Tribune Company closes several real estate sections

The Times (pun intended) they are indeed a-changin'.

Yesterday the L.A. Times published its final separate real estate section, which also means an abrupt end to my short-lived side career as a freelance writer for the paper. Editor Lauren Beale -- with whom I had a really great experience and will likely benchmark that against future editors -- posted her goodbye to the section on the L.A. Land blog:

In case you missed the announcement today in Real Estate, because of reductions in staff and space, the Sunday Real Estate section has printed its final edition.

Real estate coverage will continue to appear online throughout the week. Hot Property, Neighborly Advice and the occasional Pardon Our Dust remodeling tale will appear in print as part of the new Saturday Home section. Home of the Week, Southland home-price charts and other features will appear in Sunday Business. Real estate articles will appear in both sections...

It has been an honor and a joy to serve readers for the last eight years as editor of a section that started in 1901, according to The Times official chronology. Under the headline, "A Good Steady Market," the tone then was optimistic:

"While there is nothing that could even by courtesy be called a boom in real estate just now, yet 10 years ago we should certainly have characterized the present condition of the market by that name."

Ah, for a good, steady market.

And please ignore some of the more mean-spirited comments below her post on what I thought was a very heart-felt salutation by Ms. Beale. Clearly some readers of the L.A. Land blog have been without their psychoactive meds for a bit too long!