Hey there, all you former Morning Call employees both far and wide! Be sure to set your clocks to be at the farewell party for editorial VP Ardith Hilliard today at 3:30 p.m. Come one, come all and bring your money to contribute to a gift and don't forget your stories and memories to write in Ardie's farewell journal! Are you listening out there Mary Youtz? Frank Whelan? Mary Ellen Alu? Daryl Nerl? Get your party hats on, dudes and dudettes, and be there or be square!

That's pretty amazing, isn't it? A downsized veep gets a going away party AND a gift AND a memory journal AND a hefty settlement while many of the employees she axed were met at the door by a security guard or beaten down in long, ugly court cases. Nevertheless, Publisher Tim Kennedy waxed gushingly over Hilliard's accomplishments in a memo to employees: "As Ardie departs, the combined print and online reach of The Morning Call has never been higher . . . Please join me in . . . thanking Ardie for her contributions to a thriving Morning Call."

Gee, is The Morning Call thriving? If so, then why did they lay off nearly half the staff during her tenure?

And also according to Kennedy, Ardie's successor Dave Erdman is a "driving force" who "possesses the knowledge, instinct to innovate and leadership qualities we need in these challenging times."  Hmmmm....are we talking about the same person here? And just think—if Miorelli gets Erdman's job does that mean that his successor will be (get ready for this) Kathy Reinhard? Whoohoo!!

Thank God I was downsized rather than continue to bow at the feet of fools.