The bi-weekly (except in summer), all-volunteer newspaper, which celebrates its 30th anniversary this year, is one of the few completely independent publications in Southern California. As we can look down our ink-stained noses at the occasional poorly written or accuracy-challenged Observer piece, we must also acknowledge the paper keeps Fullerton's schools, city hall and police department honest. Recent editions probed a Sunny Hills High School bomb hoax, the effectiveness of anti-gang programs, improper asbestos removal from schools, the controversial firing of a progressive professor and the nixing of a proposed seven-story downtown building. The left-leaning opinion pages often go national, with think pieces on such topics as Bush administration policies, oil prices, global warming, war costs and the recession. Orange County civil-rights icon Ralph Kennedy founded the paper in 1978 to galvanize local opposition to Coyote Hills development, which remains a hot-button issue today. Professional painter Sharon Kennedy took over the reins from her father in 1998, the same year he died. She has steadfastly held to the original Fullerton Observer mission statement: “Our purpose is to inform Fullerton residents about the institutions and other societal forces which most impact their lives, so that they may be empowered to participate in constructive ways to keep and make these private and public entities serve all residents in lawful, open, just, and socially responsible ways.”
