At the end of the year, I’ll be stepping away from CHPN.
Running this site has been an incredibly meaningful part of the last decade+ for me. It has been an amazing opportunity to document the beginning of a new era in the neighborhood and the city, and to meet so many of the folks working on the ground to make Richmond and the East End become a better community.
Over this time we’ve gone from being named among the 10 most dangerous neighborhoods in America to a nationwide top 10 up-and-coming neighborhood. Any number of vacant houses have been fixed up and now have new neighbors in them. The area population is rising after decades of loss. There are great places to gather together and eat and drink. The streets are safer.
As of right now, CHPN has published 11,293 stories and over 120,000 comments. There is a Flickr pool of over 8,000 photos documenting the area since 2004.
Most importantly, a random email to CHPN back in 2010 introduced me to a wonderful woman who would completely changed my life.
It’s been a good run, but I need to be able to unplug.
So – anybody interested in taking the reigns?
There are any number of great stories that need to followed out – our neighborhood schools, the redevelopment of the public housing communities, the next phase of gentrification, the impact of the new grocery store come to mind. There is immense value in having a daily curated public hyperlocal record.
I’d like to see the site continue in new hands if anyone is interested – hit me up at murden@gmail.com. We’ve got until December 31 to get you up to speed.
100 comments
FB_10156377659228056
FB_10154559431538472
FB_687779762599
FB_10153938983366213
FB_10103774207275416
FB_10100362970301936
FB_10100919505801852
FB_10209477538427684
FB_10154897574756789
FB_1404347236280070
FB_10155014325183908
FB_10102000304805243
FB_1915882435297969
FB_10154692108665905
FB_1282769618443059
FB_10153976282051962
FB_10155256151416318
FB_10155298208455283
FB_10101719786695484
FB_10103913945209476
FB_10154662230627211
FB_10212078242736506
FB_10211654737069618
FB_10211280741106901
FB_701276484685
FB_1750892754925547
FB_10154609110537657
FB_10154489643116229
FB_10155832781582573
FB_10158051069335327
FB_10155411674842848
FB_1443943745684642
Wow. You’ve done an amazing job. Tough shoes to fill.
John, you have done amazing things for the community. Can’t tell you how sad I am to hear this…but also completely understand as well. Thank you for everything you have done.
Ah man…
John! We are so grateful for you and will miss you!! Thank you so much!!
John you are phenomenal. Humble and kind… two of my most favorite traits in another human being. I’m so thankful for your work in CHPN and I’m happy for you if you sense its time to move on. You will be missed. Thank you.
Wow, John! Thanks for all you have done! CHPN in many ways is the neighborhood’s journal of record. All the best to you and your family!
Wish I had time but I do not with four kids and a bike business!
You shut your god damn mouth! In true internet style, I didn’t even click on the article but instead will responded to them headline: wtf?!
I nominate Mark Kronenthal
Thank you for all you do John! I get all my Churchill news from your site! You have done an amazing job!
It’s been a mighty work, and a mighty effort, and the greater Church Hill community is better for it. Thanks so much!
Thank you.
Thanks John for keeping CHPN going for so long. I moved to the Hill in 2004 and although I left in 2009 due to job moving to STL I still check back on occasion. I hope a good steward or two can be found to keep it going.
Thank you!! Chpn has become an invaluable resource for all of us. You did an amazing job of moderating it, not only did you never say, "Another cat?!", you were super fair when things got ugly.
#fakenews
Miss you already, thanks for so many years of dedication
I hope at least. CHPN has been one of my favorite parts of the neighborhood. Thank you for the tireless work you have done!
Thank you John Murden Jr. for all your great work and bringing us the best – CHPN!
Thanks for everything, John. It was CHPN that got my name out there as a photographer so long ago.
Cezar Maia Carvalhaes- you’d be magnificent at this!
Thank you John for your dedication to our neighborhood!
Can’t blame you, but you’ve been an amazing resource to the community… both individually & collectively – we all owe you one.
All good things come to an end. Thank you! Can’t wait to see what/who comes next.
Wow, I’m saddened John Murden Jr. But I understand. You have been a blessing to Armstrong High School, by publishing the positive things happening there. I hope that this legacy continues. Thanks.
Thank you John for these years of neighborhood news. I always look forward to my Tuesday CHPN. Hope it continues. Job well done! Marilyn
Thank you for everything you have done for our neighborhood and community
Wow, first Justin Bieber cancels the rest of his world tour and now this. What a funny fall it will be. Changes all about…
I have been reading CHPN since I was in Museum District, 10 years ago. Thank you for all that you gave to this city through this hyperlocal news source. I have loved watching Church Hill grow and prosper through your articles. I hope that CHPN will find a worthy wordsmith to attempt to fill your gargantuan humble & kind shoes. Good on you for knowing your limits and always following your heart. Cheers, brother.
Sad news!
Bravo John… I am sad though…
John, you will be missed!!
Thanks John for your dedication to the community. Your insight will be sorely missed. And a very huge thank you for all that you’ve done to grow Kolache. We are so grateful for your support.
John, thank you so much for your tireless effort to build an even greater sense of community awareness and activism regarding a number of issues affecting the East End. I wish I had the web savviness and time to manage a site like CHPN; it’s such a great information resource for the neighborhood. It’s been a pleasure getting to know you over the years. I hope to continue seeing you around the neighborhood in the years to come!
Mighty work indeed. Such a bonus to the neighborhood. Best of luck in future endeavors.
John, thank you for all your efforts. You have been a great liaison between the Church Hill community and the City of Richmond. You have given your time and energy to better the neighborhood. I hope to see you and your son around. I will be sure to wave! You have a friend in me and will be missed.
John- Thank you for delivering a great community-based news services for our amazing neighborhood. All the best in your next adventure.~John Sydnor
Are you selling CHPN? The CHA refers to CHPN on it’s web site, so what is the connection if any?
This is sad news, indeed. John has shown an ability to speak truth to power whether it is institutional power or local cyber bullies. I can’t think of anyone else in the neighborhood who could step in with the balance, discretion, patience, candor, and wisdom John has shown. Bravo, John!
Best wishes John and congratulations!
Thanks, John. Great work over the years, my friend.
AAAGH! Mixed emotions!!!!
Really happy for you to be able to unplug, never knew how you were able to keep this thing going every day.
I’m praying that you’ll find someone who’s able to maintain the consistency, impartiality and creativity that you have brought to all of our lives. We love you man, and we definitely need to throw a big block party for your “retirement”. Everyone who ever found a pet thanks to your reporting should bring it with them to said block party 🙂
You’re a huge reason this community feels like a community. Thank you for educating me on my neighborhood, this is a major resource and space for advocacy. THANK YOU to you and your family, John! you have all obviously sacrificed a lot of time and energy for the greater good. Church Hill loves you.
Haha! Wish it was #fakenews
John, what will we do without you? You’ve done a remarkable job for such a long time in keeping neighbors and all of us informed on CH-area doings.
John thank you for the years of community service that you have put in. You will be missed. I would hope that someone would step up but you have mighty big shoes to fill, and your contributions have surely been unique.
You’ve done incredible work. All the best, John.
John, thank you for providing this invaluable service to the neighborhood. Best of luck in your future endeavors!
John a big thanks from all the lost and found dogs and cats who were reunited with their families thanks to you and CHPN. woof woof meow.
Wow! Mixed emotions.. Totally understand why you would want to call it a day… but you will be very missed! You have done so very much to create community. All the best !!!
Kuddos for your work in keeping the cats and dogs in their homes, the neighborhood safer, and trying to keep local interests like schools and new eateries in the forefront.
Thanks for all the shop plugs. You’ve definitely been as much an asset on the ground as on the keyboard. A true superhero of news. Change is good. I’m sure you’ll enjoy your new chapter.
Wow I’m speechless. At first I used to disagree with alot of your articles, but over time chpn grew on me, and it’s become my favorite site,and I have alot of respect for you. I been in Richmond 30 plus years, and I been around alot of negative people,so I approach everyone like that, but I didn’t have to be that way with you. I hope whomever takes over does it good job as you, because you put alot of hard work into this site. I’m still lost for words, but hey, you got to do what’s best for you.
Thanks so much John for all the work you’ve done for our neighborhood through this website and elsewhere.
The community will miss you! I heard Scarramucci was available?
No.
It figures. I move to Church Hill (“Shedtown,” actually) and discover CHPN, the most awesome local news site, run by a clearly dedicated and truly competent person — and then you decide to retire! Oh well. Fatherhood beckons. Answer the call and enjoy. You will be missed.
Gez… I spend more time on this blog more than any local news website. You’ll be missed! Good luck and thanks for everything!
Bummer. You’ve done a great job, and helped make Richmond a better place. I’m sorry to read this.
John – you have been such an important glue to CH! You will be incredibly missed! Are u really going cold turkey on this? I’m hopeful we can find someone to gradually take the reins
Say that today is April first, not August 1st 🙁
Your blog was my introduction to Church Hill in March 2008. We know this is a big decision. Would a GoFund me page with a bi-yearly subscription/donation drive page help keep you on? We pay for the NY Times, Washington Post, RTD, etc., online. Why not CHPN? Yes… I’m talking about a bribe! 🙂
You are now, and will always be, King of the Hill…thanks for everything
John, thank you for your years of dedication to this page. I know a couple years ago, you were thinking about stepping down then but you held on. This blog has been featured on television and in magazines so is high profile and will take someone who is not afraid of that to take over. And, someone who will be able to approve posts, be on sites where stories develop to take photos, connect with the city and get documents to post, attend meetings, and add new stories all day long. I hope there is someone out there with the credentials to take the helm.
Times Dispatch has picked this up:http://www.richmond.com/local/city-of-richmond/church-hill-people-s-news-creator-stepping-down/article_80bcaade-538f-5ee9-b88b-d8511d923b11.html
Thank you for making our little corner of the world a better place!
Must feel a bit like I would imagine it’d feel if you put your child up for adoption…or gave up a well loved pet: free to a good home!
Just wanted to add my name to the list of grateful readers. many thanks for a very valuable service!
CHPN has pretty much been daily reading for me since I moved to the neighborhood in Nov 2015. Such an invaluable resource.
I actually ran a very popular neighborhood blog in DC from 2008-14. Daily posts. Good readership. I’d frequently overhear people talking about posts on the blog conversationally in the neighborhood. And people definitely mentioned it at community meetings even using the blogs tag line “not just parking lots anymore” in puns to make their point to local officials.
Anyway, I moved on and transitioned it to someone who I thought would be a good steward. They had been in the community longer than I had, they attended community meetings and they wrote impassioned protest and support pieces regarding certain matters that came before the local governing body (called Advisory Neighborhood Commissions). Unfortunately within 3 months after the transition she stopped posting to the blog altogether. She periodically just pops a link into the facebook page associated with the blog. Que Sera.
Anyway, Eric H in #61 suggests a good list of the traits your successor should have. I’ll add one more. They should be somebody that when they are writing a new post about XYZ that they are willing to take the extra 3 minutes to search prior CHPN posts and back link in the current post to previous posts that have relevance. You currently do an outstanding job at this. It adds to the reading experience and makes the blog feel more like a evolving archive of the pulse of the community rather than just an aggregation of todays news.
Hope you find the right person. May need to be a small team to fill your shoes!
CHPN is a part of Church Hill and John, you are responsible for that. While this news makes me sad, I am also happy for you and hope that your successor has the same interest and love for our neighborhood. They will have some pretty big shoes to fill!
Thank you for all you have contributed to the entire East End community.