Here I go with my own Comings & Goings

As we start this venture, here’s what to expect. I welcome you to join me on the journey.

Welcome to the new home of Comings & Goings! I’m so happy you’re along for the ride.

I’m excited about the possibilities with this Substack platform. Although the heart of my posts will be what you expect – business changes in and around Davis – there are opportunities for deeper features, and peeks into what I do and how I work.

I’ve been writing this column for 23 years because I love Davis, and like to support local businesses. I am the daughter and granddaughter of small-business owners, so it’s in my blood. But I never wanted to get up early to bake cakes or drive a bakery delivery truck like my grandpa. Nor did I desire selling Honda motorcycles and power equipment six days a week like my dad. My mom did the books for both, and math is not my language.

The journalism bug bit me in elementary school, and I stuck with it. I still cling to the belief that fact-based reporting matters, and is worth paying for.

This publishing platform is subscription-based, so I’m asking for your support. I set the price low, but will need volume to meet my goals. We want to build this without relying on advertisements. That keeps it clean and neat for you, and doesn’t ask anything of local businesses. Please share it with your friends and family so I can keep doing this.

I followed Bob Dunning here to show my support for his 54-year Davis Enterprise legacy. Joint subscriptions to Substack would be part of that bigger plan but for now, our news and subscriptions are separate.

What are you paying for? For now, you can expect at least one traditional Comings & Goings column a week, unless I’m on an extended vacation. In that case, I will make up for it with a feature and/or longer makeup column when I get back. If I can’t keep up while I’m away, subscription fees will be paused. For years, my column has posted online on Thursday evenings or Friday mornings, bound for the Sunday paper. That’s still the online plan but it’s nice to have the flexibility to adapt to breaking news or a schedule conflict.

There will be occasional free posts like this but most of the content will be behind a paywall, and included with paid subscriptions. I will preview the businesses mentioned, as I typically do on Facebook, but I can’t give all the news away. It’s a lot of work to write and fact-check dozens of mini stories a week, which combine to make one column. I appreciate your support. Your financial backing funds the journalism and investigations of Comings & Goings.

I must thank Brian Bolz of Beehively and TechaBee for getting everything set up in 24 hours. He grew up in Davis and is a longtime fan of Comings & Goings and the Wary I. Once I made the decision, he put on his entrepreneurial hat and set everything in motion, figuring out answers to things I didn’t know to ask. With his team backing me, our operation sprung to life overnight.

Comings & Goings was the most popular online item in The Davis Enterprise. Let’s make it the most valuable business information source in Davis and Yolo County.

You have no idea what a relief this is to get this launched. I haven’t slept for days. I can’t decide which I want more, a nap or a beer. Cheers!