I remember standing in front of the Wilburton trestle in Bellevue.

Regional stakeholders had gathered to sign a historic agreement that would bring the 42-mile Eastside Rail Corridor into public ownership.

Nearly eight years later, King County took the first steps towards opening a trail on its section of the corridor by removing railroad spikes on the Bellevue and Kirkland boundary two weeks ago.

How remarkable that I got to witness both milestones for the region — first, as a cub staff writer for the Bellevue Reporter, and now, as the new editor of this newspaper.

Bellevue — it’s great to be back.

During my time as a reporter in Bellevue, I covered City Hall, schools, police, transportation and many other issues important to this community. Best of all, I got to meet many of you, from inspiring teachers and volunteers, to business owners and community activists.

My mentor and colleague — former Reporter editor Craig Groshart — taught me how to report with courage and compassion.

I went on to become the regional editor of the Kirkland and Bothell-Kenmore Reporter newspapers for nearly six years and, most recently, editor of the Federal Way Mirror.

Now that I’m back in Bellevue, I’ve already seen some of the many changes that have occurred since I was last here. Bellevue was already growing up then — now it’s booming.

In the coming weeks, I look forward to getting out and reacquainting myself with this community. I will strive to make this newspaper even more relevant to our readers. To do so, I need to hear from you regarding what issues are important to you and how the Reporter can do a better job covering those issues. I welcome your feedback about this newspaper and, as always, I encourage you to contact me with story ideas and continue to sound off on issues that are important to you.

Contact editor Carrie Rodriguez at editor@bellevuereporter.com or 425-453-4233.