I am happy to let all of our supporters know that we had a public hearing with the Salem Art Commission last week and we were given approval to keep the mural. This is a great victory for us, for our community and for the cause of art and freedom of expression. While I am pleased with the outcome after so much strife, the core issue remains: bureaucracy and misguided government energy and resources. The feeling that so much time and effort has been wasted in an era of divisiveness, economic uncertainty and community suffering is dramatically highlighted. City lawyers, staff, and management busying themselves with something so trivial when compared to our homeless epidemic, increased street violence and economic disparity is concerning in many ways. My intention is the same as it has always been, and similar to my service in our nations military. I want to leave the world better than the way I found it. I encourage everyone who supported us to continue to be involved civically, but most importantly as locally as possible. Get to know your city and its leadership, go to council meetings, send emails and make phone calls. If we work harder to create the communities we want to live in that uphold the values we collectively hold dear, then from the bottom up we can effect change on a larger scale. Jon and I thank you all for your steadfast support. Semper Fidelis.