I was lucky enough to get to spend a few days last week outside of Winthrop, Washington where I got to read the Methow Valley News. The quality of many large-market, newspapers has declined so much that it is refreshing to find a small, local, paper that still has imagination and pop. I particularly appreciated the "911 Blotter" column which mixed the not-too-serious:

• 6/22/06. Sheriff, DEER: A number of vehicles on Poorman Creek Road seemed to have been part of a collision which seemed to have involved a deer, which seemed to have died.
• 6/23/06. Sheriff, Winthrop Marshal, MIP:  Several minors at a party at Bear Creek campground were arrested for being in possession of whatever it was they were in possession of that they weren’t supposed to have.
• 6/26/06.  Sheriff, ROCK: A car hit a rock in the road near Harts Pass.  The car was damaged; the rock uninjured.
• 6/26/06.  A 1-year-old baby in Twisp called 911.  It was apparently a wrong number.

To the extremely serious:

• 6/24/06.  Sheriff, SEARCH AND RESCUE: A woman slid about 500 feet and was injured in a climbing accident near Blue Lake Trail.  After an all-night rescue, she was airlifted to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, and is in satisfactory condition.

Reporting the police blotter seems like a good way to create transparency in government as well as keep people abreast of local issues.  And it makes for good reading. Now if only it was online so I could follow from Virginia…