When I visited the Beach News, I asked what issues were important in the area. They said hot topics included houses being torn down for new developments, the question of whether dogs should be allowed of-leash on the beach, and the coyote.
I could have guessed the first two. Real estate is valuable in this tony neighbourhood and a lot of people have dogs. But the coyote piqued my interest.
A coyote is roaming around Neville Park ravine. Some residents, concerned for their pets and worried for the safety of their children, want the coyote gone; others have named him Neville and hope that he can be left alone.
Bob is in the second group. He lives on Neville Park boulevard. He doesn’t get along with dogs but he is amused at how the wiley animal has eluded capture for so long. Neville runs and roams among the trees on the slope behind Bob’s backyard. While Bob and I were delivering bundles of newspapers around Neville Park, he spotted three animal control vans.
To an outsider Neville Coyote might not seem like a big deal. For those who imagine what harm he might do or those who prefer pristine nature be let live, he can be contentious. In an April issue, Beach News, had a cartoon of the coyote disguised in an Easter bunny costume getting nabbed by police.
It is just one example of how a good community paper covers issues of local importance — even issues that, from outside, may seem trivial.