I was surprised to read in the Ventura County Star this morning (2-27) that Marianne Ratcliff has resigned as opinion editor of the paper. She has served as the Star’s opinion editor since 2001.
I had the opportunity to meet Marianne in November, 2005, under very sad circumstances for me, and found her to be considerate and caring. A longtime family friend, Rima Akkad Monla, had just perished in terrorist bombing of a hotel in Amman, Jordan, and I wanted to write a tribute to her. There was a Ventura County connection for Rima, because she had lived in Moorpark for a few years, and attended a junior high school there.
Marianne gave the OK and published my tribute on the opinion page, along with a photo of Rima. I was so grateful, because it made me feel like I was doing something to note the life of a remarkable person, a contemporary and playmate of my children when they were young.Â
A sudden death caused by random violence is always a tragedy, but in Rima’s case, it was such a loss to so many. She was a young American woman, bright, talented, and beautiful, living in Beirut with her husband and two small sons. It was so hard for me to comprehend that she had died and I did not want to let her death pass by without noting her life as best I could.
Writing Rima’s tribute helped me, and it was very kind for Marianne Ratcliff to publish it and I still appreciate it. I also think she did a great job with the Star’s opinion page, and I wish her well in future endeavors.
Post by Janna Orkney
Jeanne Cope // Mar 1, 2010 at 11:50 PM
I thought she got caught up in all the lay-offs The Star is doing. Some of the kindest people I know have been laid off from that paper.