From the Editor: New Local Voices Feature to Add More Community News, Views

Since the launch of Hazelwood Patch on Nov. 29,  you’ve come to know this site as a go-to resource for news about your town. This week, we're launching a blogging platform that adds a layer of depth to our community coverage.

Here's a look at what you should know about this new feature. As always, we welcome your feedback and recommendations that will help us do our job more effectively.

What’s new

The Local Voices section on our homepage is your gateway to opinions from community members and local news headlines.

• Blogs: We have invited people you may already know to post blogs using Hazelwood Patch as their platform. They may already have their own blogs as well. In addition, we’ll feature other local bloggers in a Local Voices feed.

You’ve probably already noticed that Patch is ever-evolving! In April, we made a few functional enhancements, which included featuring a list of events more prominently. We also now feature four news items in the top left section of our homepage. While columns are no longer featured on the homepage, you can still find them under the news tab.

What’s not new

Speaking of columns, our great contributors who weigh in with their insights, views and reflections are not going anywhere. You will still find our Moms Council-, and (Moms Talk q&A), Holly Edgell (The Virtual Life) along with other great colums including Hazelwood Bites Nearby, Hazelwood Small Businesses and Historic Hazelwood on Hazelwood Patch. Again, simply click on the News tab and select Opinion from the drop-down menu to find them. The addition of bloggers will add even more opinions and ideas to Hazelwood Patch.

As your editor, I will continue to cover community news, write articles and columns, and take photos and video. You’ll still see me doing my job around town, along with Hazelwood Patch contributors whose work you’ve become accustomed to reading and viewing.

We still want you to share your photographs, weigh in using our comments sections or activity stream, follow us on Twitter and like us on Facebook. If you haven’t already done any of things things, consider this your invitation!

Any questions or comments?

I’d like to hear what you think about Local Voices, so please feel free to share your feedback by posting a comment to this article or dropping me a line at .