The content published on this blog — outside of quoted material from the Contra Costa Times and other sources — has been entirely mine, and that is not necessarily a good thing. It is only one opinion, one viewpoint, one set of ideas. And I’m humble enough to understand that they may be flawed, in some way, on some order, with regard to some details. It’s life.

In the past I’ve asked a few people to consider contributing their knowledge and ideas on certain subjects, usually education, however none of those efforts panned out. I guess the pay isn’t good enough. (It’s none.) More recently, I have found success in a renewed effort to branch out editorial content on this blog, and I think that is a good thing for readers: more opinions, diversified ideas, different backgrounds and objectives — all of which leads to a more robust debate on the topics that we care about.

The first contributor to the blog is Mike Bowermaster, a resident in Promenade and current boardmember of the neighborhood’s HOA (however I would not wish that title or position on anyone). Mike’s name will appear at the bottom of posts that he contributes. If you do not see a name, that means I wrote it, so please, blame me.

Hopefully more contributors will follow over time and a larger range of ideas will be discussed here, and at least more intelligently than I would provide. Contributions will be edited prior to publishing, so again, please blame me. And if you are interested in contributing, please let me know by email. (I will also gladly continue to accept anonymous contributions; just let me know in the email that you’d like to remain anonymous. Your tips mean a lot.)

In the mean time, please welcome Mike to the blog. He and I both share great optimism for the City’s future, and his voice is a valuable addition to the discussion. Without further ado…