With Riverfront Times editor Tom Finkel heading to the Village Voice later this summer, the St. Louis alt-weekly announced that current managing editor Chad Garrison will take over as editor after Finkel’s departure:

“I’ve had the great pleasure of working with Chad since he came aboard as a staff writer in June of 2004. He has proven himself an exceptional writer, equally comfortable with unconventional feature stories and hard news; he excelled as our first full-time news blogger; and most recently he has gained the respect and admiration of his colleagues while guiding them as managing editor,” Finkel wrote in an e-mail.

The paper also announced the hiring of new staff writer Danny Wicentowski, restaurant critic Cheryl Baehr, and staff food blogger Nancy Stiles.