The family of one of my classmates from junior year in high school (in San Diego) was family friends with Higley. His mother grew up with her in San Diego.
As for this news, all I can say is I hope the writing improves, but we still have months to go before we can really see if it does. Even if Griffith was only responsible for August to December, those months were still very gloomy and dark. Of course, the beginning of this year hasn't been much better, and in fact, might be worse. I'd imagine that the actors might be getting a bit fed up--so many of them are barely on, as DOOL has become the Hope & Rafe Hour, or if not them, Belle & Philip featuring Ava, Kayla, and Patch.