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County Commissioner Skip Alston continues to talk to area newspapers -- newspapers that don't contact us for comment on his criticism, by the way -- about how we've done him wrong in our reports about St. James Homes.

Skip is trying to make our coverage of the conditions of the complex he manages personal. It's not personal. Writing about structural problems with housing that is subsidized by tax money is fair coverage, as is writing about housing conditions that could well be considered unhealthy. Anecdotes we've published and anecdotes in The Carolina Peacemaker's story speak for themselves. Skip acknowledges St. James has problems, which is why he's trying to find the money for a $1.4 million renovation program.

Fixing the housing is really the point. It's not about Skip.

Skip says he has a letter in which a tenant claims never to have talked with our reporter, columnist Lorraine Ahearn. The fact is that Lorraine interviewed the tenant with housing advocate Brenda Cogdell present. Then, after Skip said he had a letter, Lorraine went back to the tenant who told her that she never wrote or signed such a letter.

I wasn't present at any of the conversations that Skip says he had with editors here back in the early 90's so I can't say if his version of those conversations is accurate. They sure don't sound like anything the editorial board would have said. His comments about editorial page editor Allen Johnson are insulting and wrong-headed.

And personal. And fixing St. James isn't personal.

We've been in a technology stall for the last several weeks. We're trying to fix things on the site and continue to move pages with the old sytem to the new one. Lots of pages, limited programmers and designers. So we've not introduced many new features, additional citizen journalism efforts or extensions of our journalism. Mucho frustration on our end.

But we're making progress. We're going to introduce limited site registration soon. By limited I mean that if you want to interact with the site -- post comments, enter contests, manage your newspaper account -- you'll need to register. You'll only need to do it once and the system will remember you. Reading stories and surfing the site will remain open.

Soon after that, we're going to enable comments on some local stories.

Based on other posts, I know what some of you think of registration. I share some of the concerns. As a result, registration won't be onerous, half a dozen questions or so. We want information about who uses the site so that we can sell advertising more effectively. No spam. We also want working e-mail addresses for those people who comment on the site so that we can raise the bar on comment accountability.

After that, we're going to build the town square more aggressively, with more blogs, more audio, more video and more citizen journalism.

The shakeout has begun and it will only intensify as the pressure and tension rises. Staff reductions and buyouts at The New York Times, Philly papers, St. Louis and San Jose. Discussion about the sale and breakup of one of the historically great newspaper chains, Knight Ridder. Stagnant circulation numbers. Resignation of good editors who just can't take it any longer.

The challenge, which has been much of our focus this year, is to change, to innovate and to extend our journalism well beyond newsprint. A year ago, I wrote about creating a place where people could come for information, where they could engage with us and each other, where they could make good things happen for themselves and for the community. Our progress has been slower than I'd like, but it's been steady and we're moving forward.

From a Columbia Journalism Review editorial:

Take a look at the front page of your newspaper today. How many stories are on events that the average reader has already heard something about? The Metro section, is it riveting and creative? Or incremental and cramped? Does the paper have strong voices? Does it provide the kind of context that cuts through the fog of information? Does it have any fun? Does the photography speak volumes? Does the Web site offer more than digital newsprint? Can a reader get into the conversation? Do you want to read this newspaper?

We can't answer all those questions the way we want yet. And they aren't as easy to answer as some would suggest. (What's riveting for one is boring for another. What's old news for a computer user is new news for someone who is not as wired in. Emphasizing local news has been interpreted as "dumbing down" the paper by those who want us to repeat what's on the network news.)

The appointees to the Greensboro Truth and Reconciliation Commission likely knew a political hot potato would land in their laps when they agreed to serve.

But it has turned out to be more like they've sailed into a perfect storm.

The tensions of race, class and institutional bias have collided with flawed memories and imperfect history. Mix in leaders who only want to look ahead with those who believe we must understand the past first and you have tsunami conditions.

The commission has spent the fall reviewing testimony and documents on the causes and effects of the events of Nov. 3, 1979, when five communist labor organizers were shot and killed in a televised confrontation with KKK and neo-Nazi members.

I spent the weekend in Wilson and had to make do with an early edition of the Sunday News & Observer. (Sorry, Melanie. I couldn't resist.) I came across a small story on page 8C reporting that Greensboro Page beat Raleigh Broughton in the state 4A tennis championship, and an even smaller story about Jamestown Ragsdale winning the state 3A tennis championship.

"I hope we gave these finals more ink," I said to myself.

We did. A package of photos, results and high school football pairings took up about half the front page of the Sports section. Inside the section was a full page of information about the high school competition. (The N&O devoted nearly a full page to the championships.)

For the record, our Sports front had stories on the N.C. State football game, an advance column on the Panthers game and a NASCAR story. It's a little difficult to compare because the Raleigh paper has two front pages in its Sports section. The first focuses solely on college football, where the N.C. State game story is. The second "front" page -- actually page 5 -- is built around a large photo of celebrating members of the Carolina Hurricane. Other stories on the page include a piece the state high school cross country championships, an advance of the Panthers game and a article piece on the Charlotte Bobcats.

Different market. Different sports. Different priorities.

The latest circulation reports from newspapers around the country are what we'd consider bad news. The headline is that average circulation for 789 daily newspapers fell 2.6 percent during the six months ending in September, compared with the same period a year ago. Sunday circulation fell more, at 3.1 percent. Eighteen of the largest 20 newspapers in the nation experienced circulation declines.

The News & Record's numbers aren't as bad, but we still dipped. Our circulation slipped 0.56 percent daily and 1.27 percent Sunday. So, with a bit of sheepishness, I acknowledge that while I wish we had continued growing, I'm glad we didn't drop as fast or as far as so many other papers.

As I've said in many posts here, our challenge is clear: We must produce a newspaper that is smart and compelling and filled with strong voices. And we must get citizens the information they need in the manner they want wherever they are.

Other suggestions?

We published a story today about a man charged in the rapes of women in Winston-Salem and Greensboro, and now in High Point. Officials say he is an illegal immigrant and that he had been deported twice already.

We don't normally ask about a suspect's immigration status but, in this case, it is relevant to the story.

Janet Brindle Reddick, our assignment editor, picks up the in-house discussion:

"It got several of us talking -– should immigration status be a part of our daily crime reporting? We have boilerplate questions that we ask in violent crimes, car crashes, etc. For example with automobile accidents, we always ask: Were they wearing seat belts? Was alcohol involved? Should a person's citizenship be added to that list as it pertains to crime?

"There are several ethical questions here. We don't want to imply that all illegal immigrants would be involved in a crime (other than the immigration violation.) We don't want to unfairly target any racial or ethnic groups, so we'd have to ask in all violent crimes. Is it even relevant?

"In this case, we decided it was a story we should run -– the man had been deported twice. But what about in other cases?"

Given the multi-nationality of the Triad population, it's a relevant question. I'd be interested in your thoughts.

Shannon Jordan, who has been part our High Point operation for six years, has accepted a job as a party planner for the Hilton in Wilmington.

Now that's what I'm talking about.

Shannon has been the morale officer of the High Point operation, although her real job was as a jack-of-all-trades editorial assistant. We hired her as a typist and she turned into a reporter and journalist. Her growth and contribution were exhilarating to watch, and we'll miss her.

Fire burn and cauldron bubble.

In case other people have similar concerns....

The reader e-mail:

I noticed that your Katie Reetz is asking for readers to send in spells. (Page 1, Section D, 9 November)

Perhaps this is part of an effort to embrace all possible forms of being, including witchcraft. Perhaps it's thought that equal time should be afforded to everything, including evil. After all, the current pseudo-intellectual fad, "diversity," ultimately means not merely tolerating, but embracing opposing "cultures." So if you're a good Christian, you should embrace evil, or so the theory goes.

I imagine you'll file this letter under "right-wing, fundamentalist," but you'd be quite wrong. I'm a highly educated liberal, not unlike many members of your staff. But I also understand that there is right and wrong--and that treating spells, charms, and incantations as the harmless theme for a contest is evil.

Is it necessary for you to introduce witchcraft, however rhetorically presented (via the "Harry Potter" books), into our daily paper? How far are you willing to go in pursuit of multiculturalism? Don't you have any idea at all of your demographic?

The reply, from features editor Susan Ladd:

On Sept. 12, 2001, the front page of the San Francisco Examiner featured a photograph of the Twin Towers on fire with the headline "BASTARDS!" Then copy desk chief Steve Allen and I admired the bold word choice exhibited by the paper. At the same time, I told him that while that headline writer's sentiment may have been shared by many of our readers, we wouldn't have used that word. Some readers prefer that curse words not be in bold, capital letters across the front page of the paper, no matter what the story.

Go figure.

Still, Steve threatened to use that headline many times since whenever we had a story that needed a dramatic pop.

Now a page designer for the News & Observer, he just sent me a copy of his new favorite front page headline. I have no idea if it's a legitimate page. (But it sounds like San Francisco.)

Take a look.

This is not the golden age of newspapers.

The New York Times, the Philadelphia Inquirer, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the Baltimore Sun and the San Jose Mercury News have all announced staff reductions and buyouts. Major stockholders of the Knight Ridder, a distinguished newspaper chain that includes the Charlotte Observer, have called for the sale of the company.

Newspapers have found themselves in the middle of ethics scandals -- Jayson Blair -- and political scandals -- Judith Miller.

Circulation figures for the 18 of the top largest 20 newspapers in the country declined over the past six months. Across the nation, average weekday circulation fell 2.6 percent in the same period. (In a ray of "good" news, the News & Record's weekday circulation didn't do as poorly; it only dropped 0.56 percent.)

No, it's not anywhere close to the golden age of newspapers.

But it could be the dawning of a golden age of journalism.

Staff writer Robert Bell spent the fall with the Page High School Pirates football team. His excellent seven-part series starts today.

The Grimsley-graduate who also happens to be my wife was the first to ask me the question I suspect we'll get throughout the week: Why Page? "Do you think you'll get any readers other than Page people?"

Actually, while the series is specifically about Page football, but its messages are universal: the intense world of high school sports, the evolving culture of kids and adults, the impossible dreams of high school players and the fragile relationship of coaches and winning records.

A tall order. But still, why Page, particularly when several local teams -- including Dudley and Grimsley -- are vying for state championships. I asked Robert:

"We were looking for a team that would face some adversity and would not run over their opponents every week. Then we looked for a coach who would give us good access to his players and his staff. For what it's worth, at least four schools turned us down."

Page actually turned out to be an appropriate choice, although we couldn't know it as we made the selection last summer before the season started. The team has a glorious history on the field, it improved its record this year, and players and coaches learned some lessons along the way.

Of course, Grimsley and Dudley can anticipate reading stories about their football teams on Saturday as their teams move further into the playoffs. Page will have to "get 'em next year."

This never happens.

I was on a media panel at the Airport Marriott tonight. After we all did our thing and I was leaving, a woman stops me, introduces herself, and says: "I used to live in England and Sudoku is big over there. Is the News & Record considering adding it? It would be a great draw."

You don't know how much pleasure it gave me to tell her this.

Me, I don't have the patience to work through it. But there are some helpful sites out there.

With all the suggestions on the post about our newspaper circulation numbers, I'm surprised no one has suggested this sure-fire method to increase readership.

The Thanksgiving Day paper will weigh more than five pounds. (The typical Thursday paper is closer to one pound. A typical Sunday paper is three pounds, give or take half a pound.)

Naturally, the size of the paper is driven by all the Black Friday sales ads. Some city editions of the paper will have 61 inserts -- advertising circulars -- which is a record for us.

So if carrying the paper into the house doesn't throw your back out, get out there and shop next Friday. (I'll be happy to give you my Christmas list.)

Update: I also encourage you to support your carrier. If someone has a route with 200 papers on it, that's 1,000 pounds of newsprint they're lugging around while some of us are sleeping in on the holiday.

At a recent speaking engagement, a member of the audience asked me what I read that is shaping my thinking on the future. When I responded with my usual list, she persisted.

"But what specifically has guided you?" she asked.

My memory doesn't work that way -- that's why I carry a notepad -- so other than a few of the obvious ones from Dan Gillmor such as "My readers know more than I do" and transform news "from a lecture to a conversation," I wasn't helpful.

But I thought about her question after I returned home and did a little research to produce these. It's an incomplete list, and so much of what I learned lies in the whole posts of these folks and others -- I can't believe I don't have Ed here -- but still....

*********

OK, OK. Grimsley, Dudley, High Point Central, Southeast Guilford, Ragsdale, Northeast Guilford, Eastern Alamance, Western Alamance, Southern Guilford, Reidsville and Thomasville all have football playoff games tonight.

But until then, you should watch the multi-media slide show based on our series on the Page football season.

Credit to Jerry Wolford, Robert Bell, Rob Brown, Kevin Lockamy, Herb Everett and Michael Fuchs.

You can also listen to Bell, Wolford, Page Coach Bob Via and some of the Page Pirates talk about the season and the series on The Beat.

Doug Fisher of Common Sense Journalism and a teacher at the University of South Carolina posts a note from a friend under the headline, "What we should teach in J-school."

Naturally, I like this one: Learn to say: "Yes boss. What can I do for you?" Then do it, unless banned by the Geneva Convention. It takes less time than fighting and then you can get back to your real job. Try not to insult anyone with the BS you put into it.

But the last one is probably the best piece of advice that I've seen ignored most often.

Photographer Jerry Wolford, who is also one of our leaders in shooting and developing multi-media projects, has just been named one of four "Outstanding Alumni" of Randolph Community College today.

Go figure. We know that Jerry is outstanding, but we're pretty quirky. That's why he fits in so well.

From the news release: The College's Outstanding Alumni awards, now in their second year, recognize RCC grads for accomplishments in their professional field or for extraordinary service to RCC, humanity, their community, state, and/or nation.

Wolford graduated from Randolph Tech in 1986 with an associate degree in Photographic Technology with a concentration in photojournalism. He's been on our staff since 1987 and has won a gazillion photo awards, including Photographer of the Year in North Carolina.

Congratulations, Jerry.

Daniel Conover has an excellent "online reading list for old and new media." I've mentioned my own, but his is better.

"Why don't you guys just admit that you're against the war? That's all you ever print."

Good morning. That was my first call of the day yesterday. As I write his words now he sounds angry, but he wasn't. He was courteous and pleasant.

"Seriously," he said. "There are millions of Americans -- and most of your readers -- who support what we're doing in Iraq and support the president. By publishing this, you're just thumbing your nose at them."

On A2 yesterday -- A1 was all local -- we published an AP article on Rep. John Murtha's call for an immediate U.S. withdrawal from Iraq. Next to it, we published a Knight Ridder story out of Bedford, Va., that attempted to put some real people's voices behind what the article describes as "a reflection of the growing national uneasiness" with the war. Elsewhere, we also published an AP story about a Pew Research Center report that said that more and more Americans think the United States should mind its own business internationally.

"You know, that guy who wrote the letter to the editorthe other day had the right idea. If we want to get any positive news about what's happening in Iraq, we have to write it ourselves."

Nevermind that that letter was copied-and-pasted from the Internet.

John Batchelor, our restaurant reviewer extraordinaire and a destination columnist, is scheduled to appear on The Good Morning Show tomorrow morning. No idea what time between 5 a.m. and 8 a.m.

I use the word "appear" lightly. The interview was taped, but John is incognito thanks to the lighting. John prefers anonymity so that he doesn't get special treatment when he visits restaurants for his reviews. (I wouldn't know him if he walked past me on the street.)

Anyway, he's apparently been selected as part of a "cool jobs" segment. Reviewing restaurants is certainly a cool job, but it's not how he makes a living. But I don't suppose that matters on TV.

Monday update: The "cool jobs" segment ran this morning. John was excellent for his 30 seconds of fame. Oddly -- at least oddly to this journalist -- they neglected to say who Batchelor reviewed restaurants for. He was simply described as a "restaurant critic." The other "cool jobs?" Personal shopper and, surprise, surprise, a Good Morning Show news anchor!!!

The average new teacher today makes just under $30,000 a year, which may not look too bad for a twentysomething with no mortgage and no kids. But soon enough the newbies realize that they can make more money and not work anywhere near as hard elsewhere. After a lifetime of hearing the old legends about cushy hours and summer vacations, they figure out that early mornings are for students who need extra help, evenings are for test corrections and lesson plans, and weekends and summers are for second and even third jobs to try to pay the bills.

According to the Department of Education, one in every five teachers leaves after the first year, and almost twice as many leave within three. If any business had that rate of turnover, someone would do something smart and strategic to fix it. This isn't any business. It's the most important business around, the gardeners of the landscape of the human race.

That comes from Anna Quindlen in Newsweek. It describes me 30 years ago as a first-year teacher in Salisbury. Two differences: I made $8,000 a year and I left to make less money and work just about as hard. I got $6,500 for my first reporter's job, and at one point that first year figured that I was making about $2 per hour. Weirder still, I loved it.

That decision to leave teaching and enter journalism is one of my personal Thanksgivings. I wasn't a good teacher and wasn't serving the 125 or so students in my classes. Anna's thesis is right: teaching is our most important profession and least valued. I wasn't cut out for it, but many, many special, selfless, life-altering people are. We don't pay them enough.

We've hired Carla Kucinski as the new Go Triad editor. Carla is a staff writer at the Gannett alt weekly Noise in Lansing, Mich. She helped start the pub in 2002 and has developed a number of the magazine's regular features. Once she's on her feet here, she's going to freshen the magazine and help rebuild the Web site. Our features editor, Susan Ladd, says "She brings great ideas, passion and enthusiasm...kind of like the guy who started Go Triad."

Speaking of that guy, Jeri Rowe, he's not going anywhere. He is ready for a change -- Go Triad is a big, tough job -- and we're going to give him some new challenges. (Not sure what they are yet, so don't ask.) In the meantime, though, he's going to help Carla learn the ropes....and the night life.

I don't know what the station would do if the paper didn't come every morning.

A newsreader on one of the local television stations said that during a panel discussion a few years ago. (She knew I was there; I was sitting next to her on the dais.) It has stayed with me because it confirms what every newspaper journalist has believed for years -- that local television use the local newspaper as a major source for their news broadcasts. (And I would add local radio, too.)

Local bloggers, welcome to our world. You can do something about it, too, if you want. You just have to be persistent and an annoying thorn in their side. I can tell you, we haven't been.

I wonder if we'll get letters about this story from those who perceive we have an anti-Bush bias.

Christy Seals is an editor who works at night on our copy desk. She's better known outside our walls as half of the blogging pair at Ryan and Christy's Place. They started the blog a year ago when Ryan was shipped to Iraq. It was a way to communicate with each other, families and friends. It was a place to share their hopes and fears. It became much more. It became a journal they call "A Love Story a Half a World Away."

Read excerpts in the Life section tomorrow. Bring tissues.

News and notes from the newspaper world:

It has been a while since a story has evoked the reaction and disagreement that our series on Page High School football has.

Grimsley High School students and parents wondered where the coverage of their playoff team was. (Two of those live in my house.) Some Page football parents didn’t like the depiction of the team or their sons.

Others reacted with action. When U.S. Rep. Howard Coble read that Page Coach Bob Via lugged the players' wet uniforms to the laundromat after every practice because the school’s dryer was on the fritz, he offered to have it repaired. (It had already been fixed.) Another anonymous donor offered to sponsor Christmas for one of the players and his family.

Most readers, I hope, understood that while the series was specifically about Page football, its messages were universal: the intense world of high school sports, the evolving culture of kids and adults, the impossible dreams of high school players and the fragile relationship of coaches and winning records.

Steve Rubel points to Scott Adams' Dilbert blog and an interesting open source experiment. Adams is searching for a line of dialogue for Dilbert and he asks his readers for help yesterday. Sixty-five minutes later, he gets what he needs.

We haven't pursued the open source avenue very often. When we have it's been met with mixed success. Do we ask the wrong questions on the wrong issues? Are we too inconsistent in our requests for help? Not enough visitors to the blogs to get much response?

Can you give us some guidance? We want to do more of it because it has such potential to improve our work.

I talked with Gina Katzmark, news director of WFMY, today about the similarities between our list of restaurants open for Thanksgiving and the list on their Web site. (Here's a clue as to the outcome of her investigation: their list has been taken down.)

Yes, a college student working on the station's Web site, saw our list in the paper. No, he didn't simply copy our list and put it on their site. He called the restaurants to confirm they were going to be open. That's good; he was verifying. But then, yes, he did use our exact wording on the listings. Yes, she was appropriately apologetic.

No, I didn't talk with her about Sandy Carmany's posts.

She and I agreed to meet face to face next month with the goal to stop the regular recurrence of such posts. Her predecessor and I routinely talked about what I believe were our stories appearing on their site. He told me that the part-timers and interns who worked on the site didn't know copyright law or journalism standards and practices. Every six months or so, I'd complain and it would turn out that they had hired some new people. The process would start over again.

Looks like the same thing has happened.

This story by Allison Perkins about the meeting between President Bush and the father of Lance Cpl. Andrew Russoli, who was killed in Iraq, has evoked some reaction. I thought it might.

Two e-mails from two men. One is positive, the other is skeptical. Stick around for the explanation.

My deepest appreciation for an article that depicts our president as a human being. That one article is worth the price of the year's subscription. I hope that you will continue to show both sides of the man prominently, but in any case, thanks again for this one.

The second:

I was quite impressed with your lead story on front page today. I also found some compelling omissions and peculiar coincidences, and wondered if you could shed any light on them.

I don't normally participate in surveys like this because I have better things to do with my time. However, you may not! :) No, seriously, this could be fun.

The Associated Press polls its members each year to rank the top stories of the year. The AP wants me to send in my selections for the top 10 stories. The AP has even sent along a helpful list to consider if we can't come up with them on our own.

Please, please, please help me decide.

Here are the suggestions. They aren't in order of preference. I numbered them so that you could vote more easily. Drop your choices in the comments! You may influence the ranking, which will be published in papers across the nation the week before Christmas.

Denise Becker, assistant editor in High Point, is leaving us to become the assistant business editor at the Austin American-Statesman (www.statesman.com). It's a great opportunity for Denise, who came to us in August 1999.

You may remember her incisive coverage of the Las Vegas furniture market. She was on it from the beginning, weathering some intense pressure from High Point leaders who thought we were giving comfort to the enemy by telling readers here about it. She also won a state press award for her work on the burgeoning furniture industry in China.

We will miss her.

In other staff news, Margaret Banks heard from former City Hall reporter Matt Williams, who has joined the Air Force Reserve. He's at Maxwell Air Force Base in Alabama. He reports that he is growing accustomed to getting yelled at. (Obviously, I should have done it more.)

He also said that 9 a.m. no longer seems too early to start work. "Try 5:15 a.m. to 11 p.m."

For a few weeks now, we've been asking readers whether they prefer to get their advice from Ask Amy or Annie's Mailbox.

Here's an update from features editor Susan Ladd:

"So far, 253 people have called or e-mailed a vote on whether we keep Annie's Mailbox or replace it with Ask Amy. The test period for Ask Amy continues through Dec. 25. The poll has produced some interesting comments. While most people have thanked us for letting them weigh in, a few have doubted whether we'll really make the decision based on the reader vote.

"We will. That's why we asked. A few readers have also said they're sure this is all about money, and we're just trying to find something cheaper to put in the paper. Trust me, it's not about money. I have to admit (and my boss may be somewhat chagrined to hear it) that I haven't even checked to see if there's a price difference. Generally, these types of syndicated features are comparable in cost.

"We did this to see if you're happy with the content we're offering. Space is a precious commodity, and we want make good choices about how we use it. There's still time to vote, so let us know what you think."

I'm not chagrined. (No, I didn't have to look the word up in the dictionary, either.) Money's not the issue here. Getting the best advice column is. If it is easier for you, leave your vote here. I'll make sure Susan gets them.

I echo Calvin Williams Jr.: Guilford County commissioner Bruce Davis should actually make something of his blog. Greensboro City Council member Sandy Carmany and Register of Deeds Jeff Thigpen have blazed a trail, and there's no turning back.

In January, when council members Tom Phillips and Yvonne Johnson had blogs, I wrote this: "My hope is that, as public servants, they embrace the potential before them, and they use their blogs to further the principles of democracy, and develop the sites as places to give and get information and knowledge. What a wonderful way, for instance, to illuminate the council's thinking on a contentious issue or perhaps reveal some of the civic conversation that takes place behind closed doors.

"I also hope that they realize a site's potential to inform their own positions... Imagine, for example, asking citizens via a blog what they think of another strip shopping center north of Pisgah Church Road, what they think of the city subsidizing the hockey team, what they think of paying incentives to attract a private company. The possibilities are endless."

"Joe Trippi, in his book "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised," has some advice for politicians and institutions (like, say, a newspaper). They include: Tell the truth. Keep up a daily dialogue with your constituents. Build a community. Get people involved. Cede control."

Unfortunately, both of them have ceased blogging. (Johnson, like Davis so far, never really got her blog off the ground.)

Given the contentious reputation of the county commissioners, the mind races at the impact the chairman could have. Truth, dialogue, building community. None of those descriptions fit my perception of how the county board operates. What if the chairman started blogging with that kind of openness and transparency?

It's within your grasp, Mr. Davis. Please seize it.

By the way, Calvin, it's great to have your voice in Greensboro.