LobbyTools news imprint The Florida Current began reducing its capacity yesterday, letting go of reporters Bruce Ritchie and Gray Rohrer and announcing the “evolution” of their news operation to focus more on short “policy notes” largely comprised of information found in other publications.

Sarah Iarussi, president and co-owner of the Tallahassee-based firm, told SaintPetersBlog yesterday that this move is not downsizing per se, but when you combine these changes with the hasty exit of veteran reporter Bill Prescott days before Session, you have to wonder.

I had the privilege of working closely with Bruce Ritchie in particular during a stint with LobbyTools last year. The fact that such a tough, ethical and well-informed expert will no longer be publishing daily on a platform like the Current means that the Florida reading public is certainly losing something important.

Here’s wishing him and Gray good luck in whatever comes next, and that others like them will fill the void left in the already under-reported upon Florida legislative beat. We’ll miss their institutional knowledge greatly.