The Lost River thing is certainly a big rumor at the moment, as are some other things. We'll see what happens with that later in 2019. I presume there will be walls up in August if that pans out.
As for crafters, they probably have to get more nuanced with them due to declining quantity and quality of actual crafters. People don't necessarily want to park it at SDC for a month or more anymore. Focusing on bigger names on a weekly basis may be a good strategy. Gives them more spotlight.