A few months ago, a local physician marveled at the fact that I’ve spent the last 37 years in either newspaper journalism or the private legal sector. “You must be awfully close to burnout,” he fairly gasped, looking at me like I’m some kind of candidate for a public works effigy. “Thirty-seven years under those kinds of deadlines is a long, long time.” I have to admit I do feel like I could use a month off, especially since I basically haven’t stopped working in nine years. And to boot, this guy’s a doctor, so I figure his .02 sort of sanctions my concern. As of Friday, Oct. 23, he’ll have a little less to worry about. That’s my last day with the San Diego Community Newspaper Group, at least as I know the company. Not only will there be a new Downtown News editor; I’ll have completed at least one special project by then, designed to make life a little easier for the 50,000 or so who read this publication every month. I’ve also been asked to stay aboard in a diminished capacity, writing stories for this and the chain’s other papers and perhaps lending my minuscule expertise to the quality control part of the operation. Other than that, that month off actually seems feasible for once. It’s too short, of course, but at my age, so is everything else. I do hope that these last 19 months have been as enlightening for you as they have for me. I took in more than my fill of all this newfangled software that makes the papers prettier and everybody’s lives behind the scenes so much simpler, and it’s my wish that Downtown News is as easy on the eye as it is intent on furnishing true community-based news. And if I regret that my time’s run out on instituting fresh ideas about the paper’s role, I’m delighted to have heard from you to that end, whether you’ve come bearing bouquets, brickbats or something in between. My plans include a return to school, a new and vastly improved personal website, the pursuit of current and prospective professional endeavors and, of course, that elusive month off. Through it all, you guys will never be far from my thoughts. Thanks so much for reading, calling and writing, everybody — meanwhile, it’s onward an upward for one of the most interesting city centers in the nation. — Martin Jones Westlin, editor San Diego Downtown News