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Vol. 5    No. 5
MARCH 11, 2010
65,173

EDITORIAL STAFF

Jonathan Gramling
Publisher & Editor

Heidi M. Pascual
Managing Editor

Clarita G. Mendoza
Sales Manager

Contributing Writers
Rita Adair, Paul Barrows,
Alfonso Zepeda Capistran, Fabu,
Andrew Gramling, Lang Kenneth
Haynes, Eileen Cecille Hocker,
Heidi Pascual, Jessica Pharm,
Laura Salinger, Jessica Strong,
& Martinez White

Webmaster:
Heidi @
managing.editor@capitalcityhues.com
   Before I start talking about health care reform, I just wanted to note that there will be some changes going on
at The Hues over the next month or so. Since our inaugural issue on March 20, 2006 — Hey, we are just about
four years old — The Capital City Hues has been published out of the house that I rented at 612 Christianson
Avenue since 1998. Well I — and The Hues — have moved.
   As many of you may know, Heidi Pascual, our managing editor, has decided to move back to the Philippines
on April 15. In addition to working at The Hues 15 hours per week, Heidi is also the publisher of Asian
Wisconzine. Well the recent trends in print journalism and the Great Recession have decimated Heidi’s
advertising base and so, her March 2010 edition was the last printed edition of Asian Wisconzine. With some
lingering advertising and faithful columnists, Heidi will continue to publish Asian Wisconzine online from the
Philippines.
   As Asian Wisconzine declined financially, Heidi was not able to land a job in Madison. Right now, Madison is
awash in former journalists who are now working as public and private sector communications specialists.
Heidi always landed in the top five candidates, but never succeeded in being the one who was selected. She
started talking about leaving for The Philippines about a year ago as the economy slid further into recession and
she solidified her plans in January when she got her last rejection letter.
   It has been painful watching Heidi’s magazine decline over the past year and to see her leave for the
Philippines will be especially difficult. It has been equally difficult to not be in a position to do anything about it
as The Capital City Hues was experiencing its own freefall of declining revenues. Things got pretty hopeless and
I felt helpless. This whole process has been like the slow death of a loved one and I have experienced a
thousand deaths during the past year. Nothing is more depressing than two people from the same declining
industry being dependent on each other. They say that misery enjoys company, but I’ll tell you there was — and
is — nothing enjoyable about it.
   Due to the magic of the Internet, Heidi will continue to be the webmaster of our website. I can just upload our
files in some virtual holding place on the World Wide Web and Heidi will be able to download them from there
and work her artistic magic on our website every two weeks. She will also be continuing her Asian Wisconzine
portion of The Hues, filling it with columns and articles that she will generate from the Philippines. So although
her physical presence will no longer be in Madison, she will still be here through The Hues.
I will write more about this at a later date, but suffice it to say that Heidi will be sorely missed by me, her friends
and her readership. Heidi has been one of those quiet presences in Madison that has made a significant impact.
Her absence from the scene in Madison will then speak loudly about her contributions to the Madison area.
While The Hues will survive and hopefully thrive once The Great Recession ends, it will never be the same
without Heidi’s input into the making of the paper. She will be missed.
   Now back to the physical move. I moved into Heidi’s condo so that she wouldn’t lose her blouse, so to speak,
if she sold it in today’s depressed market. So temporarily — it could be one year or ten years — I will be living at
303 Whispering Pines Way in Fitchburg. Our phone numbers, e-mail addresses and website remain the same.
Our new mailing address is The Capital City Hues. P.O. Box 259712, Madison, WI 53725.
***
   Believe it or not, health care reform is still possible in the coming weeks. Last night, I had the pleasure of
witnessing the Democratic Party of Wisconsin honor Sheila Coyle Earl, Ada Deer and Dr. Gene Farley as
Trailblazers for the Democrats. It was a wonderful reception that I will write about at another time.
   What was poignant were the remarks of Gene Farley about health care reform. As anyone who has followed
the reform movement over the years, Gene and his late wife Linda were fierce proponents of the single payer
option for a national health care system. Now the current versions of the bill for health care reform that are under
consideration do not include a single payer structure and may not even contain a public option. And if Gene
were just a short-sighted advocate, he might just urge people to forget the whole thing.
   But Gene urged that people support even a watered-down version of health care reform, which he referred to
as a building permit for a national health care system. He told people that although the building is not finished in
terms of where health care reform should be, any bill that establishes a national system can serve as the
foundation for future changes that will ensure health care as a right and not as a commodity. So stay tuned in the
coming weeks for the final passage of a health care reform bill. In the words of Yogi Berra, “It ain’t over until it’s
over.”
Reflections/Jonathan Gramling
                         Changes at The Hues

OBAMA 2010 Calendar still available!
(A project of The Capital City Hues)
Contact the Editor at
gramling@capitalcityhues.com

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