Happy birthday to us!

That’s right. It’s been a whole year since our crew of four has taken over publication of The Sun. And what a year it’s been. We’ve worked hard and the positive community feedback is our reward for a job well done. For those out of the loop, Bill Hammett, The Sun’s founder, ceased ownership in February 2010, turning the paper’s reins over to us. We are: Barney LaHaye, Kelly Magner, Jody Purdom and Val Robichaud.

And while our team is small, we’re mighty in what we can accomplish. Some of the new things we’ve instituted this past year include publishing The Sun with 40 full color pages each week. Having our entire newspaper in color gives us a certain flair and allows us to tell stories in a more creative way. We hope you agree.

We’ve also got some new columnists on board. First, our top-notch food columnist, Kristin Viguerie, who is featured in our cover story this week, “Take a Walk on the Wild Side.” Kristin is constantly on the lookout for the newest and most delicious food trends and hot spots. Please be sure to send her your food news at [email protected]. State of Grace and our wine columnist, Greg Walter, rotate through our style section to answer your pressing questions on etiquette and all that’s new in the world of wine.

We also have columnist Heather Morgan, who is helping us lead Sonoma to become one of the healthiest cities in America through our very own Shape Up Sonoma campaign. This regular feature follows 10 community members as they take part in our life changing health initiative. Check in each week to follow their progress and find out who is jumping on board to make changes for the better. On page 14, we rotate a series of columnists that range from this week’s Steve Bossio with Fiscal Fitness to Denise Wilbanks who sings the praises of our Valley volunteers and quite a few others worth a read. We’ve also brought back our sports writer, Ray Sullivan who, with the expert help of photographer Greg Ludlow, continues to keep Sonoma in the loop on all things athletic in the Valley.

Another change, our monthly Spanish section, El Sol, has been rolled into The Sun. With the editing expertise of CommonBond Foundation’s Executive Director Anna Pier, this popular feature helps us stay connected to the Latino segment of our community

Of course, most of what people have come to love about The Sun has stayed the same. Probably most important, the fact that, for us and following the principle put forth by Bill Hammett, the news is free, both in print and online at sonomasun.com or via Facebook. As always, we provide fair and timely coverage of the community’s news, big or small. Similarly, the Sun’s broad and far reaching feature coverage hasn’t changed. We’re still always looking for a new and different story angle, something or someone out of the ordinary to profile, a new twist on an old story. As always, feel free to send your news, your comments and suggestions to us anytime at [email protected].

Here’s to another great year.