Often readers complain that newspapers print only the “bad” news. I’m happy to be a columnist who reports only the “good” news. Each week I write the People and Places column, filling it with news about award winners, scholarship recipients, newly minted graduates, up-and-coming authors, exceptional community leaders, noteworthy organizations and much more. I’ve been with the Fairfax County Times for about four years. I came to the Times from the Loudoun Times-Mirror in Leesburg, where from 2002 to 2007 I was a staff writer and copy editor. I also wrote the obituaries. I didn’t mind covering the “dead beat,” but writing about the living is a lot more fun. I began my journalism career some 30 years ago in Manhattan, where I was devoted to the arts, particularly the theater. Putting together the Fairfax Times arts calendar allows me to keep up with entertainment options close to home. Reviewing the occasional stage production here in Fairfax allows me to indulge one of my greatest passions.