You are so welcome here

Hi, this is me, Maura Casey. I’m glad you are here on my Substack home of Casey’s Catch! As I grew up sailing and fishing on Lake Ontario, I’ve always thought of opinion writing as casting a net for ideas, thus the name of this newsletter.

I’ve been a journalist for 40 years. I am also a sailor, a grandmother, a bread baker, an amateur astronomer, a dog lover, and servant to my cat. I have lived in rural New England for most of that time. But I am a proud Buffalo, N.Y. native. I’ve written a memoir, Saving Ellen, which Skyhorse Publishing will release in March of 2025.

Why subscribe?

I search for the overlooked angle on current events. I try to combine good reporting with a personal view. But I also like to write about universal topics: family and sunsets, snowstorms and the poetry and struggle imbedded in everyday life.

I wrote opinions every week for four different newspapers for decades. I served on the editorial boards of The Lawrence (Mass.) Eagle Tribune, The Day (New London, Conn.) the Hartford (Conn.) Courant, and The New York Times.

I don’t work at a newspaper anymore, but I am incapable of staying on the sidelines. So I write once or twice a week to keep my head from exploding.

So why pay for a subscription?

A paid subscription supports my work and makes it more likely that I will be able to write for years to come. Think of a subscription as stuffing the tip jar in your favorite pizza joint (although, truthfully, my thing is baking bread).

I want the world to be a better place; my guess is that you do, too. We could learn a lot from one another. So whether you are a free or paid subscriber, thank you. I am profoundly grateful that you are willing to come along with me on this journey.