I am a national political junkie and I read lots of news and blogs. I think there’s some high quality commentary out there, and blogs are great as a filter for political news I find interesting.
It seems, though, that I should be interested in state politics as well. I live in LA and San Diego, so it seems like there’s plenty of local politics there I could be following, too. I’ve tried to read a few blogs on these topics, but I haven’t found the comprehensive, interesting coverage I’m looking for.
How does one follow state and local politics? Do you have to rely on old media sources, or are there enough blogs to keep you up to speed? Are there any state or local blogs that particularly stand out as excellent?
And quite frankly that’s why you don’t see more blogs about them…their simply - not that interesting. Having been in civil service before at town council, it’s a lot of talk, [when we have quorum] and speaking nicely back and forth with the city manager. There really isn’t a need in my town for a blog for city councel, or state legislature…voting to withhold budgets, open sanitary services to a certain neighborhood, Mr.Jones’ Deli has blocked my parking for 40 years it’s time to do something about it, Can you stop the train from blowing it’s whistle infront of our beach community everyday 4 times a day?
I follow local politics avidly. Our local free weekly, Mountain Xpress, does a terrific job of covering city and county politics. (Unfortunately, our “real” newspaper, the Citizen-Times, thinks that journalism consists solely of stories about horrible traffic accidents or cute puppies.) I also regularly read a couple of blogs that cover local politics.
When I lived in the state capitol, I subscribed to the Raleigh News & Observer, which covers state politics well, but since moving away, I’ve followed state politics much less closely.
I should follow NYC politics, but I don’t. I get my political fix from national politics. The only news I get about NYC is whatever appears in The New Yorker.
I don’t follow what is going on in New York State. It might as well be a different country for all I care. I heard about Spitzer, but that had national attention.
Not in my neck of the woods. Our recently ousted sheriff was just convicted of extortion, money laundering, and conspiracy to run an illegal gambling operation. The county commission just sold public land to a developer in a sweetheart deal, which has caused a major outcry. A few months ago, the sheriff’s department arrested two city residents for hanging a flag upside down on their own property. Local politics around here is many things, but it’s not boring.
I have a basic knowledge of some aspects of state and local politics. But, I don’t follow it regularly. I basically know that there is amazing corruption in the Dallas Independent School District, the mayor has been a pleasant surprise, the Texas legislature is disgusting and the Governor is a 100% right wing jerk.
I tried reading www.voiceofsandiego.org for awhile, but just had trouble staying interested. I do listen to KPBS when I’m in the car driving to work in the morning, so that helps a little on the local news front. I also buy the Sunday paper (mostly for the entertainment, the coupons and the Target ad) so that kind of helps too.
But I would never say I follow the local stuff very well. I know just enough to be dangerous!
Those years are fun I admit. Have you ever had a year where nothing but the weather made the news? A slow year. In a slow year we had the Town cutting down century old maples and beech trees at 4am, all cloak and dagger. I would have loved to have been on the council for that one.
Local politics here is stranger than fiction. I read the paper daily and watch local news several times a week, and so does pretty much everyone I know.
I follow state politics, but not local news. What I mean is, I don’t hear about the truck that exploded on I-75 until days after it happened, but I do know to what extent Kwame is a tool.
For State Politics, sign up for Capitol Alert at the SACBEE.com website. They cover state politics like no one else and will send you alerts on subjects you are interested in. You can also get headlines to review and if you are interested in them, just click to go to the full stories.
I follow state and local stuff far more than the National stuff. Part of the attraction is that I can have more influence just due to the lower interest level on the part of the general electoral.
Also because the douchebags at my state and county level have gone out of their way to make it pretty good political theater.
There are a number of blogs that I follow which are pretty good. There are a ton of small newspapers here which also provide pretty interesting coverage on the local scene. You may not find a comprehensive all in site. But if you look for blogs of the various viewpoints, you can get a pretty good idea of what is going on. I read conservative ones and liberal ones, all of which provide a pretty good overview of what is going on in the state and SEPA in particular. I am sure you have a similar menu available, you just have to find them.
Coverage of state and local issues, including politics, is the reason I still subscribe to a daily newspaper. That’s one thing the Internet still doesn’t do very well, IMHO.
There really isn’t a need in my town for a blog for city councel, or state legislature…voting to withhold budgets, open sanitary services to a certain neighborhood, Mr.Jones’ Deli has blocked my parking for 40 years it’s time to do something about it, Can you stop the train from blowing it’s whistle infront of our beach community everyday 4 times a day?