Members of the Poinsettia Heights Civic Association recently announced that the February edition of its monthly neighborhood newsletter will be its last, following a trend for many neighborhood publications that are struggling for revenue.

And the reason, association president Mike Vonder Meulen said, is simple: tough economic times.

“We just don’t have enough advertising to cover the cost of publication,” Vonder Meulen said.

The newsletter, which Vonder Meulen used to edit himself, circulated 400 copies by mail and consisted of articles about the neighborhood.

One alternative, Vonder Meulen said, is an online newsletter or an “e-letter.” The neighborhood association already has a Web site that is still in the process of getting a makeover.

“There are people who simply do not want their e-mail addresses published," he said. "But anyone who wants to receive the newsletter could sign up for an e-mail ‘blast’ from us [instead].”