Deputy editor Lisa Albers is scaling back to a contractual relationship with the web-only news source, which is making the transition from for-profit to non-profit status. Here’s what she had to say in her farewell note, which comes two days after editor Chuck Taylor’s: “Following up on Chuck’s message below, I want to let you know that I’ll most likely continue to help Publisher David Brewster during this transition period, but on a contract basis, as needed…While it’s certainly sad to see an awesome staff disband for a time, Iwant to echo Chuck’s sentiments on what this means for Crosscut’s future. Crosscut seems best suited to the non-profit model, given our mission to promote public service journalism, especially as it is created by a diverse group of contributors, comprised both of professionals and citizen journalists. There are a few models for this non-profit journalism mash-up, from the obvious (NPR) to the staid (PBS) to the new and exciting (ProPublica, MinnPost). It’s no magic bullet, especially now, when the ailing economy would seem to put a damper on giving (though that’s not necessarily the case). But it could be the model that saves investigative journalism and provides a non-partisan platform for civic discussion. Selfishly, perhaps, I hope so.”