FIRST ENTRY: This weblog is about Cleveland, Ohio and the thoughts of a Cleveland citizen. I use the word "citizen" because this is going to be about political ideas -- things that I wish were being discussed by the city's political leaders, but mostly aren't. Or, sometimes, things that are being discussed by political leaders but aren't really on the public radar screen.

This weblog is personal, not professional. I work for a nonprofit organization that deals with computer access and literacy issues -- what's often called the 'digital divide" -- in the city. I don't intend to write much here about that subject. This is about other issues... the stuff I think about while I'm driving to a meeting, or reading the PD on Sunday morning, or late at night at the computer.

I've lived and worked in Cleveland neighborhoods since 1980. I've raised three kids here (not all by myself, of course). I've never run for office but I've known a lot of politicians, worked on a few campaigns, and spent my share of time at City Hall. I've also spent thousands of hours engaged in "the civic process" at the neighborhood level -- as an organizer, a CDC director, a community board member, and just a neighbor. After twenty-plus years of this, I consider myself a reasonably well-informed citizen of the city. By which I mean that I can usually follow the game with a scorecard, if I concentrate real hard.

So I'm thinking, maybe this stuff I'm churning around in my head is worth writing down. It's just a blog, after all.

Famous last words.