If this were a few weeks ago I'd swear this was a horrible April Fools Day joke.  I'm in utter shock.

When I said that Eddie was one of the few local reporters that 'got it' I was really only referring to Ken Dey.  No one else covers as much local tech as they did.  There are some who come close but they don't seem to have the passion Eddie and Ken did.

And then I received this in my email:

I just wanted to drop everyone a note and let them know that I will be leaving the Idaho Statesman for a new position at St. Luke's Regional Medical Center as a public relations coordinator.

My last day is Friday, April 18.

The paper has decided not to fill my position, so Joe Estrella will be the only business reporter, so any help you can provide him would be appreciated.

It was a tough decision. I've enjoyed my time with the Idaho Statesman and the many interesting people I've met and stories I've had the pleasure to write.

But it's time for a new opportunity. I would imagine that our paths will cross again.

Best Regards,
Ken Dey

Ken's blog TechIdaho and Julie Howard's Starting Up were the only reasons I read the Statesman (online).

I'm happy for Ken because I'm sure that this will be a better position for him, I weep for Idaho's tech community.  If I already felt that our budding tech community was isolated from it's own community, I know feel like someone drove us out to the middle of the dessert and left us for dead.

I have always felt that a key factor to getting the support of our community (and its leaders) has been the exposure that comes from the local press.  While Ken never missed an opportunity to fillet cover Micron he also went out of his way to sneak in stories about the little guy, many of which made the front page.

I'm afraid with Ken gone we'll be left with the only tech coverage being about Micron and occasionally HP.

At least Ken isn't leaving Boise and I truly hope that he stays involved in the local tech scene, we need all the evangelists we can get.

Update: From Ken

It’s not a decision I wanted to make, but because we’ve been so understaffed I haven’t been able to cover technology like I was promised when I came back and my frustration was only growing.

I hope to keep my hand in the tech world, but going to St. Luke’s was an opportunity I couldn’t pass up. Plus, I’ve been wanting to go back to school and get an MBA and St. Luke’s has a great tuition reimbursement program.

UPDATE #2

I need to clarify how the paper will continue to cover my beat after my departure.

The paper is still committed to covering business and I was told they weren't adding another business reporter for now, which is true.

But I've been told they will do what they can to shift reporters from throughout the paper to help cover business.

It's a tough time in the newspaper business and I know the Statesman would fill my position if it could, but it's not feasible at this point.

Regardless of who picks up the slack from my departure whether it’s Joe Estrella or another reporter I still want  to encourage everyone to be patient and provide what ever help they can.

Ken