The Rhino Times will be taking its annual Christmas break next week.

After working diligently throughout the year – covering county government, city halls, small towns, elections, budgets, zoning battles, development fights, investigations, and all the other things local officials would sometimes probably prefer we ignore – we’re going to step away for a few days, spend time with family, do some Christmas shopping, and recharge a bit.

The Rhino Times publishes 50 weeks out of the year, with one week off in July and one week of rest and relaxation at Christmas.

Another plus is that it will allow rabid story commenters Chris and Austin to stop fighting in the comment section for a week, which should do them both some good and, frankly, let’s face it, hurling insults at one another is not very Christmasy.

We’ll be back the following week – rested and ready to jump back into whatever has happened while we were gone.

As we’ve noted before, if you’re a government official who works for the cities of Greensboro or High Point, or for Guilford County or one of the small towns in the county, and you’ve been thinking about doing something corrupt or just dumb, next week would theoretically be the time to try it – since our minds will be filled with sugar plums and candy canes rather than watching the county burn through money or announce the 59th change in the City of Greensboro yard waste collection policy.

(Just remember – vacations end, records remain, and January always comes faster than you think.)

We want to take a moment to thank everyone who reads the Rhino Times. This is a free paper. We don’t have a paywall, we don’t charge subscriptions, and we don’t ask you to pull out a credit card just to read what your local government is doing. But here’s what we ask if you want to give us a Christmas present – we ask that you support us by staying engaged, reading regularly, and especially signing up for the email list.

If you haven’t already subscribed, please do so by filling out the annoying pop-up on the site or to the right of stories. It’s quick, it’s free, and it’s the easiest way to make sure you don’t miss the most important stories when we publish them.

We truly appreciate our readers and the many tips, emails, and encouragement we receive throughout the year. That support is what makes the Rhino Times possible.

From all of us here, we wish you a Merry Christmas, happy holidays, and a safe and enjoyable week ahead.

We’ll see you soon.

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