The Fishermen’s News and Maritime Publishing families lost a beloved member recently. John Platt Hurwitz, who co-wrote the magazine’s “California Waypoints” column with his wife, Irene Marie Hurwitz, died in April.
What turned out to be the final column written by John & Irene appeared in the April/May edition of the magazine, which happened to be the first issue of the relaunched version of the magazine. It went out to subscribers in late April, just days before John’s death on April 25.
One last “California Waypoints” column appears in this issue; it’s be a tribute to John, co-written by Irene with John’s nephew, Ben Platt. It can be found at the end of the issue and believe me, it’s quite a read.
Although I’m new to the job of managing editor, reading the magazine over the years had made me very familiar with “California Waypoints,” which mainly featured John’s witty humor and breezy writing style.
Once I was appointed to this job and then reached out to John and Irene to ask them to again write the column when the print edition of the magazine was revived, I was thrilled when they agreed, since I had been a big fan of their writing. And to work with them, even for such a short period of time, was fantastic.
We’re still in the process of determining what will replace “California Waypoints,” but FYI, the next issue will feature a guest writer whose column was inspired by John Hurwitz.
Rest in peace, John. And thank you.
Now on to the second topic of this month’s editorial — reader feedback.
Although the editor and publisher make the final decisions regarding what’s published here and in the print edition of Fishermen’s News, reader suggestions and feedback are also very important, as they help us determine what topics are important enough to cover, and how much coverage they deserve.
So, if there’s a particular topic that you feel warrants coverage — or more of it — in Fishermen’s News, please feel free to let us know. I can’t always guarantee you that what you suggest will be written about, or will receive the amount of coverage that you feel it deserves, but I will guarantee you that all input will be considered.
So, if you have anything you’d like to see — or see more of — in the magazine, please email your suggestions to me via the address below. Thanks.
Managing Editor Mark Nero can be reached at: mark@maritimepublishing.com