Couple of quick links

New writing site worth checking out, from the Brits:
www.explorewriting.co.uk
Pretty basic stuff, but a wide range of writing, from journalism to business.

-------

A really cool site is Waveland Public Officials. A community group in Waveland, Miss., is using the blog to post the answers to a questionnaire filled out by city council members. Waveland, you might remember, was one of the areas hit hard by Hurricane Katrina. Development and coastal issues are big there. As the president of Coastal Community Watch, Ellis Anderson, notes on the group's other site, many people still live out of town and are checking the sites to keep up to date.

On Waveland Public Officials, he writes:

We're introducing this forum so that Waveland city candidates can share their views on developmental issues that will affect us all. CCW is NOT endorsing any particular candidate in this election. We're merely providing information to help you make an educated decision.
All 11 candidates still in the running after the primaries agreed to participate in our forum. The day after the primaries, they were given a list of 8 questions and asked to return their responses to us within one week (the deadline being November 15th, 5pm).
Nine of the eleven returned responses. We've posted their photos, a 100 word statement of their choice and given them a page of their own to respond - with no space limit. After the elections, the winners' profiles and answers will be featured on this site on a permanent basis.

<
I think this is a great use of the Web and hope to see a lot more of it. It would be easy to get snarky, take potshots and general rant like so many sites do. This provides a solid service, it seems, for people in that area -- and for those who want to vote absentee and can't be there. I'd love to see the League of Women Voters or other groups try to establish such sites for everyplace in the nation.