News-Record.com

Hello and welcome to Capital Beat, the News & Record's latest blog.

My name is Mark Binker, the paper's state government reporter. I've been with the News & Record for about five years but have just started on this beat about a month ago. My prior beats have included the Guilford County, Greensboro and High Point governments as well as the furniture industry. And some of you may know me from my work over at Inside Scoop.

So about the name. . . we could have gone with one of two spellings: Capitol or Capital. And I can already hear some folks out there warming up to ask me what kind of ignoramous I am to spell it with an A?

After all, Capitol is generally used to connote "A building or complex of buildings in which a state legislature meets," according to my American Heritage College dictionary. That's actually why we shied away.

This blog is going to be - I hope - about more than the legislature. We're going to try to keep an eye on all the various doings of the state government here, including the Governor and his executive agencies. And more than that, I aim to help you understand how the doings here in Cap City affect you at home there in the Triad.

It's with that more expansive mission that we went with Capital, "a town or city that is the official seat of government."

Don't get me wrong, I hope to provide plenty of stuff to keep your inner policy wonk well fed. But my reporting emphasis is on how things in Raleigh affect everyday folks in the Triad, so that bias is bound to show up here.

For now, let me say thank you for dropping by. The site is still a bit sparse, something we hope to rectify shortly with some useful links and other decorations. And if there's something you'd like to see here, drop me a line either in the comments below or through my e-mail: mbinker@news-record.com