Dec. 31—I sometimes think we underestimate how difficult it is for the public to communicate their news to the local newspaper. Let's face it, it's so much easier just to post stuff on Facebook or Instagram and watch those "likes" accumulate.

Of course, you're only communicating there with your inner circle of friends and family. If you want the world (or at least our little slice of it) to know about your new location, the promotion of an employee or perhaps some major change in your business, you'll want to share it in The Day and on theday.com.

So I made it my mission this year to make it as easy as possible to get your news out there and give it a prominent spot in the paper. "The Buzz" has easily been one of the biggest success stories in The Day's newly revamped and highly local Sunday Business page, and readers have responded very favorably to our weekly roundup of local news items.

Please keep the news coming in the new year by sending items of general interest to [email protected]. If you're having trouble writing something, I can give you advice via email as well, or call me at 860-964-0597. We love to see pictures of your smiling faces as well.

The public also has an opportunity to get longer items into the Times weekly papers that I still edit, and many galleries and nonprofits have taken advantage by sending in longer pieces about major events they are sponsoring.

Some people have also shared slices of local life, or opinions about local topics. Keep them coming by emailing [email protected]. This is the same address where you can reach me to submit Community Bulletin Board items as well. These are where items of community interest are placed every Sunday in the Region pages, unless they are major arts or local events, in which case they should be sent to Kristina Dorsey at [email protected] for placement in the Night & Day section.

I've also made a big effort to bring you a weekly column every Sunday. It's been great to reconnect with the local business community after a few years devoted mostly to the Times papers. I think you'll agree that we have tackled a wide range of topics, from veteran issues to medical marijuana to big hiring numbers at Electric Boat to layoffs at Pfizer Inc. and even the crazy happenings in Brooklyn, Conn., where the Ice Box restaurant continues to fight the town and a fire district over a "fire lane" dispute that nearly closed them down.

I will continue to update that story as developments occur, because it's important to air what's happening in the "news deserts" across the state that have cropped up as local newspapers dry up one by one.

I'll also be following some of the major business stories from 2023 as we head into the new year.

Among these are my top eight for this year: Huge hiring numbers at Electric Boat, with many more jobs opening up this year in the region; the continued resurgence of downtown New London, including the proposed conversion of the former Citizens Bank building and The Day headquarters into a hotel, restaurant and apartments; the proposal for a quarry operation at the former Dow Chemical plant in Ledyard; the downsizing at Pfizer as Americans turn away from updating their COVID shots; the new offshore wind assembly operation at State Pier in New London that has already delivered its first turbines to help light up thousands of homes in Long Island; a change of the guard at Olde Mistick Village shopping center, where Joyce Resnikoff has stepped aside in favor of son Christopher Regan, the sale of the Crystal Mall, which has turned into a ghost town, and the opening of the regional innovation hub at the new Chamber of Commerce of Eastern Connecticut headquarters in New London.

We here at The Day don't plan to go away, and we will continue to follow local stories that are important to you. You may not always agree with our commentary on the editorial pages or in local columns, but we always try to give it to you straight in our news coverage.

And if you disagree, or if we make a mistake, please let us know. The hallmark of a good paper isn't that it never makes a mistake; it's that if it does, reporters acknowledge it and run corrections while updating online.

We are, after all, the first draft of history, not the last word.

So I hope you will continue to support our work in the new year. It's never been easy to produce a newspaper of quality, but it has become even more difficult in the current environment, where we are bombarded by unfounded concerns about our motives at the same time those with truly suspect motives often go unchecked.

Still, I look forward to next year and all the challenges we and our nation face. May we go forward with the same goodwill we wish upon each other during the holidays.

Lee Howard is The Day's business editor. To reach him, email [email protected].