HACs & Cowards
With the Hathian Against Corruption thing ongoing and with abuses, statements and more flying it was in some ways ‘refreshing’ to see what we assume is a rank and file officer say what they really think. Of course to some this will be heroic, while to others it will be a sign of the need of HPD reform… But from our perspective, we appreciated the unfiltered. Sometimes ‘No Comment‘ has run its’ course.
Number 1 – Looking for Answers
One Officer who was reported to have disappeared to a possible murder struck our interest as being very much alive. We understand this is hard for his colleagues to take and we mean no disrespect, but we do feel there is a case to answer to see him return, this case being the shameful way that he hid from his fatherhood and support responsibilities. Of course, if he is truly dead, then we are sure HPD and others want to get banks and his pension provider to stop blocking payments…
And that was all for August dear readers! As always, catch a reporter in CU, Hathian or Backwaters (we visit as required!) to give us your stories, tips or other information! You can find our profiles here (and it’s not a dating page!)
((Delighted to note that in August we had over 40,000 page views! – Promotion of the Observer and CD happens off-sim as well, so if you can help out feel free to link to your other SL friends. Spread the word, the active stories and see if we can’t generate new role-players or encourage others to return!))
