Hard Days

Readers of the CV Weekly, and specifically of my column, are well aware of the personal challenges I have faced these past several months. From broken bones to family deaths, 2015 threw it all at me. I’ll be honest in admitting that without the support of friends and family I don’t know how I would have gotten through it all. At least I had a job I love – publisher of the community’s favorite newspaper – in which I found solace.

Unfortunately the gremlins that plagued me found their way into the offices of Crescenta Valley Weekly.

Three weeks ago our office was hit with “ransomware,” a nefarious type of malware that locks users out of their own files. This type of malware wants victims to pay a ransom, usually online, to grant access to their systems or to get their data back. I chose not to pay the ransom, which was a smart idea because I learned from others who had been hit with ransomware that they were told to pay even more money after they met the initial demand. Thankfully the attack on CV Weekly was limited and though we were inconvenienced, we weren’t damaged. A visit by Andy from Earth Oasis helped to quickly put us back on track.

But the “good times” weren’t over yet. This past weekend we were hit again – this time at the mailbox.

Like most businesses, we have a post office box where we direct the majority of our mail, from catalogs to payments. Well, over the past weekend our mailbox was one of only a few that were broken into. What did we lose? No way of knowing. We spent Monday and Tuesday calling advertisers and anyone else who may have sent us mail to let them know what had happened.

Please oh please may this be the last of it!
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A quick note: I received a huge response to last week’s column, Defecate Etiquette, asking how dog owners should handle their pets’ “deposits” while taking their dog for a walk. There are many – and diverse – opinions on the subject. Though opinions might differ on what should (or should not) be done, I was sadly surprised by the notes sent regarding poor behavior by some pet owners. One writer actually witnessed a neighbor allowing his/her dog to squat on her lawn then blithely continued on their walk once the pup was finished with its duty. How crude is that!

Thank you to those who took time to share their viewpoints and I promise I’ll be a good pet parent.

  robin goldsworthy