As a child, my parents received the local newspaper. Every Sunday I would pore through sales fliers, classifieds, obituaries, and marriage announcements. The paper was run by a conservative publisher which often meant that the news presented failed to really do more than scratch the surface of any given issue.

Today while sitting and drinking my first coffee it came to me that Kalamazoo really didn’t have a news outlet that told things from the perspective of the average Kalamazooian. Something had gotten lost in translation.

Facts that every Kalamazooian should know are simply not part of our everyday discussions. Why? The cynical part of me wants to say that cold facts do not sell very well. Budget discussions, while a critical part of any city’s health, are not as newsworthy as a murder. The sad part is that the budget discussion is more likely to actually affect your life or the lives of loved ones. That is my starting point. I want to drag into the light the topics that should be a part of our dialogue as a community.