Back in Happy Valley

An uphill fight

Happy to be back in Happy Valley after quite a bit of newspaper board business, both state and national.

My journey ended in Harrisburg for state business and the Legislative Affairs Conference sponsored by the Pennsylvania Newspaper Association.

Today's final sessions featured state Senate and House leaders sharing their priorities and their realities, and I listened closely for what I hear from readers.

Sorry to tell you, but what you want doesn't appear on too many radar screens in Harrisburg.

Redistricting reform? Not this year. Senate leaders see no reason for it.

A smoking ban? Maybe, if the House and Senate can work out their differences. But nobody's betting on it.

Tolls on Interstate 80? What's the problem, they say.

I could go on, but it's clear there is a disconnect between communities and Harrisburg. That may not be headline news, since it's been that way for awhile, but it must be noted again.

The best idea I heard all day was by Sen. Michael O'Pake, the Senate Dem leader, who wants to replace property taxes with a graduated income tax. You earn more, you pay more to fund our schools, and you address education inequality at the same time.

Sounds simple? But don't worry, it's going nowhere.

What likely will happen is some kind of tax relief for senor citizens. Noble and needed perhaps, but this is an election year and seniors vote. Legislators understand that.

All in all, it's wonderful to be Back in Happy Valley. A couple days in Harrisburg is enough anymore. I spent 18 years there, somehow, and some of the issues listed here were issues then too.

Open records reform

Bravo to the state Senate for approving a progressive open-records overhaul today.

It's historic, and it's now up to the state House to approve it and the governor to sign it into law.

News of the Senate passage came during our Pennsylvania Society of Newspaper Editors Meeting today, and it was welcome.

I'm especially proud of the Pennsylvania Newspaper Association staffers who've worked so hard on this, and I'm very pleased it's happening in my year as president of the PSNE.

Thanks to legislators who pushed this through. We all will benefit if it becomes law.

Sunshine in State College

The state's Sunshine Law is written for citizens to know what's happening in their communities.

There are many flaws in it and we all hope for a stronger open-records law, but the Sunshine Law can work and today the writing on the wall should be clear for the State College Area school board.

Open the candidate selection process fully. Or violate the state law.

You'd think the board would get this kind of legal advice and wouldn't have to read it in the paper and here online, where it will be seen by tens of thousands.

Sunshine should come to State College, even on the gray days.

Openness preferred

I can't be in the minority in State College in thinking that this entire school board filling vacancy process should be fully open.

Why not?

After what we've been through, with the controversy over the $100 million plan and the criticism of the previous board's ways, you'd think this board would sign onto a fully open process.

But no. Read it for yourself.

Memo to the State College Area school board: The winner will be in the public eye, just like you. The candidates should have a chance to get used to it.

Affordable housing in focus

My Sunday column hit on the continuing need for affordable housing in the Centre Region, and took readers back to last January when we intensified the call.

Two great developments this January were highlighted in the column, and I'll do that again and again.

I get reaction after writing about this issue every time, and again today I got a note from a reader who doesn't understand this. Why do I want more housing for Penn State alumni to scoop up? That's what he wonders.

The housing is needed for our workers. Call it work force housing. They need to have opportunities to live where they work, and I'll continue to push for that.

Penn State alums? Welcome to them too. But we need housing for locals first.

History is made: 500,000 and counting

Sometime Saturday, no doubt while I was on the train to New York, the 500,000th unique visitor in January stopped at CentreDaily.com.

That's historic, folks. We've never been at this level.

Monthly unique visitors averaged 400,000 in 2007, and October's 458,000 or something like that was the previous record.

Not anymore. That's a lot of eyeballs on Centre County news and sports.

I'll write about this next Sunday, so non-blog readers know about this milestone.

In the meantime, you have a blog scoop, and really it's all because of you.

Thon in NY

Leaving Penn Station today, after a nice train ride, I saw Penn Staters collecting for Thon.

People were everywhere, as is the case in New York, but you should know Thon is alive and well here.

People were collecting for everything, it seemed, but what could be better than Thon.

Nice job, students.

If I see you again I'll stop.

Help write our story

The Centre County story begins Sunday with a dynamic beginning. The rest, just like the past three years, is up to you.

This is one of our favorite reader submission features, because you do it all. It's unique among newspapers but it's proven to be a favorite right here.

Look for the introduction and our guidelines in the Centre Living section on Sunday. Web readers will find it online by Monday, for sure, and all are eligible to write the chapters.

Good luck writers. And I hope everyone enjoys this.

I'll be out of the office for a few days on APME and then PSNE business. So Web readers, I'll join you in following the news.

I'm likely to post here and there, so stay tuned and perhaps try some of our new blogs.

Bono speaks up

What would we do without Bono, contributing to the incredible music of U2 and raising awareness of needs in this world of ours.

He's at it again on the second front, speaking at the World Economic Forum in Switzerland.

Here's some of what he said today:

"This is the moment when our generation gets to draw a line in the sand - or snow. Where other generations put a man on the moon, we can't put every kid in school. ... Where other generations fought fascism and injustice and prevailed, we fail in our fight against the (malaria-carrying) anopheles mosquito, which kills 3,000 children a day."

That should be beautiful music, just like U2's "One."

But is anyone listening?

No local events

A letter writer today blasted us for running the great wild mustang feature on Monday's front page and ignoring local Martin Luther King birthday events.

We get blasted every day for something, and I like to let letter writers have their say.

However, I'd like to point out that there were no local King events on Sunday to feature on Monday. None.

The local events took place on other days, and particularly on Monday and Tuesday. They ran prominently in the paper the next day, you might recall.

I know it's much, much easier to criticize than to do anything else. However, I would hope that facts would enter into the argument.

And I'm left to wonder if this reader, like some others, doesn't realize that the printed newspaper includes news from the previous day. Some readers think it should -- it really should -- include what is happening that very minute.

Of course we've made strides to offer breaking news -- online, where we have 30,000 to 35,000 or more unique visitors every day.

Taxes and legal fees

Back when the State College high school renovation/expansion plan carried a $100 million price tag and the debate was raging, I suggested an open meeting for everyone and even mentioned the Grange Fair as a location.

At a time when public comments were limited to late night board meetings, letters to the editor and e-mail blasts, it seemed that everyone could offer their views and debate it in a big group.

We didn't get that but we did get an election, which took care of things.

That brings me to this continuing legal matter with Penn State over taxes, and what the university should be paying. We're using county tax money for that, and of course university money is in play too.

We hear conflicting stories from each side on who previously met about this, and now a county judge says the four Centre Region municipalities with an interest must sign on to the lawsuit as parties for it to continue.

Tough choice, and more tax money going to this if they decide to keep fighting.

Penn State representatives say they'll talk, and so do county officials, so why not an open public meeting for all interested -- university officials, county officials, the municipal officials who are on the hot seat now, and the public. Yes, the public. What do they think?

How about an open meeting to air it all and become neighbors again? It might lead to a settlement and it could do wonders for town and gown relations. And, importantly, it would cut down on legal fees, for sure.

How about it? The Bryce Jordan Center would be a great location, a few hours before a Penn State basketball game. The participants would stay for the hoops action afterward, adding to the crowd and perhaps using some of their pent-up energy to cheer on a team that needs support.

What do you think? Is it time to really talk about this -- in public?

Intensity would help

It must be a downer for Penn State to come home to crowds like Wednesday night's, after playing to full houses on the road.

Human nature says so, so we'll give the team a break on that one.

But the Nittany Lions have to show some intensity to compete in the Big Ten, and it wasn't evident Wednesday night against Purdue.

The high level of play, the enthusiasm shown at Indiana was absent, and so were the points. It's no wonder the Bryce Jordan Center crowd stayed away.

We're into the ugly stretch of the Big Ten season, and Penn State without Geary Claxton is looking at tough road, home or away.

They better get the intensity back in Iowa and keep it. They'll need it to draw any fans but the die-hards, not to mention to win a game or two.

Five years and counting

I have to acknowledge five years in this great job, and what better place to do it than this blog.

Last year I wrote a column on four years, comparing it to my time as an undergrad at Penn State.

No need for a column this year, just a simple post. There are other topics for columns, sometimes too many here in Happy Valley.

We have a very talented staff here and I'm appreciate it. We juggle a lot and collectively do the best we can, with the printed products and this bustling Web site.

I expect to have pretty good news at the end of the month, announcing record readership for us. Stay tuned, and thanks for reading.

Bravo on stadium concert

Been busy today, but let me offer a bravo to Penn State for allowing a Beaver Stadium concert. A real concert.

Penn State didn't have much say about the Fergie appearance, but news of it has been lighting up the Internet today.

For some reason people had to e-mail me asking what Joe Paterno thinks. How could he allow this, readers asked?

Good question. Wonder if we'll find out.

I'm all for Beaver Stadium concerts and other events. Bring them on.

Perhaps we can get the big acts here. Now, wonder when U2 will tour again?

Political junkies unite

Anyone who knows me knows I'm somewhat of a political junkie. You can't work in Harrisburg for 18 years without being one, whether you admit it or not.

I wrote about this on Sunday and I'll link the column here, although you online readers probably know my key point. That's just telling everyone about our Decision 2008 page online, where you can get all of the campaign news that we get, updated at all hours.

Make it your political stop. I do.

Two special columns

I just want to highlight two very special columns that appeared on our Centre Living section cover on Sunday. 

Web readers shouldn't miss them, so here they are:

Patty Kleban's tribute to Bonna Elfant is special indeed, and we all learned about Bonna's contributions to her community. As I told Patty when I first read her monthly column, I wish I would have met Bonna.

The other column is Debbie Patrick's monthly column from kindergarten, called "Notes from a teacher." This week she shared the kids' New Years "revolutions." This column is a monthly "scream" for me, considering that my niece is in first grade and has a lot to tell me.

Enjoy these and all of our columns, and I'll try to do a better job in highlighting them for Web readers.

A teen fights back

This powerful story and related video -- found in Sunday reading -- will stop you in your tracks, and should be required reading for young and old alike.

A talented suburban Philly teen tried to take his own life and now is battling back, showing how precious life really is.

Here's a link to the package of superb journalism. You're left to only hope that he'll recover and contribute what he no doubt can.

A call for REAL reform

I enjoy meeting with readers, and recently I met with four members of the League of Women Voters of Centre County to talk about the need for redistricting reform.

They have an event planned for March 27 to dig into this issue, and they want to get as much public awareness and participation as possible.

I admire their efforts and I support them. The need is great for REAL redistricting reform in Pennsylvania, and the deadline comes this year for the legislature to act. It's time to strip this issue of the politics that drives it, and it's time to take the decision-making regarding voting districts out of the hands of political leaders.

I'm encouraged by the interest for REAL reform here in Centre County, and I hope it's matched around the state. The only way the legislature will really address this is if the voters make sure they know it's important and they're watching.

Will it be the same old, same old in Pennsylvania again this time? Or will they really work for REAL redistricting reform.

I hope you learn about this issue through Mike Joseph's story today and start demanding the changes that are needed.

Pay close attention to the detail in the story concerning Sen. Lisa Boscola's bill, Senate Bill 346, which would take politics out of this process. Notice where the opposition is coming from. That bill is dead on arrival under normal circumstances in Pennsylvania. But should it be?

Just like everywhere else

I do hope Penn State officials are looking at the details of the off-the-field incidents involving football players last year and realizing they are really not like everywhere else.

Of course, they won't say that in public, and again yesterday they talked about the same old same old.

But look at the details and you find two group activities -- one at a downtown apartment and one at the HUB -- involving a lot of players. I'd have to say leadership off the field appeared at least as good as on the field.

Two group attacks involving football players in one season has not been seen elsewhere, to my knowledge. And the worst thing about this is another one happened in October, months after the April altercation sparked discipline announcements by Coach Joe Paterno.

No, these were not like everywhere else, despite what Penn State might say. And I'd point out that the program really better crack down, because more of this is not going to over well and will no doubt generate those ESPN headlines.

As for the comment about the Internet and how stubbing a toe can become visible, yes there's some of that. But these group incidents were of a higher order, it should be understood.

And for Web comments about us making news about nothing in reporting there's no news on Paterno's contract, just think how often you hear anyone at Penn State talk about this subject. Never in public. So yesterday's comments at the trustees' meeting -- and the trustees' questions -- were in fact news.

Take a step back and you'll realize that these incidents were not like everywhere else. And the concern now should be whether anything like them will happen again.

Cable Car Classic '95

OK, Penn State basketball fans, how many of you were like me, glued to the radio in late December 1995 for the games in the Cable Car Classic in San Francisco?

Yeah, you know, the time Danny Earl faced off against Steve Nash and cleaned his clock. Who remembers listening to every play of that sweet win over Santa Clara?

And who remembers the unlikely championship game against Bradley? Penn State won and came home the champs, leading to a great basketball season.

I remember this like it was yesterday, and whatever I didn't remember I came back quickly when I read our Penn State hoops memories column for Saturday.

Wow, Lea Asbell-Swanger and Terry Swanger, of Boalsburg, were there for that Cable Car Classic and shared their memories in this wonderful column in our Centre Living section.

What an experience that was. And what fans they are.

Thanks for the memories, from one fan to another. And as I wrote in my printed column last Sunday, I hope you like these hoops memories columns as much as I do. Look for them every week, and don't miss next Saturday's by a former Lady Lion from the early days.

Blogging benchmark

Hard to believe but this is post 1,301 of this blog.

There really is a lot to talk about here in Happy Valley, as this benchmark shows.

Our blog readership is increasing, and thanks to all of you who find time to visit the community blogs page and sample the discussions.

Blog readers, including this one, appreciate it.

Who isn't running?

Our series on candidates announcing their bids for Congress is continuing, and I sit here wondering just how many Centre County Republicans plan to run.

History doesn't lie and it's pretty clear that an out-of-county candidate will get elected when the county vote splits like crazy.

So will the announced candidates sit down and decide who will actually run? Will common sense prevail?

We're interested in finding out, and we remember so clearly how the Centre County Republicans bungled the most recent election -- for county commissioner.

Politics is so much fun, isn't it?

Amazing sports video

Here's a link to a video showing Travis Briscoe's historic bull ride over the weekend.

This was the subject of my previous post, "Bulls, riders shine," and I thought I'd throw out more and perhaps break up your day with something new.

This is an amazing sports video, I think you'll agree, whether you're a fan of the Professional Bull Riders like me or a first-timer.

Consider it eight seconds that won't be matched for a few years, possibly, as Briscoe and Copperhead Slinger exceeded all expectations and produced a score of 95 out of 100.

School board vacancy

I'm still trying to figure out why a few people in the newsroom looked at me on Wednesday when talking about the State College Area school board vacancy created by Barney Grimes' departure later this month.

Looked at me like I might be a candidate.

Well, I do live in State College but you all know I'm biased. I'm on one side or another, everyone seems to know, and those sides can be different depending on who is talking.

No problem, I'm not at all interested. I just love to see a competition and a good healthy debate, and may the best candidate get the board's nomination.

Big decisions and big votes await a nine-member board that can work together.

All the best to Grimes. What a tremendous honor.

Our democracy

Sometimes it takes visitor from elsewhere remind us how special our democracy really is.

That reminder came Monday in one of our monthly Global Connections columns. The writer: Arthemísia Ferreira Paulo Santiago of Brazil.

It's a wonderful column, and it sparked today's editorial titled "To see America as we are seen."

I'll try to highlight future Global Connections columns here for you.

Print and online coverage

Last night's State College Area school board meeting ran late, like many of them do, and the key issues often come at the end.

That left staff writer Dena Pauling with a tough deadline, and she made it work beautifully.

She wrote a story for print on the main issue, the problems the board faces concerning Memorial Field, and then wrote three stories on other issues to debut on the Web.

Those stories were sent directly to CentreDaily.com and print readers were alerted to the additional content with the Memorial Field story on Page A1. Anyone who visited the Web site -- and it looks like we'll have 35,000 or so unique visitors today -- saw all four school board meeting stories packaged on the home page.

All drew significant traffic, comments and even votes in the polls we started.

The three online stories will run in print tomorrow, so every reader of the Centre Daily Times has Pauling's full coverage of the meeting.

This is a great example of how we're using both print and online to bring news to you. It appears that readers appreciate it, perhaps more than ever, because more local residents are visiting the Web site for breaking news and unique content.

It's amazing really. Our average monthly unique visitor count hit 400,000 for last year. Here we are in the middle of January and we're at 300,000 unique visitors, earlier than ever in a month.

Thanks, as always, for reading us online.

Distracted, and darting across the street

Fresh off a lunch stop downtown and like clockwork, a student darted across College Avenue without paying any attention to coming traffic.

Just like that. The students are back, after all. Back and distracted.

This isn't written to pick on students but to bring up a topic that is discussed regularly. It contributes, I'm sure, to the reasons why some people don't go downtown.

And while we don't expect anyone to be able to change behavior overnight, it would be helpful if the borough considers something basic. We've editorialized about it three times and I've pointed it out here before -- prohibit parking on the campus side of College Avenue.

Sounds simple. Just redirect the quarter-paying motorists at meters to the parking garages that have space.

Oncoming motorists, then, would have more warning and a clear view of students darting into the street.

How about it?

Reform in '08?

Our editorial today questions whether we'll have real legislative reform in Harrisburg in 2008.

Yes real reform, past the procedural stuff that has legislators so happy about themselves.

Real reform means real change, like open-records and campaign-finance reform and more. We didn't even include in the editorial real change like reducing the size of the legislature and the cost of state government overall. Those are fair points that should be considered in this or any year.

Some will e-mail me saying we're better off that they do nothing. I've heard this response from readers/taxpayers for years, back in Harrisburg and here in Happy Valley.

To that I say, sorry, I disagree. We are paying dearly for this full-time legislature of 253 people with wonderful benefits, and for this Pennsylvania government overall. We should expect some results and we should expect changes that allow taxpayers to know what they're doing and what they're spending.

It's our money, after all.

Pennsylvanians would be amazed and no doubt outraged if they knew how much money was stockpiled in those legislative leadership and caucus accounts. Money that could be used for the general fund is stuck there, at the control of legislative leaders. You don't read much about this, do you? That's because this isn't public record.

Open-records reform will help. Real change will help too, and that should be the priority of 2008 in Harrisburg.

Since it's an election year, voters may start paying attention again. We can only hope.

Bulls, riders shine

Not sure how many bull riding fans read this blog, but here's one for you. ...

Travis Briscoe was dejected last September, greeting fans in a Michigan hotel lobby after being bucked off a rank bull.

It wasn't the New Mexico cowboy's night, and he continued on a middle-of=the-pack run on the Pro Bull Riders Tour.

That was then. This is now, however, and the new tour is three events old. At the top of the leader board is Briscoe, after electrifying fans in Massachusetts last night with one of the best rides in years.

It was an amazing night of seven 90-point rides in the championship finals, and you'd have to go back to 1998 for that. Of those, Briscoe and the bull Copperhead Slinger gave their best performances, combining for 95 sending everyone in the arena in orbit.

In bull riding the riders root for each other and everyone roots for everyone, including the bulls.

Last night was magical, just as good as any of the NFL action on TV all day. In fact, the result last night was much like win by San Diego at Indy, without key players. It was amazing.

Cord McCoy rode Big Bucks and Sean Willingham rode Scene of the Crash, all in the finals. You could go all year and see those bulls scored on just twice, maybe.

The year is off to a great start for PBR fans. Just sharing a bit of it here.

Interested? There's a big time PBR event set for Baltimore, a new stop, on the first weekend of March. Worth a trip.

On Centre returns

Our local news section, On Centre, comes back Monday just as 42,000 Penn State students come back.

Planned that way?

Not really, but I know that many readers will welcome it back. Look for On Centre Mondays through Thursdays, filled with local news and lifestyle.

I wrote about this in my printed column. Enjoy On Centre.

Losing is bad enough

Editors of the Ohio State newspaper tried something after the loss to LSU which clearly didn't work.

Here's a link to the photos used of a fire to show that yes, it could have been worse. A big fire photo appeared as the sports front. But some readers didn't appreciate it, thinking it was an image of 9/11, and I wonder myself.

Here's the editor's explanation.

How about a photo of Jim Tressel looking on from the sidelines wondering what went wrong again? Or a photo of downcast fans spending another night of high hopes -- this is three straight for Ohio State, two in football and one in men's hoops -- but bitter defeat.

A fire? I wouldn't go there.

Blogs get attention in print

Our community bloggers are going to find themselves somewhat in the spotlight this year.

Some Web readers already have noticed that we're highlighting one blog a day in the midday report from the newsroom, and that alone is raising traffic for blogs.

Next week, with the return of our On Centre local section in the Centre Daily Times, we'll run blog excerpts in print Mondays through Thursday, when the section is published. This will give print readers a window into an online community that is growing.

I think print readers will appreciate seeing some of the Web-only contributions. And I'm sure blog writers will appreciate the extra visibility.

Now, memo to blog writers: Freshen your blogs regularly, or you may disappear from our community page. Readers only want fresh material, and we have others interested in blogging. Thanks.

Republican scramble

It's been interesting what's come out so far concerning the Centre County Republicans search for a candidate to run for Congress.

U.S. Rep. John Peterson's seat should be there for the taking, shouldn't it, in a GOP-dominated district by the biggest Republican operation.

But no, not this time, as the top Republicans have to decided to stay put in the legislature.

Meanwhile, Matt Shaner has stepped up, to his credit, but I'll throw out the reality card here: Voters will be interested in the candidate's record, especially for Congress.

Record? Perhaps Shaner needs a record of accomplishment first.

Let's face it, the Republicans are coming off a mess of a commissioners' race, when their division led to Democrats taking over Bellefonte.

Maybe the Dems would have done it on their own, but a spit of GOP votes between write-in Chris Exarchos and the party's nominee Sue Mascolo made it impossible for Republicans.

So fresh off that disaster they have a seat in Congress staring them in the face.

Interesting stuff, isn't it. And you thought only presidential politics was fascinating.

Web goes bonkers

A combination of breaking news, strange crime, a No. 1 Penn State wrestling team and a rainbow over Beaver Stadium sent Web traffic into orbit Wednesday, drawing 35,000 unique visitors to CentreDaily.com.

The midday report, which I write in my spare time, topped 3,300 page views, marking its best day yet. The midday report, of course, featured the rainbow photo sent to us by reader Pamela Brennan Burns.

I saw the rainbow as I left home and knew I had to feature it in the midday report. However, Pam's photos took it to a new level, placing it at the stadium. Six other readers sent us photos of the rainbow, but Pam's were the best and we ran one in print today.

Yesterday's 130,000 page views set the online mark for January so far, but it looks like that will be trampled today with huge Web readership again. Thanks to all of you reading online, and double thanks for reading the community blogs.

Hearing from Silence

It's only Wednesday, but I'm going to declare an e-mail I received Monday as the e-mail of the week. It was from Silence Dogood, an anonymous reader, questioning our front-page judgment. You should read it for yourself.

I e-mailed Silence back, letting him/her know that we are a local paper and local stories are often chosen for Page A1 over national/international stories. Maybe Silence will understand. And maybe next time he/she will move out from anonymity.

Here's the full e-mail, so you can see why it gets weekly honors.

Dear Editor,

First off, I would like to state that I am not much of a newspaper reader. With a busy schedule, I find it difficult to find time to sit down and read through the paper.

However, last Friday morning, I was fortunate enough to find some time to read through the Centre Daily Times. I was particularly interested in the results of the Iowa Caucus, which I have been following pretty closely through various news programs on television. After reading through the articles on Obama and Huckabee, a flipped to the weather forecast. However, another article caught my eye, and that was the article on the riots in Kenya. After reading through the article, I was surprised that such an important story was buried behind a majority of the first section of the paper.

I was curious, and turned back to the front page, to see what stories were important enough to make it on to the front page. I understand the article on the Representative stepping down, and I was a little disappointed to see that the Iowa Caucus results where positioned on the fold, but everything was good…so far. And then I saw it. Front page, where the most important and relevant stories belong, an article about a butter sculpture.

A butter sculpture? A car bomb in Turkey kills four, including two high-school age students who were taking university entrance exams. Political and social complications escalate in Pakistan after the assassination of Benazir Bhutto. An Iraqi soldier deliberately shot and killed two American soldiers. A winter storm system leaves residents all over the west coast without power. A worker dies in a Michigan Pipeline explosion. But no, not our beloved butter sculpture!

I cannot fathom why such and insignificant story could have possibly been considered front page quality. Many stories within the paper itself were significantly more relevant (and interesting) than a butter sculpture. Kenya is one of the most developed and successful countries in all of Africa, and these riots can really threaten the social and political structure of the nation. For the most part, Africa does not get one tenth of the coverage it deserves, but when a truly important issue arises, it is pathetic to see that a story about a butter sculpture being converted into bio-diesel is more important.

I was under the impression that a paper had the responsibility to deliver the news to its readers, and not just pointless filler. The paper did have some really well done articles on important issues; it's just depressing to see that the "filler" get the front page.

I guess I cannot really complain, seeing as the article about Kenya did beat the truly riveting article about "Painful Cervical Cancer Shots".

Your once (and future?) reader,

Silence Dogood

Understanding Parade

Some newspapers are hearing from readers about last Sunday's Parade issue.

We aren't.

We explained the context of the issue, that it was printed before the assassination of former Prime Minister Bhutto but included one of the last interviews with her, and apparently our explanation was sufficient for readers.

This doesn't surprise me. Our readers want content -- as much of it as we can provide -- and the interview was significant content that went a long way in understanding the issues in Pakistan.

Walking on Sunshine

I couldn't help but think of the song when I heard about our new county commissioners' vote to meet essentially all day long.

You'd think government newbies would come up with something like this on their first day taking office. But these three, led by Jon Eich, are experienced in government.

Eich has back tracked, which is the right move. The Sunshine Law, weak as it is in our state, offers a protection for taxpayers to know what their government officials are doing.

Let's hope legislators go back to Harrisburg and really improve Pennsylvania's pathetic open-records law, so taxpayers have more protection.

Thanks to Melissa Melewsky of the Pennsylvania Newspaper Association for offering a voice of reason on our day of "Walking on Sunshine" yesterday.

All should be well that ends well. These commissioners can certainly do their jobs and abide by the law.

Photo contest update

Those readers following our photo contest might appreciate this update, included in my Sunday printed column.

This contest grows every year, and it was amazing how many entries came in right about the deadline this time around.

Thanks, photographers out there.

Speaking of contests, we'll have a winner in our college bowl contest tomorrow. The college football season is about to end, finally.

Watch for the winner's name in lights on CentreDaily.com on Tuesday.

Biggest win on Big Ten Network

Penn State's big win today at Illinois -- entirely satisfying to a hoops fan -- was the biggest win yet for the Nittany Lions on the Big Ten Network.

That means only the lucky fans got to see it, and it was a good one featuring the Nittany Lions at their rebounding best.

Take a look, this young team is 2-0 in the Big Ten and making some noise early in the season.

It was a good move, apparently, to keep the team in Illinois after the Northwestern game. They spent some time together, practiced, and were ready for today's clash.

They play well at Illinois, we know, but a win today was nice and it certainly is encouraging as the Nittany Lions come home for a game Saturday against Minnesota. Hey, fans, how about it, come out to the Bryce Jordan Center. Game time is 2 p.m.

Getting back to our point here, however, is that the Big Ten Network will feature quite a few of this team's games. More wins are ahead, most likely. Hope you get to see them.

Wanting news

My first caller on this Happy Valley Saturday probably would have been happy just to scream into the office voicemail.

But she ended up with me, answering my own phone at an unusual time in the office.

"What is that 'Tough on the inside' story doing on the front page?" she yelled. "That's not news. Why isn't there news on the front page?"

She didn't say hello and didn't want to hear me say anything, but I did manage to ask what she considered news before she slammed the phone.

Clearly she didn't read the story about a little girl's fight with a rare disorder, a story that belongs on ours or any front page.

For the record, there are "news" stories on the front page: the national unemployment rate jumping, Wegman's stopping cigarette sales, and the New Hampshire campaign among them.

This reader clearly wanted more, or perhaps she didn't know what she wanted.

For sure she wanted to be miserable on a Happy Valley Saturday. Doing this job you hear from all kinds.

Don't miss Farm Show

I used to live a couple miles from the Pennsylvania Farm Show complex, so it was easy to stop there on the way home and take in the massive event.

A funny thing is happening this year as we get ready: A warm up is coming.

As crazy as it sounds, we'll have nice weather for the Farm Show, apparently, not the worst weather of the winter as featured some years.

That's great, because you should make the trip to Harrisburg for this wonderful event.

And when you do, don't miss the Food Court. Unusual for me, but I'll offer food tips here, based on years of visits. Get a milkshake and a baked potato. Or get two of each. They're worth waiting in line for and they're reasonably priced. The rest of the food is good too, so take your pick.

And walk around the complex, observing  the competitions and talking to other Pennsylvanians. People work all year preparing for the Farm Show. Appreciate it with them.

Cracking 400,000 mark

Web traffic numbers are in for 2007 and it's official that we've cracked the 400,000 mark for average monthly unique visitors.

We've been over 400,000 uniques in recent months here on CentreDaily.com, but it was unclear whether the average would show that milestone.

The 2007 average does: 400,266 uniques per month.

How does that compare with 2006? Well,the average monthly uniques in 2006 totaled 318,000.

So that's a nice rise in Web readership while print readership held steady, approximately 67,000 based on Sunday readership.

Thank you and you and you. Hope you're enjoying the community blogs while you visit CentreDaily.com for breaking news and other extras.

Fully prepared for Wildcats

Say what you will about Penn State's non-conference basketball scheduling, but you have to conclude that the games got the Nittany Lions ready for the Big Ten opener.

Yep, playing Princeton and Denver in the preseason certainly would prepare a team for Northwestern, and the Nittany Lions beat the Wildcats on the road last night.

It's a satisfying 1-0 conference start for Penn State, and we'll see how the Lions do this weekend at Illinois.

Hoops fans had a treat last night, watching the Lady Lions' big win and then the men's victory. Can't say that's happened too often recently around here. Starting a new trend?

No news on first baby

Wondering about the first baby of 2008 in Centre County? Wondering, and wondering why you didn't see anything in the paper about it? 

Well, so was I and I wandered into the office wondering.

Turns out we can thank the feds and HIPPA for the lack of news.

Mount Nittany Medical Center or any other hospital, for that matter, can't release any information without the consent of the patient, and that was the case regarding the first baby. The mother didn't want anything released.

So we have a first baby but we'll never know about it.

That's the way it is now with HIPPA, and it might answer your questions about why you don't know about patient conditions or other news in other cases. There's often no information to report.

Keep season of giving alive

My Sunday column reviewed the needs of our helping hands agencies and talked about how we could keep the season of giving alive in the winter months.

One local church is doing that in a great way.

Here's a link to the column for more details. Nice job, folks.