Something's going on in Saratoga, and we're not quite sure what it is. But it's our intention to try to find out, and share our findings with the residents of the community.

The editorial stance in the Saratoga News in recent years has been limited to election issues and candidates, as well as isolated issue facing the city. We plan to change that policy by presenting more frequent editorials in the issues to come.

We indicated our intention to increase our editorial presence during a meeting with City Manager Dave Anderson and then Mayor Ann Waltonsmith, and they indicated that they welcomed the idea. When we did offer a series of editorials, though, during the last campaign--one that endorsed maverick candidate Andrew Barnes for city council--Waltonsmith then wrote in a letter to the editor:

"This election also saw a dramatic shift in the role of the Saratoga News, changing from a forum for local news with the emphasis on a 'fair and balanced' presentation of all sides of issues, to attempting to be a political 'player' in Saratoga politics. Other newspapers do that but it was a surprise to see our Saratoga News go in that direction. In the future, I think that citizens will need to ask themselves: What is the Saratoga News' real agenda as it takes sides?"

Well, our real agenda is to explore the reasons why staff members are leaving their jobs in Saratoga, to determine why 60 to 70 residents are so concerned with the operation of the city that they planned to attend a retreat that generally goes by virtually unnoticed, and to determine why a city crying the budget blues in the wake of the recent defeat of the utility users task holds onto a white elephant like the North Campus facility when the sale of the property could generate millions of dollars for the general fund.

"Our Saratoga News" will be exploring those issues and more in the weeks ahead.