A Note from the Publisher: New Beginnings, Gratitude, Fresh Starts

January doesn’t arrive quietly. It shows up with receipts. It asks us to look at what we carried through last year, what tried to break us, what sharpened us, and what we are finally ready to set down. Not everything that survived deserves to come with us.

At The Chronicle, we believe new beginnings aren’t about pretending the past didn’t happen. They’re about honoring the lessons, thanking the people who showed up, and choosing differently where we can. Gratitude isn’t passive here. It’s active. It’s how we stay rooted while still reaching forward.

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This first issue of the year isn’t about resolutions that fade by February. It’s about recalibration. About the community. About fresh starts that look like rest, like courage, like finally telling the truth out loud. Sometimes a new beginning is loud and celebratory. Sometimes it’s quiet and internal. Both count.

As we step into this next chapter together, we’re grateful for every reader who continues to choose The Chronicle as part of their week, their table, their conversations. You are not just our audience. You are our why.

Here’s to starting again, with intention, with gratitude, and with our eyes wide open.

With Gratitude,

Yanice Yvette Carter

Publisher, The Chronicle News