Star's opinion editor departs

Ventura County Star opinion-page editor Marianne Ratcliff has decided to take a buyout from the paper. Former Star cartoonist Steve Greenberg reports:

Marianne is still fairly young, with two kids (ages 6 and 9), and her immediate focus will be to spend more time with them and with her husband Kevin, who’s had to take on more of the child-rearing duties given his wife’s unrelenting deadlines. Some suspect she left the Star over dismay at all the cuts in personnel, features, budgets and overall quality, but she declares she just needed a breather and more family time. She states, “I have no idea what I will do next” but expects to be connected with journalism in some way.

(found via fishbowlLA)