Times Editor Chris Lopez's weblog

Chris Lopez's blog has moved

2005-07-28T16:43:00.000-07:00

Hi. You can find it in our new blog format here:

http://blogs.contracostatimes.com/times_editor_chris_lopez/

This week

2005-07-25T10:02:00.000-07:00

The week ahead will be a different schedule for me. I'm in the office all day Monday, then gone Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday to San Jose for a Knight Ridder Executive Editor's annual conference. This will be the first time I meet most of the 30-plus Knight Ridder executive editors. Knight Ridder brings its executive editors together once a year to discuss initiatives the corporate office has going and to hear from corporate executives, in particular KR CEO Tony Ridder, on the strategy of the company. This is my first KR executive editor's conference since becoming the Executive Editor and Vice President of News at Contra Costa. Each KR paper faces unique challenges, depending on the size of publication and the location in which the newspaper is based.

Coming Sunday

2005-07-22T15:27:00.000-07:00

Some of what of we have coming in Sunday's newspaper includes a profile look at new Oakland Raiders wide receiver Randy Moss. Sports writer Neil Hayes traveled to Moss' hometown in West Virginia and delivers a compelling story on Moss, one of the NFL's most talented players but also an enigmatic character. Let us know what you think.

Sunday commentary

2005-07-22T12:16:00.000-07:00

On Sunday, Ari Soglin, the Times' editor for online news and citizen media, will write a commentary in our Perspective section on the mission he's on for this newspaper in changing how we evolve in our relationship with our readers. To get your participation, we've set up this discussion board. Our interest is a back and forth conversation between our journalists and our readers. Join in and let us know your ideas and thoughts.

Random searches

2005-07-21T16:07:00.000-07:00

One of the stories we're developing for tomorrow's newspaper is whether BART should conduct random searches as a precautionary move to prevent events like what we're seeing in London. The city of New York announced today that police will begin conducting random searches of packages and backpacks carried by people entering New York City subways. The BART board is not, right now, considering a similar move. Other major cities, like Boston, are contemplating this type of move. We'll be asking readers to sound off on the issue through a discussion board at contracostatimes.com. Feel free to weigh in by posting on this blog or on our discussion board.

RSS Feeds

2005-07-21T12:29:00.000-07:00

We've expanded our menu of RSS feeds to now include headlines from 15 different editions we publish, from our daily paper to our weekly community editions. To learn more, go here.

Local political commentary

2005-07-20T13:07:00.000-07:00

Told Lisa Vorderbrueggen, our political columnist, how much insight I gained from her column this morning. It's the type of inside, behind-the-scenes political context that she's great at delivering. If you got a thought on her material or any of our columnists, from Gary Bogue to Joan Morris to Gary Peterson, let us know.

Knight Ridder move

2005-07-20T10:55:00.000-07:00

I've mentioned Knight Ridder Baghdad bureau chief Hannah Allam in various posts. She will be leaving Iraq for another assignment in Cairo. A story on her new assignment appears here. Hannah has worked with various Contra Costa Times staff who have been sent to Iraq for reporting duty. We wish her well in her new assignment.

Annoyance

2005-07-20T10:48:00.000-07:00

I find it extremely annoying to pull up a blog on our web site or an article and see an advertisement pop up and take up the screen on the item I pulled up. Aaargghhhh! How about you?

Feinstein statement

2005-07-19T18:44:00.000-07:00

Here is Sen. Dianne Feinstein's statement on U.S. Supreme Court nominee John Roberts. Feinstein comes into play as a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee. Of the Roberts nomination, she said, “The President has named John G. Roberts to become Sandra Day O’Connor’s replacement on the Supreme Court. Now the Judiciary Committee, of which I am a member, will go to work.
Our staff will analyze his record and biography. The FBI investigation will be conducted. Writings and cases will be reviewed. Speeches will be read. All this information will be put together to give members of the Committee a clear background on the nominee.
Then most likely, in September, hearings will begin, and we will have an opportunity to ask questions verbally. That opportunity will be followed up by questions in writing. This process is how Congress exercises its due diligence in carrying out its independent role of advise and consent. This is the process for nominations to the federal district courts as well as for the U.S. Supreme Court.
The U.S. Supreme Court is particularly critical and important. It is the court of last resort and, as such, is the court that interprets and protects our constitutional rights and freedoms. In the case of the Rehnquist court,
we have seen a line of decisions that has limited Congress’ ability to solve many of the social issues of our day by narrowly reading Congress’s authority under the Commerce Clause, the Spending Clause, and the Equal
Protection Clause.
The new justice will be critical in the balance with respect to rulings on Congressional authority, as well as a woman’s right to privacy, environmental protections, and many other aspects of Constitutional law in the
United States.
I generally have a policy of reserving judgment on a particular nominee prior to the Judiciary Committee conducting its review. I will keep my ‘powder dry’ until the due diligence is completed. The extraordinary importance of this position cannot be understated. Now the work begins.”

Roberts bio

2005-07-19T17:21:00.000-07:00

The press releases are flying on the Roberts nomination, even before to the President makes the official announcement. Here is bio information on Roberts that is coming from the Committee for Justice out of Washington.
Judge John G. Roberts, Jr., was born in Buffalo, New York, on January 27, 1955. Raised in Indiana. He is one of four children (the only boy, and second oldest). Judge Roberts lives in Bethesda, Maryland, with his wife Jane Sullivan Roberts and their two children.
Prior to his service on the D.C Circuit (often referred to as “the second highest court in the land” and the bench from which
three current Supreme Court Justices came to the Court), Judge Roberts argued 39 cases before the Supreme Court.Judge Roberts was graduated Summa Cum Laude from Harvard University in three years. After graduating from Harvard Law School with high honors and serving as an editor of the Harvard Law Review, Judge Roberts clerked for Judge Henry Friendly on the Second Circuit and later for Justice William Rehnquist at the Supreme Court.
After his clerkships, Judge Roberts served in the Department of Justice and later as Associate Counsel to President Ronald Reagan before going into private practice.
After three years in private practice, Judge Roberts returned to the Department of Justice as Principal Deputy Solicitor General, a position in which he briefed and argued a variety of cases before the Supreme Court.

Bush nominee

2005-07-19T16:55:00.000-07:00

We published this story in our Sunday newspaper that gave a closer look at John Roberts, who apparently will be the President's nominee for the U.S. Supreme Court. News is breaking prior the President's press conference that Roberts is the pick.

Bush tonight

2005-07-19T11:06:00.000-07:00

The latest on the President announcing his nominee to the U.S. Supreme Court is here in an Associate Press story.

Today's calendar

2005-07-19T10:56:00.000-07:00

My day consists of a morning meeting with our editor for online news and citizen media on developing a timeline for improvements and additions to contracostatimes.com, then a meeting with the Pleasant Hill mayor and his staff on helping promote upcoming Pleasant Hill events. I have other community meetings during the week, including a conversation with Bill Lindsay, the city manager of Richmond. I continue to try to get as much time to get into the various communities we serve to hear about issues, stories and events we can cover. A meeting I'm particularly looking forward to next week is one with executives from John Muir Hospital to hear about their future plans. If you would like to have a conversation on what we're doing, the directions you think we should head in and how we can get involved, let me know.

U.S. Supreme Court

2005-07-19T10:51:00.000-07:00

Knight Ridder/Washington is sending out an advisory that a rumor is sweeping Washington that President Bush will announce his nominee to the Supreme Court today. Given that it's already 2 p.m. on the East Coast, it's not a given at all that this will materialize today, but we'll see. In any event, here's a link to a USA Today column on the role bloggers will play once a nominee is named.

Pit bull discussion

2005-07-18T16:36:00.000-07:00

Our Page 2 pet columnist Gary Bogue has been writing recently on pit bulls. A discussion on pit bulls is here if you'd like to participate.

Kids who drive

2005-07-18T16:29:00.000-07:00

One of the stories we're looking at for tomorrow's front page is about California High School in San Ramon and a new requirement that students who drive to school will have a new requirement when classes begin in the fall — carpooling. We're looking at whether other schools require this, or if this is a novel concept by California High. Another question: How will it be enforced? Interesting concept and worth a look.

Mt. Diablo school district

2005-07-18T10:36:00.000-07:00

Reporter Jackie Burrell produced a story Sunday that looked at Mt. Diablo School District and the red flags around its financial accountability. Our readers forum on this topic has been well-received.

Tomorrow's front page

2005-07-14T15:40:00.000-07:00

Two stories, in particular, grab our interest and will be played on our front page for Friday. One, reported by Kate Folmar, looks at the the Schwarzenegger administration and the governor accepting millions from two muscle and fitness magazines to serve as executive editor. The magazines are funded heavily by advertising from the dietary supplement industry. Schwarzenegger previously vetoed a bill by Jackie Speier that would have regulated supplement use among high schoolers. The other story comes out of Iraq and Knight Ridder reporter Hannah Allam. She reports on how the Iraqi Defense Ministry has lost more than $300 million in what appears to be a massive web of corruption that flourished under American-appointed supervisors for a year or longer, according to U.S. and Iraqi military officials. These are two of five stories we're looking at for now. That could change as the afternoon and evening progress.

Journalists in training

2005-07-14T15:18:00.000-07:00

On Friday I'll spend the day with incoming Knight Ridder journalists, journalists who have recently graduated and are headed to internships and recent high school graduates who are now Knight Ridder scholars. I'll talk to them about the profession, my experience and how I got into a position to be the editor of the Times, a newspaper that is read by 450,000 East Bay residents. It's an event I look forward to. I enjoy discussing journalism, particularly as it relates to the 21st Century, and talking to journalists just beginning their careers. Journalism schools continue to see tremendous interest in the profession.

Project Ready to Learn

2005-07-14T10:35:00.000-07:00

Each year readers of this newspaper contribute school supplies and money for school supplies as part of our Project Ready to Learn program. Last year, readers donated enough school supplies for 2,300 kids. To learn more about this program and how to contribute, follow this link for more information.

Iraq news

2005-07-13T17:48:00.000-07:00

The news out of Iraq today is messy as a suicide car bomber exploded today among a group of children taking gifts and candy from American soldiers in Baghdad. Of about 39 people killed, at least 25 were children, according to Knight Ridder. I had other conversations with Knight Ridder on the landscape in Iraq to determine if it's any better than what I had been hearing recently. It's not, and that makes covering the story difficult and dangerous. Knight Ridder journalists are reporting that Iraqis currently have electricity for an average of nine hours a day. A year ago, they averaged 10 hours of electricity. Iraq's oil production is still below pre-war levels. The unemployment rate is between 30 and 40 percent. New cases of hepatitis have doubled over the rate of 2002, largely because of problems with getting clean drinking water and disposing of sewage. Knight Ridder's top journalist in Iraq, Hannah Allam, says that any contention that 14 of Iraq's 18 provinces are stable is pure fantasy. Hannah is a well-regarded journalist among American military in Iraq. She says every day Knight Ridder's British security consultant receives a province-by-province breakdown of the roadside bombs, ambushes, assassinations and other violence throughout the country. Really the only way for any of us to get first-hand information to satisfy our own questions about Iraq and how stable it is or isn't is to be in the country. No doubt American military are doing heroic work. It appears there is a lot of work ahead to stabilize the country.

Tomorrow's newspaper

2005-07-13T17:06:00.000-07:00

Tough decision-making on what made our front page for Thursday, with so many local and national news stories developing today. We're looking at the final sign-off to a funding deal on the Bay Bridge and a devastating suicide bomb attack in Iraq as two of our top stories. We also like follows to the Karl Rove story, and we'll be putting two additional local stories on our front page. We didn't select the hospitalization of Chief Justice Rehnquist nor the decision to scrap Wednesday's launch of the space shuttle, figuring both had cycled throughout the day.

Shuttle launch off

2005-07-13T10:54:00.000-07:00

No shuttle launch today. Here is a story from the Miami Herald explaining the reasons.

Shuttle launch

2005-07-13T08:23:00.000-07:00

Hoping to catch the launch of the Discovery at 12:51 p.m. pacific today. That's one event on the radar today.

Hookah pipes

2005-07-12T17:55:00.000-07:00

In tomorrow's Times we feature a story on the trend of using hookah pipes from Features Writer Peggy Spear. Her story is one our featured stories on tomorrow's front page. It's an interesting trend in the Bay Area. One question we had was how these hookah smoking lounges that are popping up get around California's smoking laws. That issue is addressed as part of the package. Let us know what you think.

Iraq reporting

2005-07-12T16:45:00.000-07:00

One thought I had last night, in thinking about Iraq and all I read about it, is that it would be worthwhile to have a segment in the newspaper that speaks to the progress being made in rebuilding Iraq. The problem, as I look into it, is to find that type of content. The funny thing is that just as I began wondering if it was possible to run Iraq Progress Report updates, I find this criticism of the reporting coming out of Iraq from another Knight Ridder journalist. I'll be discussing with the Knight Ridder Washington Bureau the possibility of getting regular updates on progress in Iraq to balance the news stories on the challenges facing U.S. and Iraq military. The point of doing this is not to appease those critical of the mainstream press on its reporting out of Iraq, but to better reflect and balance out the steady news that reports on the challenges the U.S. is having. As a reader of the newspaper, I want better updates on the progress being made as well I want to know the problems we're facing. As one reporter who had recently returned from Iraq to me, it's difficult for journalists to navigate the country to get the progress reports because it remains very dangerous to drive the country. I understand that. I'd still like to find a way to deliver progress updates on a regular basis in our newspaper. I suspect the challenge is journalists feeling safe enough to venture out beyond the safe zones. It's easy for me to be second guessing what I'm getting, and as a journalist who has been in the reporting field on news stories many days, I can appreciate the fact that a reporter in the field is facing many hurdles that we cannot see sitting in the States. I'll have more conversations with Knight Ridder Washington to better comprehend the conditions under which reporters are working in Iraq.

White House response to Rove questions

2005-07-11T16:37:00.000-07:00

White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan was questioned today about Karl Rove. The link to the transcript is here

New face at the newspaper

2005-07-11T16:03:00.000-07:00

Ari Soglin is the newspaper's first editor for online news and citizen media, and he began his job today. This is a new position for us, and one that is intended to create citizen media programs at the newspaper and to focus more efforts on creating interactive models for both our newspaper in print and our newspaper online at contracostatimes.com. If you have ideas, thoughts on the type of citizen media programs you'd like to see from us or ways we can be more interactive with our readers, please let us know. To contact Ari directly, you can email him at asoglin@cctimes.com.

Rehnquist update

2005-07-08T17:16:00.000-07:00

The latest advisories say that Chief Justice Rehnquist and President Bush could make an announcement of his retirement on Monday. News organizations have been buzzing throughout the day in anticipation of this news. There is no confirmed factual part of this, but guesses based on conversations and activity. A story only develops if Rehnquist makes an announcement. For now, we anticipate and plan on how to handle the news when and if it happens.

Chief Justice Rehnquist

2005-07-08T11:06:00.000-07:00

CNN beginning to report that Chief Justice Rehnquist may announce retirement today and is awaiting President Bush's arrival back in the U.S. later today to let him know. Unclear if this is a valid confirmation and if fact this is going to happen. If news breaks on this, it sounds like it'll be after 3 p.m. Pacific time. If so, contracostatimes.com will carry the story immediately. Again, this may be speculation without a foundation of fact. We'll be monitoring.

Coming Sunday

2005-07-08T10:48:00.000-07:00

As professional baseball reaches its summer break and its annual All Star game, Times sports writer Neil Hayes takes the opportunity to explore Babe Ruth and what the Babe has meant to baseball and to America through all these years. Neil began his research at the beginning of baseball season and at a time when we began to think that Barry Bonds would soon pass the Babe on baseball's all-time home run list. With Bonds still on the shelf, Neil continued with his research and now provides us with a wonderful three-part series on Ruth. You'll find Neil's story on the front of Sunday's newspaper. The series continues on Monday and Tuesday. Hope you enjoy it.

Day's mindset

2005-07-07T13:08:00.000-07:00

The day's mindset focuses on the bombings in London and what needs to occur to tell that story to its fullest. Visually, graphics that show how and where the bombings occurred in relation to each other will help provide explanation and give context to the terrorism and the coordination of the attacks. The Knight Ridder Washington Bureau handles the bulk of the story for KR papers. Our responsibility will be to present the story in its fullest context and depth for a local readership to comprehend.

Judith Miller arrest

2005-07-06T13:55:00.000-07:00

There will be much written and many opinions given about today's jailing of New York Times reporter Judith Miller. New York Times Publisher Arthur Sulzberger Jr. issued this statement shortly after Miller was jailed. We'll be discussing in our Page 1 meeting today where to play the story. Some will argue for the front page, while others will argue that the story is fine on our nation/world pages.

BART deal

2005-07-06T08:53:00.000-07:00

We held out hope till 1 a.m. this morning that we could put on our front page a deal reached by BART and its labor unions but couldn't wait any longer. As it was the agreement was struck at 2:35 a.m., long past our ability to get the news into the Wednesday edition. Instead, our web site carries this descriptive account by reporter Mike Adamick on how the deal was reached and the terms of the agreement. Adamick obtained a copy of the agreement soon after the two sides reached the settlement and in his story offers the first look at the terms of the deal.

BART

2005-07-05T16:29:00.000-07:00

Our focus and emphasis for tomorrow's front page is the BART negotiations and possibility of a strike at midnight. There is a 9 p.m. update on the status of negotiations that is planned. That update, if it happens, should give us a clearer indication of whether there is going to be a deal or a strike. Our thinking heading into the evening is that a strike looks real, but that is pure speculation since nobody is in the room except those in the talks. Our challenge is hitting multiple deadlines for the four editions we publish each day.

Here today, gone tomorrow

2005-06-16T11:19:00.000-07:00

This blog will not be updated for the next two weeks. Vacation time.

More on Downing memo

2005-06-16T10:35:00.000-07:00

The reporter from the London Times who initially reported on the Downing Street memo discusses the story in this piece from the Washington Post.

Iraq

2005-06-16T10:12:00.000-07:00

There is growing movement in Washington to develop an exit strategy for Iraq and there is more and more attention being paid to the Downing Street memo and the President's efforts prior to invading Iraq. It will be interesting to see how these stories develop. Today, in Washington, Knight Ridder is reporting that Reps. Dennis Kucinich, D-Ohio, Walter Jones, R-N.C., Ron Paul, R-Texas, and Neil Abercrombie, D-Hawaii, are holding a news conference to discuss legislation calling on President Bush to phase out U. S. troops in Iraq. This follows polls showing public opposition to the war high and rising, and as the military is having trouble meeting its recruitment goals. Is America's support for U.S. involvement in Iraq near a tipping point? Could that force early withdrawal? This will be a story we look at this afternoon.

Sunday's comics

2005-06-15T17:12:00.000-07:00

The newsroom learned today that Sunday's comic strips will be wrapped by an advertiser. Our concern is that readers won't be able to find their comics as easily as they ordinarily would on Sunday. As a heads up, look for the Sunday comics wrapped by Kraft, the advertiser. The comics will be inside the Kraft wrap. Our circulation division has alerted our call center to this to take reader phone calls on Sunday morning. When we have issues like this, we work across divisions in the newspaper company to make sure everyone is aware of the change and we're prepared to handle reader phone calls.

tsumani follows

2005-06-15T17:09:00.000-07:00

Our science reporter Betsy Mason follows up in tomorrow's paper with a look at how Tuesday’s tsunami served as a reminder that the potential for a destructive wave to hit California is real. She reports that the warning gave coastal residents enough time to head for the hills, but scientists still have no way to predict when an earthquake large enough to trigger a tsunami will hit. Betsy's story appears on our front page on Thursday.

Late night news

2005-06-15T08:34:00.000-07:00

The night crew in the newsroom called my home around 9 p.m. to let me know about the earthquake in Crescent City. We discussed the story, as much detail as we knew at that hour, and discussed what to move off the front page if the night crew felt the story warranted the front page. I left that decision to them to determine once they received more information. As it was, they felt comfortable with the story inside, where it played, since there were no injuries or damage to report.

Wood rescue

2005-06-15T08:29:00.000-07:00

The rescue of Alamo resident Douglas Wood from insurgents holding him captive in Iraq will be our main focus for tomorrow's paper. That, of course, is subject to change if another major story breaks during the day. For now, the focus will be on Douglas Wood and the rescue effort by Iraq and U.S. military. We won't be able to interview him since he is not in the country and has requested that reporters not contact him for now as he reunites with his family and recovers from his ordeal. We respect those wishes. The focus of the story will be around the rescue and how it was accomplished.

Flag Day

2005-06-14T15:37:00.000-07:00

We were criticized by one reader for failing to mention in this morning's newspaper that today is Flag Day. The reader's sentiment is that it’s bad enough that
an entire generation is coming up not knowing the meaning or significance of our National holidays, without having newspapers failing to mention them as well. He makes a good point. We knew it was Flag Day and shot some photographs today that represent Flag Day. We'll run one of those photographs in our local news section, as we do each year. His request, though, was to reflect Flag Day today, rather tomorrow after it's over. Likewise, we were criticized last week for failing to mention the D-Day anniversary on June 6. As I said in an earlier post, my father was part of D-Day as a glider pilot in the U.S. Army Air Corps.

U.S. Supreme Court ruling

2005-06-14T11:07:00.000-07:00

With all the attention on the Michael Jackson verdict and the Arnold Schwarzenegger call for a special election, this story out of the U.S. Supreme Court that deals with a San Pablo case in Contra Costa County may have escaped your attention. It's a key ruling on juries.

Jackson verdict

2005-06-13T12:56:00.000-07:00

The verdict in the Michael Jackson case is coming in. The judge has given Jackson an hour to get to court. Typically, the newsroom buzzes with anticipation. We're in debate about how the verdicts will go.

Tax mechanics

2005-06-13T10:14:00.000-07:00

We introduced new content in our Saturday opinion pages. We expanded Saturday's opinion to two pages. Part of the content mix includes a column written by two of our readers called tax mechanics. The column is intended to educate readers on how taxes work. Another new segment on our Saturday opinion pages is a feature called YOUR TURN in which readers sound off on editorials, stories, items they read in the Times. If you would like to sound off, you can email us at yourturn@cctimes.com. We'd be glad to publish your turn.

Monday morning

2005-06-13T10:10:00.000-07:00

Two events occupy the newsroom's mind on this Monday morning: 1)Will the Michael Jackson jury come back with a verdict this week? 2) What will Schwarzenegger say when he holds his press conference this afternoon to announce a special election. Both events are stories we need to plan for and anticipate.

Blogs good or bad?

2005-06-10T15:31:00.000-07:00

The link I'm sending you to here gets into the debate about whether blogs are a good or bad thing. Weigh in if you want. Seems to me blogs can be done in a variety of ways and can't be characterized as just one method or one way of producing a blog.

Brad and Angelina

2005-06-10T15:00:00.000-07:00

One of our front page stories and segment this morning, seen here was around Hollywood and the summer movie season. The commentary by our movie critic Mary Pols looked at today's release of Mr. and Mrs. Smith starring Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie. I had four or five readers who didn't like it. The sentiment was they didn't want to see Hollywood on the front page.

Friday's schedule

2005-06-10T08:17:00.000-07:00

I am in an all-day internal session on Friday. I'll check news developments during breaks to keep myself up to speed on the day's events.

Education Q&A

2005-06-09T12:33:00.000-07:00

Reporter Jackie Burrell reports on teachers in the Mt. Diablo School District taking action to bring attention to their cause. The teachers union and school district are negotiating a new contract. Jackie produced this Q&A to help readers understand this sensitive issue.

FBI's case

2005-06-08T17:42:00.000-07:00

Here is some of what is in the federal government's arrest affidavit that resulted in the arrest of Hamid Hayat and Umer Hayat, who are accused of lying to the government. The parenthesis signal information taken verbatim from the FBI arrest affidavit: "On Sunday, 05/29/05 at approximately 5:30 am, the Sacramento Division of the FBI was notified, via FBI Headquarters (FBIHQ), that Hamid Hayat, a United States Citizen, was attempting to gain access to the United States via an inbound flight which was scheduled to arrive at San Francisco International Airport at approximately 1:50pm on 05/29/05. During his travel from Korea to the United States, while in flight, it was determined that Hamid was on the "No Fly" list. The plane was immediately diverted, and was ultimately allowed to land in Japan for refueling purposes. While in Japan, Hamid was interviewed by an FBI agent and denied having any connection to terrorism or terrorist activities. Based on Hamid's statements verbal authority was granted to downgrade Hamid from the "No Fly" list to the "Selectee list" so that Hamid could continue his planned travel to the United States. Immigration records indicate that Hamid had departed from the United States on 04/19/03, arriving in Islamabad, Pakistan on 04/21/03. Immigration records also indicate that he departed from Pakistan on 05/27/05, arriving in the United States on 05/29/05."
Interview of Hamid Hayat: "On June 3, 2005, Hamid Hayat was interviewed by special agents of the FBI. During that interview he was specifically asked if he had ever attended any terrorist training camps in Pakistan or in general. He was also asked if he had ever attended a jihadi madrassah (religious school). Hamid stated that he has never attended any type of terrorist training camp or school and is not a jihadi member. He stated that he would never be involved with anything related to terrorism.
"On June 4, 2005 Hamid Hayat voluntarily appeared at a Sacramento office of the FBI to take a polygraph examination that had been requested by the FBI. Hayat, who brought his father with him to the FBI, was informed in advance that the purpose of the polygraph examination was to resolve questions about his possible involvement with terrorist activities. After a brief interview with an FBI agent who showed Hamid some photographs, the polygraph examination was administered and his answers to the relevant questions were found to be indicative of deception. After approximately two more hours of questioning, Hamid admitted that he had, in fact, attended a jihadist training camp in Pakistan. Hamid admitted that he attended a jihadist training camp in Pakistan for approximately 6 months in 2003-2004. Hamid stated that Al-Qaeda supports the camp and provides instructors for the camp. Hamid later confirmed this camp was run by Al-Qaeda. Hamid described the camp as providing structured paramilitary training, including weapons training, explosives training, interior room tactics, hand to hand combat, and strenous exercise. Classroom instruction included ideological rhetoric detailing opposition towards the United States and other non-Muslim countries. Hamid stated that during his weapons training, photos of various high ranking U.S. political figures, including President Bush, would be pasted on their targets. Hamid further stated that he and others at the camp were being trained on how to kill Americans. Hamid stated that although he did not participate in all the available instruction, he was aware the other training was ongoing. Hamid advised that he specifically requested to come to the United States to carry out his Jihadi mission."
The affidavit goes on to detail the interview with Umer Hayat. The arrest affidavit was signed by Special Agent Pedro Tenoch Aguilar.

More on Downing

2005-06-08T08:35:00.000-07:00

British Prime Minister Tony Blair's appearance in the U.S. is creating more coverage on the Downing Street memo. This morning, USA Today reported on the memo for the first time and explains why. Even with a bit of an awakening to the story, it still feels like a dying story in the U.S.

Story of interest

2005-06-08T08:13:00.000-07:00

Here's a breaking story of interest to the state. The copy comes from the Associated Press: SACRAMENTO (AP) — Federal authorities arrested a father and son after the younger man allegedly acknowledged that he attended an al-Qaida camp in Pakistan to learn “how to kill Americans,” according to published reports.<
Hamid Hayat and his father, Umer Hayat, 47, were arrested over the weekend on charges of lying to federal agents, FBI agent John Cauthen confirmed to The Associated Press on Tuesday night.<
The men both made a brief appearance in U.S. District Court in Sacramento on Tuesday and are being held in Sacramento County Jail.<
According to prosecutors, Hamid Hayat trained to use explosives and other weapons, using photographs of President Bush as targets. The Sacramento Bee reported his age as 22; the Los Angeles Times said he is 23.<
Umer Hayat was charged in the complaint with lying about his son's involvement and his own financing of the terror camp. His attorney, Johnny Griffin III, called the allegations “shocking” but said his client “is charged with nothing more than lying to an agent.”<
The detained men are both U.S. citizens. U.S. Magistrate Judge Peter A. Nowinski denied a bail request for the elder Hayat, saying he was “a flight risk and a danger to the community.”<
“He just returned from Pakistan where he built a new home and contributed financial assistance to an al-Qaida sponsored program training his son and others to kill Americans whenever and wherever they can be found,” the Bee quoted Nowinski as saying.<
Hamid Hayat's attorney was not present for the court hearing, and Nowinski set a bail hearing for him on Friday.<
Two other Lodi men, Shabbir Ahmed and Mohammed Adil Khan, are being detained on immigration violations, Cauthen said. He said he couldn't give any further details, citing an ongoing investigation.<
Ahmed is the current imam and Khan is the former imam of a mosque in Lodi, the Lodi News-Sentinel reported on its Web site. The men were detained after meeting separately with Umer Hayat on Saturday, the Bee reported.<
Hamid Hayat, who was born in California, recently returned to the state from Pakistan. After first denying any link to terrorist camps, Hayat reportedly told agents that he attended al-Qaida camps in 2003 and 2004.<
“Hamid advised that he specifically requested to come to the United States to carry out his jihadi mission,” according to the affidavit. “Potential targets for attack would include hospitals and large food stores.”<
FBI agents raided the Hayat home on Tuesday, family members told the Times. They seized videocassettes, photographs, fax machines, prayer books and other items.<
Hamid Hayat was on the federal “no fly” list and FBI authorities in Sacramento were alerted by headquarters on May 29 that he was attempting to fly from Korea to San Francisco, the newspapers reported.<
The plane was diverted to Japan, where Hayat was interviewed by the FBI and denied any connection to terrorism before being allowed to fly back to California.<
On June 3, he was interviewed by agents in Sacramento and denied attending any terrorist camps. After a polygraph test the next day showed deception in his answers, Hayat acknowledged spending six months at a training camp in Pakistan in 2003 and 2004, the affidavit said.<
Umer Hayat also at first denied that his son went to a terrorist camp but later admitted that he provided a $100 monthly allowance to help his son attend the camp, according to the affidavit.<

More on Downing Street memo

2005-06-07T15:18:00.000-07:00

Coincidentally, the issue of whether the U.S. press did due diligence in reporting on the Downing Street memo is the subject of this online chat at the Washington Post.

Downing Street memo

2005-06-07T09:54:00.000-07:00

I've had two calls today from readers inquiring why we failed to publish a story on a classified government memo in Britain that indicates President Bush wanted to make sure intelligence fit his Iraq policy in 2002. The memo first came to light in the Sunday Times of London and was then reported by Knight Ridder on May 5. Knight Ridder is the corporate owner of the Contra Costa Times. The two readers who called indicated we failed to publish the story because we want to protect President Bush. I have not talked to our national wire desk on their thinking when they saw the story produced by Knight Ridder. Here is the Knight Ridder story that was produced on May 5:

What’s new: A classified government memo in Britain indicates President Bush wanted to make sure intelligence fit his Iraq policy in 2002.
<
By Warren P. Strobel and John Walcott
Knight Ridder Newspapers

WASHINGTON _ A highly classified British memo, leaked in the midst of Britain’s just-concluded election campaign, indicates that President Bush decided to overthrow Iraqi President Saddam Hussein by summer 2002 and was determined to ensure that U.S. intelligence data supported his policy.

The document, which summarizes a July 23, 2002, meeting of British Prime Minister Tony Blair with his top security advisers, reports on a visit to Washington by the head of Britain’s MI-6 intelligence service. The visit took place while the Bush administration was still declaring to the American public that no decision had been made to go to war.

“There was a perceptible shift in attitude. Military action was now seen as inevitable,” the MI-6 chief said at the meeting, according to the memo. “Bush wanted to remove Saddam through military action, justified by the conjunction of terrorism and WMD,” weapons of mass destruction.
The memo said that “the intelligence and facts were being fixed around the policy.”

No weapons of mass destruction have been found in Iraq since the U.S. invasion in March 2003.

The White House has repeatedly denied accusations, made by several top foreign officials, that it manipulated intelligence estimates to justify an invasion of Iraq.

It has instead pointed to the conclusions of two studies, one by the Senate Intelligence Committee and one by a presidentially appointed panel, that cite serious failures by the CIA and other agencies in judging Saddam’s weapons programs.

The principal U.S. intelligence analysis, called a National Intelligence Estimate, wasn’t completed until October 2002, well after the United States and United Kingdom had apparently decided military force should be used to overthrow Saddam’s regime.

The newly disclosed memo, which was first reported by the Sunday Times of London, hasn’t been disavowed by the British government. A spokesman for the British Embassy in Washington referred queries to another official, who didn’t return calls for comment on Thursday.

A former senior U.S. official called it “an absolutely accurate description of what transpired” during the senior British intelligence officer’s visit to Washington. He spoke on condition of anonymity.

A White House official said the administration wouldn’t comment on leaked British documents.

In July 2002, and well afterward, top Bush administration foreign policy advisers were insisting that “there are no plans to attack Iraq on the president’s desk.”

But the memo quotes British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw, a close colleague of then-Secretary of State Colin Powell, as saying that “Bush had made up his mind to take military action.”

Straw is quoted as having his doubts about the Iraqi threat.
“But the case was thin. Saddam was not threatening his neighbors, and his WMD capability was less than that of Libya, North Korea or Iran,” the memo reported he said.
Straw reportedly proposed that Saddam be given an ultimatum to readmit United Nations weapons inspectors, which could help justify the eventual use of force.
Powell in August 2002 persuaded Bush to make the case against Saddam at the United Nations and to push for renewed weapons inspections.
But there were deep divisions within the White House over that course of action. The British document says that the National Security Council, then led by Condoleezza Rice, “had no patience with the U.N. route.”
Rep. John Conyers, D-Mich., the leading Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, is circulating a letter among fellow Democrats asking Bush for an explanation of the document’s charges, an aide said.

D-Day anniversary

2005-06-06T18:01:00.000-07:00

My voicemail had two phones calls from readers disappointed we didn't do anything in Monday's paper on the anniversary of D-Day. Last year we made a big splash of it on the 60th anniversary. This year we were quiet. It's also an event my father participated in, so personally I would never forget about D-Day.

One of those days

2005-06-06T17:59:00.000-07:00

One of those days of running from meeting to meeting in the newspaper office. The day began at 7 a.m. It is now 6 p.m. and this is the first I've sat at the computer.

Richmond Summit

2005-06-03T08:48:00.000-07:00

Here is the agenda for Saturday's Black-on-Black crime summit in Richmond that we've been writing about: 9:00am Prayer Rev. Brenda Sharp
9:05am Selection Joe Sharkey
9:10am Welcome Rev. Andre Shumake, Sr.
9:20am Remarks Police Chief Terry Hudson

9:25am: Intro of Families Rev. Andre Shumake, Sr.
* Landrin Kelly
* Charline Harris
* Bennie Johnson

9:36am Intro. of Vision Statements Rev. Andre Shumake, Sr.
9:40am Rev. Charles Newsome (NAACP)
9:46am Jerrold Hatchett (National Brotherhood Alliance)
9:52am Rhonda Harris (BWOPA)
9:58am Minister David Muhammad (Nation of Islam)

10:04am Break for Morning Sessions (Facilitator/Commentator)

1. Crime & Violence Min. David Muhammad / Rev. Newsome
2. Spiritual Responsibility Rev. Mitchell Martinez / Rev. Don Jones
3. Cultural Awareness Omowale Satterwhite / Terrance Elliot

11:35am Report Backs Each Facilitator (5 Mins. each)

11:50am Break for LUNCH

12:10pm Capt. Cleveland Brown (Richmond Police Department)
12:15pm NOI Jr. Sisters Drill Team
12:20pm Bro. Khalid Elahi – The Four Brothers
12:15pm Frontline Performance and Discussion

1:05 Intro. of Keynote Terrance Elliot
1:10pm Keynote Address Dr. Jawanza Kunjufu

2pm-3:30 Break for Afternoon Sessions (Facilitator/Commentator)

Economic Development Walter Ross / Joe Gross
Political Action Joe Brooks / Ted Smith
Education & Youth Barbara Williams / Ray Muhammad

3:35pm Report Backs/Announcement of Committees

4:15pm-4:25pm Summation Rev. Mitchell Martinez
4:30pm-4:40pm Faces of Violence 9 minute Tape Collage

4:40pm-4:45pm Closing Rev. Mitchell Martinez

Mayor's conference

2005-06-02T15:48:00.000-07:00

On Thursday night I'll drive to Richmond to participate in a meeting with local mayors. It's an annual meeting of mayors. It'll be my first one with this group and it'll be interesting to hear their remarks.

Stuck with ethanol

2005-06-02T15:44:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow we take a closer look at the ethanol mixture in California's gasoline after the U.S. EPA today denied California's request to be exempted from a federal gasoline requirement. Environmental reporter Mike Taugher dives into the subject, looking at what it means now that California is stuck with using ethanol.

Tomorrow's paper

2005-06-01T16:19:00.000-07:00

Some of what's in Thursday's newspaper includes a look at the sharp decline in worker's comp claims in the California and whether the Schwarzenegger administration can take credit. We also have a look at hydrocars and the push in California and the nation to use hybrid vehicles. In our features section we preview an exhibit at the Bedford Gallery in downtown Walnut Creek on clay arts, and in sports we stumble into today's water cooler topic of the day, that being the San Francisco 49ers and its ill-fated effort to bring sensitivity training to its players in a not so sensitive way. That story was displayed prominently in the SF Chronicle after a tape of the video was leaked to that newspaper. It's always fun when someone drops a dime on another person. Having been a pro football beat writer in Colorado, I can imagine the hootin' and hollerin' that went on inside the 49ers complex when the players were shown the video, and the embarrassment the organization feels now that the tape has been leaked.

Wash Post Newsroom

2005-06-01T09:52:00.000-07:00

More here on what Tuesday was like inside the Washington Post newsroom. Also, the neighborhood in Santa Rosawhere Felt lives reacts to the news.

Update on salaries

2005-05-31T14:13:00.000-07:00

We were in court today after a union representing some Alameda County employees filed for an injunction to block that county from releasing to us the names and salaries of its highest wage earners. The judge agreed to hold a hearing on the union's argument in two weeks. We'll be back in court arguing that this is public information and the public's right to know how Alameda County spends its tax dollars.

Deep Throat

2005-05-31T08:51:00.000-07:00

W. Mark Felt, the number two man at the FBI during the time, acknowledges in an interview with Vanity Fair that he was Deep Throat. President Nixon had said he long suspected that Felt was Deep Throat. This revelation today will be the topic of many water cooler conversations. He lives in Santa Rosa with his daughter.

The names

2005-05-27T13:16:00.000-07:00

When you see the names of the 1,636 U.S. military killed in Iraq grouped together in one place, the effect is a sobering reminder of the sacrifice U.S. forces are making in Iraq. Our Presentation Editor, MaryAnne Talbott, has spent this week placing each name on two open pages we have planned for Memorial Day. This is the fourth time she has done this since the fighting began, and each time the list grows longer and the emotions stronger. It's quite impactful to see two pages of names of U.S. military killed in Iraq. When we did it last year, the names took up one full page. This year the list of names takes up two full pages. Let us know what you think when you see the list of names in Monday's newspaper. We do it as a tribute to the men and women killed during the war and as a remembrance for their families.

Back to court

2005-05-27T11:48:00.000-07:00

We learned today that unions representing government employees will appeal to the state Supreme Court recent court rulings that government salaries are public records. Our newspaper sued the city of Oakland when it refused to release the names of employees earning $100,000 a year. The Alameda County Superior Court and then a state appeals court ruled in our favor, saying that taxpayer-funded salaries are public records. The city of Oakland ended up paying our attorney fees after the court rulings. Now the unions want to continue to fight by taking the issue to the state Supreme Court. The government unions have another case before the state Supreme Court that involves the Los Angeles Times. The LA Times requested a roster of names of LA police officers, their date of hire and the date of any terminations. The LA Times won their request in superior court, but then that decision was overturned by an appeals court. The matter is headed to the state Supreme Court. The state Supreme Court will now have two issues before it if it agrees to accept the cases: 1) Are salaries of public servants public records? 2) And are the names of police officers and their date of employment public records? The government unions say no, that taxpayers don't need to know how much local governments pay employees and taxpayers don't need to know the names of police officers who patrol the public streets. We'll be in court arguing for the public's right to know should the California Supreme Court hear the cases. In the meantime, other local governments are watching the cases to determine whether they should comply with requests for public salary information.

Bolton vote

2005-05-26T15:57:00.000-07:00

We were anticipating that the U.S. Senate would vote this afternoon on John R. Bolton's nomination to be U.N. ambassador but Democrats have forced a procedural delay and the vote now won't come until after the Memorial Day recess. This remains a fascinating story to follow.

Questioning a headline

2005-05-26T13:59:00.000-07:00

Just got off the phone with a reader who questioned our use of the word "raucous' to describe the teacher rally in Sacramento on Wednesday. She said she was in Sacramento, on other business, and saw the rally and heard it but didn't feel like it was a "raucous" crowd as our headline stated. Headline writers take their cues from the reporting inside the story and in reading the story. The headline should accurately sum up the story. No doubt this was a large, vocal crowd. Was it "raucous?"

What we're up to

2005-05-26T12:58:00.000-07:00

The three-day holiday weekend provides us with above-normal challenges of getting our unique content prepared for the three-day run. It means busy, busy days for the staff on Thursday and Friday. Normally we're gearing up for the two-day weekend, but this week we have to have the Tuesday paper in shape by the end of day on Friday since we move to skeleton crews with the Monday holiday. We're ramping up nicely, with some dynamite content for A1. Our Monday newspaper will have special meaning with the Memorial Day holiday. Planning is the key.

Teacher protest

2005-05-25T18:10:00.000-07:00

The focus of our front page for Thursday is the massive teacher protest in Sacramento. This is an ongoing demonstration that teachers have toward the educational policies and school funding by the Schwarzenegger administration. Our goal is bring context and clarity to the issues, as well as report on the teacher protests. Our reporters on the scene, including veteran Sacramento observers, say the teacher turnout was as massive a demonstration as they've seen in Sacramento over the past several years.

New media conference

2005-05-25T16:20:00.000-07:00

UC Berkeley is hosting this conference on Friday. It's an event worth attending on the topic of the Internet and newspapers on the cutting edge with interactive and innovative web sites.

Ethical decision

2005-05-25T14:12:00.000-07:00

The question came up in editing this story on the murder of Terrance Kelly whether we should publish the names of the minors who testified before a grand jury investigating the homicide. It was purely an ethical decision about whether or not to publish the names of the juveniles who testified before the grand jury. The grand jury transcripts themselves revealed the names and, as a result, the names are part of the public record. I made the decision not to publish the names of the juveniles testifying in this homicide investigation because I didn't think these kids needed the exposure in the newspaper. Anyone who wants to know which juveniles testified before the grand jury in this case can read the transcripts for themselves. Their names are part of the public documents in this case. We didn't get a copy of the grand jury transcripts because it would have cost us around $400 to get a copy from Contra Costa County, and we're just as well off having had our courts reporter, Bruce Gerstman, read them, make detailed notes and write his story off his notes. There also isn't an electronic link to the grand jury transcripts that we could provide, unfortunately. There are no easy answers on when to publish and when not to publish the names of juveniles when it relates to a crime story. Circumstances change from case to case.

The day so far

2005-05-25T13:33:00.000-07:00

The morning involved a 7:30 a.m. breakfast talk with the Pleasant Hill Chamber and small businesses in Pleasant Hill. That event lasted till 9:45 a.m., and during it we had a full discussion about the community focus of the newspaper and a re-emphasis around small businesses. Then at 10 a.m., it was an introduction to representatives with Macy's Department Stores. I hosted three Macy's reps in my office in the newsroom and we chatted about Barry Bonds, the 49ers and general chit-chat. Whether it's before a group like the Pleasant Hill Chamber or a major client like Macy's, I love to talk journalism and talk shop. The more I can discuss journalism and the newspaper, the more I see misconceptions about journalism being addressed. Journalists can do themselves and the profession a lot of good just by talking about what it is we do, how we conduct business, who we are and what we're about.

Housing market stays red hot

2005-05-24T15:16:00.000-07:00

In the Business Section we're reporting tomorrow that the U.S. housing market continues to perform at a blistering pace. A report out today by the National Association of Realtors shows that existing homes around the country were sold in April at the fastest pace in history as the nation's red-hot housing market just keeps getting hotter. The realtors report says that existing single-family homes and condominiums were sold at a seasonally adjusted rate of 7.18 million units last month, a gain of 4.5 percent from a revised March sales pace of 6.87 million units. The Bay Area is only one of the many hot regional housing markets in the country.

All Things Digital

2005-05-24T14:18:00.000-07:00

Interesting comments in this Wall Street Journal story out of today's All Things Digital conference in Carlsbad, Calif. Do you thoughts on what's being said here?

Filibuster national story

2005-05-24T13:42:00.000-07:00

We were the only newspaper in the Bay Area, and I suspect one of the few in the country, who did not lead their newspaper with the deal in the Senate Monday night to address the filibuster issue on judicial nominees. The senior editors all wanted to lead the paper with the filibuster story, but I did not. The story is deadly reading to begin with, and the hot air coming out of the Senate on the issue -- "Sen. Robert Byrd, We have kept the Republic" was over the top. It was easy to predict how newspapers would carry the news, banner headlines with one or two stories starting out front and a utility box to make it easier to navigate the issue. That type of play requires devoting a good chunk of the front page to the issue, and I wasn't willing to give up that much room to the issue on A1.

Warren Beatty

2005-05-23T09:26:00.000-07:00

Warren Beatty's speech Saturday to the graduating class of the Goldman School of Public Policy at UC Berkeley has some local Dems buzzing. The speech, covered by Times Writer John Simerman, was seen by some Dems as Beatty's call to arms to unseat Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger in 2006. Local Dem blogger Tim Farley writes: "Warren Beatty’s blistering attack on Gov. Schwarzenegger’s administration over the weekend as the commencement speaker at the University of California, Berkeley, coupled with his refusal to rule out his candidacy, has ignited a gasoline tanker full of speculation of Beatty running for Governor of California against Arnold Swarzeneeger. For more than 35 years, Beatty has been active in Democratic Party politics. Whether supporting Robert Kennedy’s presidential campaign in 1968, George McGovern in 1972, and Gary Hart in 1984 or countless other candidates and issues, Beatty has genuine progressive bona fides. His remarks at the graduation ceremony had all the appearance of throwing down the gauntlet to the Governor. If the recall election in 2003 created a circus like environment of 24 hour cable news talking heads, imagine the intensity of these two Hollywood heavyweights having a shoot out on the issues with the sun setting on a warm pacific beach as a backdrop."

Anonymous sources

2005-05-23T08:42:00.000-07:00

The use of anonymous sources and the problems associated with it, particularly in light of the Newsweek story, continues to get a full airing. David Gergen of U.S. NEWS & WORLD REPORT, argues in this roundtable discussion that Newsweek should unmask its anonymous source that led to the news magazine's problems. What are your thoughts?

Reader objection

2005-05-20T12:15:00.000-07:00

A few readers this week have called to complain about a Newspaper In Education piece that the Contra Costa Times has been running. The NIE segment features Hispanics who have been successful as part of NIE's education of Hispanic Heritage Week. NIE provides these segments as educational tools for school children. They are used in classrooms as learning guides. The newspaper participates by publishing the educational pieces and then delivering the newspapers to classrooms so they can be used by teachers. The three or four readers who have called are concerned about the newspaper highlighting the achievements of Hispanics and see it as an indication of too much attention being paid to Hispanics at the expense of Caucasians. These have been interesting conversations to have with readers this week.

Investigative journalism

2005-05-20T08:17:00.000-07:00

A primary mission of our newspaper is to produce investigative journalism and be a watchdog on government agencies and elected officials. The story we published this morning on the Schwarzenegger administration and its closeness to powerbroker Bob White is an example of the watchdog investigative journalism the newspaper pushes. The story by reporter Dion Nissenbaum has been in the works for months. These stories require extensive research, interviews, documentation of public records and long hours of writing and editing. It's the type of journalism that Internet powers, such as Yahoo, Craig's List, Google, cannot produce at this stage because they don't employ journalists. There has been commentary from the founder of Craig's List that that site would like at some point to get into socially responsible journalism and investigative journalism. For now though, the Internet powers simply aggregate content but aren't producing unique content. The unique content produced by newspapers remains to be our most valuable characteristic. Journalists are part of the backbone of a free society and their work remains the most valuable part of the newspaper.

Hotter than Star Wars

2005-05-19T16:29:00.000-07:00

The Lesher Speaker series sponsored by the Contra Costa Times sold out Thursday, only hours after the tickets went on sale. The speaker series, only in its second year coming up, has become a must-attend event in the East Bay. Next year's lineup includes the likes of Steve Young, Dan Rather, Dave Barry, among others.

Here we go again

2005-05-18T16:50:00.000-07:00

Journalists are in the news again around the topic of ethics, use of anonymous sources and credibility. It's a stain we bring on ourselves with sloppy work and breaches of trust. No doubt the fallout over Newsweek Magazine's use of anonymous sources has caught your attention, but closer to home in the Bay Area the resignation of Sacramento Bee columnist Diana Griego Erwin may not be on your radar. Here's an interesting item on her situation. You want to know what our policy is that guides the Contra Costa Times newsroom? Our ethics policy is here.
The simplest guidepost is to let your conscience be your guide. As for anonymous sources, our Sunday Perspective section will carry a commentary from Clark Hoyt, the Knight Ridder Washington boss, who writes about how anonymous sources are a way of doing business in Washington, not necessarily for journalists but by the powerbrokers in the White House and the halls of Congress.

Tomorrow's newspaper

2005-05-18T16:18:00.000-07:00

Really neat story for tomorrow's newspaper by our Science Writer Betsy Mason. She writes about an effort to create an artificial retina that could restore sight to people with macular degeneration or retinitis pigmentosa, two of the most common causes of blindness. Let Betsy know what you think. Her email is bmason@cctimes.com. You can find the story on our front page tomorrow, or on the homepage of contracostatimes.com

Newsmakers

2005-05-18T13:18:00.000-07:00

We'll be announcing in tomorrow's newspaper the lineup for year two of the Lesher Speaker Series of Newsmakers. The lineup includes: Steve Young, Sept. 6; Dan Rather, Oct. 10; Erin Brockovich, Nov. 1; Dave Barry, March 7, 2006; Madame Jehan Sadat, April 11, 2006; Andrew Cuomo and J.C. Watts, May 3, 2006. Tickets can be purchased at the ticket window of the Dean Lesher Regional Center in downtown Walnut Creek, or by calling 925-943-SHOW. Here is a flier for the event.

Film crew in-house

2005-05-16T14:16:00.000-07:00

An independent film crew doing a segment on the Bay Bridge construction project is in the newsroom today shooting footage of our chief political reporter Lisa Vorderbrueggen. Lisa is getting included in the documentary because of the work she has done in covering the project, including a series we published more than 4 years ago that took an in-depth look at why all the delays in the project. When we published that series, little did we know then that still today the project would be mired in political squabbling. The focus of the film apparently is the design of the project and engineering work associated with the project. Lisa has written extensively on these matters and is largely considered THE EXPERT on this project among Bay Area journalists.

Controversial photograph

2005-05-16T09:17:00.000-07:00

We published this photograph from a Friday accident scene in the city of Concord. We spent a fair amount of time debating whether to publish the photograph given its visual impact of seeing an accident victim on the roadside with the fireball in the background. The person on the ground is not dead, but was transported to a local hospital and is in stable condition, we're told. The accident did cause one death. I had two readers upset by the photography. Prior to publishing we discussed the need to be sensitive to the families of those involved in the accident and to our readers. We ultimately decided to publish based on the news value. What do you think? Would you have published the photograph if you were the editor?

Worth reading

2005-05-16T08:51:00.000-07:00

On Sunday business reporter George Avalos delivered a question and answer segment with San Francisco Federal Reserve Bank President Janet Yellen. The Q&A, found here yields to the reader a better comprehension of the forces at work in today's economy.

Warriors

2005-05-13T12:03:00.000-07:00

Lunch today with the Golden State Warriors public relations staff. Always a nice perk to get to see those people and spend time talking about the team and how we cover the Warriors.

Military bases

2005-05-13T11:55:00.000-07:00

Given that we're currently reporting on our web site the fact that the Concord Naval Weapons Base is being recomended for closure by the U.S. government, our focus for the Saturday paper will be to bring more clarity and explanation to what it means. The web site offers great opportunity to report on breaking news, and the daily paper gives us the avenue to bring greater depth and clarity to the issue. That's why we feel the web site and daily newspaper complement each other and we can use both in unique ways for content.

Two cool stories for Friday

2005-05-12T15:56:00.000-07:00

We're at tonight's premiere of the Star Wars movie in San Francisco and will build our front page around that for Friday. That's one cool story in tomorrow's paper.
The other is a setup to the AMA Superbikes races at Infineon this weekend. The story looks at Michael Jordan's involvement with motorcross and how he has tapped into some local talent to ride on his AMA team.

Journalist meeting

2005-05-12T15:48:00.000-07:00

The lunch hour was spent with journalists working at the San Jose Mercury News. I was invited to talk to them about career paths, juggling personal life and a career, and how I got to be the editor of a newspaper. I love talking to journalists and I love talking about my profession as a journalist. It was a good chat and a good opportunity to meet some hard-working journalists at another newspaper.

Coming Sunday

2005-05-11T17:07:00.000-07:00

We've asked the Rev. Andre L. Shumake to write some commentary about the upcoming June 4 summit in Richmond that gets to the heart of black-on-black crime in that city. Shumake is organizing a June community forum as he engages in a dialogue that talks about living in peace in Richmond's black communities. You can read his essay in the Sunday Perspective section.

Outrageous story

2005-05-11T16:20:00.000-07:00

The outrageous story of the day comes out of Hercules and a high school student who apparently was severely beaten in a school bathroom and the beating videotaped and posted on a web site. We'll bring a full report in tomorrow's newspaper. Update: Story is here.

What was that?

2005-05-10T11:01:00.000-07:00

Buzz of the day is the stuff falling out of the skies over the town of Danville. The Federal Aviation Administration is looking into the Monday night flight over Danville that saw cargo from a FedEx plan falling from the sky. Once we have a story online, we distribute it to other Knight Ridder sites like this one in Fort Worth.

Flashback

2005-05-09T15:31:00.000-07:00

In the check out line at a local Safeway store today when I look at the newstands and see a photograph of JonBenet Ramsey staring at me. Of course, her face was on a National Enquirer. The memories of covering that story for the Denver Post flood back. What an intense, national story her murder turned out to be. Never quite sure why a story like hers takes off and gains such national exposure. For us in Denver at the time, it was a murder on Christmas Eve in Boulder that got our interest. It turned out to be one of the most intense, competitive stories we ever engaged in. For three years that story dominated our lives. I could tell some fascinating stories about the sources we cultivated, and the inside knowledge we gained from both the defense and prosecutor teams. The police reporter who led the way for us was Marilyn Robinson, now retired. She is one of the most magnificent police reporters ever to work in a newsroom. I can't believe JonBenet is still on the cover of magazines, some eight years later.

That time of year

2005-05-09T11:18:00.000-07:00

The months of May and June typically mean a lot of stories on government spending like the one we published Sunday from our Sacramento bureau. State and local governments predictably will be scurrying about, trying to figure out how much tax money they have to spend and what they will spend it on. And typically we'll write about programs being eliminated, and the acrimony between elected officials and the public they serve and the acrimony between elected officials and other elected officials. It can get maddening, if not confusing, reading the various stories on government budget plans, and our job as editors is to challenge how the stories are being written and presented so that they are comprehensible and relevant to people's every day lives. Having covered government at all levels and having written hundreds of stories on how government spend its money, my instincts are that these stories are important. The key is not to make them dull, but real enough that people can comprehend what's going on.

Friday's schedule

2005-05-06T13:43:00.000-07:00

8 a.m.--Retrieve voicemails, read email, organize next week's schedule, field telephone calls, discuss Knight Ridder project on telephone with pertinent players.
9 a.m.--Attend weekly meeting on production issues of newspaper. Hear about challenges of putting out the morning newspapers.
10a.m.-noon--Attend newspaper strategic planning meeting.
1 p.m.--Attend newsprint task force meeting.
2:30 p.m.--Attend Page 1 news meeting.
4 p.m.--Drive to Danville for celebration on launch of Danville Times.

Disappointed reader

2005-05-05T08:22:00.000-07:00

Voicemail left for me this morning from a reader who said she was disappointed we reported the arrest of Abu Farraj Libbi , a suspected terrorist fugitive captured in Pakistan, on our Nation/World cover this morning and not on our front page. She surmised that the reason we "buried" the story on our inside Nation/World page was because it was "good news" in the nation's fight against terrorism. Interesting logic on the part of this reader.