By Grace Bennett

I’m so dizzy, my head is spinning–with all the fun stuff we’ve packed into this edition. First and foremost, I’m super proud of having covered the Democratic National Convention together with reporter Susan Youngwood. A four-page glimpse of our experience begins on page 28. We are also delighted to deliver a “back to fun” theme–to chase away any end of summer, back to school doldrums. Matt Smith’s cover feature is a celebration of the Rotary Club members who faithfully meet every Monday at Kittle House to discuss plans–including New Castle’s much anticipated Community Day–host guest speakers and otherwise focus on “Service above Self.”

We also set out to spotlight exciting plans and esteemed authors for another amazing day of celebrating books and reading and children at the 4th annual Chappaqua Children’s Book Festival (CCBF); there’s Save the Date info and a fun memory from New Castle’s much beloved Ragamuffin Parade, the Shop for a Cause Boutique, the 2016 Dewey Election Edition at the Chappaqua Library, and this year, please save the date for and learn about “The Concert for America to End Gun Violence.”

For your absolute reading pleasure, enjoy a variety of thoughtful essays–one, in the nick of time, “Mindfulness in a Crazy World,” by Jodi Baretz; a painful recollection of the 1993 World Trade Center bombing by Dana Y. Wu (who wrote the CCBF story too!); the magic of playing field hockey by Greeley student Lauren Neff; and finally, a personal journey buoyed by the power of unconditional love by the Reverend Dr. Martha R. Jacobs.

Yet more articles: the shift soon to reusable bags in New Castle, the DeCicco’s supermarket coming to Millwood, the town’s Exceptional People Committee, Northern Westchester Hospital’s Junior Leadership Council and a profile of ‘Ms. Carol’ and ‘Ms. Dina’ at the much loved Dance Emotions.

Finally, we have two special reports: a story about Evan’s Law, written by our wonderful summer intern Justin Ellick; and an in-depth look at affordable housing efforts as they have played out (very, very differently) in both Chappaqua and Armonk–true community journalism prepared by Andrew Vitelli, our editor for Inside Armonk.

Due to this embarrassment of riches, we had to save other wonderful submissions, so as not to ‘break up’ an amazing compilation of essays produced by a group of local teens exclusive to Inside Chappaqua. So, stay tuned for more great reading in your next, November 2016 edition too!