EDITOR’S LETTER: 3 is a magic number

The average American today was born in 1986.

For the first time, a majority of Americans were not alive when Schoolhouse Rock! was on (the last new episode aired in 1985). I wasn’t around for any of it — not even close — but thanks to a couple decades of reruns, I can sing along to any of the songs as well as the next Saturday-morning-cartoon-obsessed Gen Xer.

Back in 1973, the first Schoolhouse Rock! song to ever air was “Three Is a Magic Number.” It was always one of my personal favorites. In hindsight, there was actually nothing magical about that multiplication table versus any other, but the equivoque nevertheless caught on in our society (think De La Soul’s titular song in 1989).

The magazine you’re holding in your hand is the third edition of InBuckeye! But that’s hardly what makes it magical — rather, the stories you’ll find inside. Let me tell you about three pieces in this issue that I think you might really like.

Monica D. Spencer follows a local family on their journey across the country to meet long-lost relatives for the first time. The kicker? The whole thing is part of a reality TV show.

Then, she tells us the story of a controversial cell tower disguised as a belltower, and a battle in Phoenix to preserve the serenity in a quaint Buckeye neighborhood. A Baptist church and an organic farm are clashing, and the homeowners are worried about radiation and spoiling their views of the White Tanks.

Finally, Michael McDaniel gets down and dirty in the bowels of Buckeye’s dairy industry, documenting animal abuse alongside undercover investigators. Coca-Cola’s Fairlife brand is severing ties with local farmers over the alleged horrors — sick and infected animals being beaten or burnt alive, their carcasses thrown into the waterways by undocumented farmworkers.

Hyperlocal journalism is what really makes this magazine magical. Our team is here in Buckeye, and we want to tell YOUR story next! I’m excited to announce our office is now open to the public at 220 N. 4th St. in historic downtown Buckeye.

Don’t hesitate to stop by and say hello. We’d love to meet you.