Jamaica Plain News Has Turned Two. Thank You!

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Jamaica Plain News swag

Chris Helms

Jamaica Plain News swag

Chris Helms, publisher of Jamaica Plain News, talks with JP media expert Steve Garfield at the launch party for Jamaica Plain News, Thursday, April 3, 2014.

Philip Keith

Chris Helms, co-publisher of Jamaica Plain News, talks with JP media expert Steve Garfield at the launch party for Jamaica Plain News, Thursday, April 3, 2014.

Two years ago this week, we launched a new website covering the neighborhood. More than 900,000 page views later, we'd like to thank everyone who's read us, written for us, talked to us as sources and advertised with us.

Readers might not know that the name "Jamaica Plain News" is a nod to the neighborhood’s first newspaper. It was published from 1872 to 1932 by the Jamaica Printing Co., according to the JP Historical Society.

A Centre Street storefront was packed two Aprils ago when we held a launch party in the space that's now the home of Hatched. Mayor Marty Walsh and more than a hundred other folks stopped by. The Casey Overpass still existed back then.

Clearly, it's dangerous to try to list all the people who have contributed to the site's growth. In the early days we had help from designers, marketing experts and publishers of other hyperlocal sites. But any list has to be topped by Richard Heath. His love of the neighborhood he's called home for so long shines through whether he's covering the latest development proposal for Forest Hills or snapping photos at a festival in Egleston Square.

David Ertischek

Jamaica Plain News

David Ertischek

Having established ourselves as a trusted news source for JP in our first year-plus,  we took a major step forward this fall as David Ertischek joined the site's founder, Chris Helms, as co-publisher.

Easily the most important people we want to thank are our readers. Whether you've got us bookmarked on your browser, are one of the 910 people who subscribe to our newsletter, are among our 1,829 followers on Facebook or get your neighborhood news fix via Twitter with 3,187 other folks, thanks for reading.

Like we say around here, Jamaica Plain News aims to deliver, "fresh news for the neighborhood you love." It's been a whirlwind first 24 months and we look forward to continue evolving along with the neighborhood we serve.

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