elections, operations and howard marks

The Echo's plans for covering the Assembly elections are now in full swing.

This time round we will obviously be taking advantage of icwales.co.uk as a means for making our coverage more interactive than previously and for giving readers access to a database of our election coverage.

We got plans for inviting politicians to write blogs on their election campaigns. I'd be interested in any reaction to this before we move it any further so please get in touch. Would candidates see this as a useful means of communicating to readers, would the content actually be of interest? Let me know....

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all bets off

So we lost out on the supercasino ...and with it the opportunity to fast-track our sports villages plans in time for the London Olympics in 2012.

That the winner was named as Manchester is a major surprise as all the talk had been of the Dome or Blackpool.

We have been hearing whispers that the judges were greatly impressed with Cardiff's bid but obviously it was not enough to swing their vote.

So where does that leave the city - when will we see the permanent ice rink and snow facilities? Will the hotels and flats featured in the impressive artists' impressions ever emerge?

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people power

So the people of Canton have spoken ... and they don't fancy the council's idea of a parking zone one little bit.

The result was even stronger than that predicted in the Echo's poll last week and will put council leader Rodney Berman under pressure to know throw out the plans.

We'll be following the story closely over the next couple of days.

There's good news at the Echo with an announcement that we are to get a new computer upgrade which will enable us to improve our on-line news coverage.

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world of news

The world of technology moves so fast.

It's not so long ago that our newsrooms were full of people with blades, cutting and pasting bits of paper onto the page, ready for the press.

Now of course we're all computerised and can whizz words and pictures onto the press - and online - in a matter of minutes.

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Parking row

We are this week embroiled in a story that encapsulates local newspapers... the Canton controlled parking zones controversy.

You won't find much about this story in any national newspapers or TV headlines, you'd be hard pressed to see much about it on our own Welsh national TV headlines. No, this is a micro-local story that is of huge importance to the people of Canton.

In case you've missed it Cardiff Council, eager to approach the perennial problem of street parking and freeing up our roads, are seeking to introduce new charges for parking in community areas.

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Sir Alex and the burberry campaign

You have to hand it to the Burberry campaign - it just goes from strength to strength.

Every week the jobs campaigners - led by Leighton Andrews and Chris Bryant - unveil a mega-celebrity to back their cause.

I know from experience of leading newspaper campaigns how difficult it can be to get through to these people so to land the calibre of names that they are getting is astonishing.

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weather

Travelling back from a meeting in Birmingham yesterday I was one of the thousands of travellers caught up in the so-called Killer Storms - as the Daily Express likes to call them.

A train journey that should have taken two hours to Cardiff instead stretched out into a tedious four hour marathon, calling in at Bristol for a 45 minute break along the way.

A bit of wind and the country comes to a standstill.

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st athan

As I sit here typing, Tony Blair is holding court on the TV in his weekly Prime Minister Questions.
It's not really the most entertaining thing on the box - I'm more of a Celebrity Big Brother fan, sadly - but I hope it will be worthwhile as I wait for official confirmation from the Defence Minister that St Athan has indeed been chosen as base for the new £14bn military academy.

And today we hear that on top of that massive news for South Wales we are now in pole position as preferred bidder for a second part of the military academy.

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st athan

Echo readers have waited a long time to hear if their petition to persuade the MoD to site the new £14bn military academy - and its 5,000 jobs - in St Athan.

Today we are able to publish the fantastic story that we are set to be announced as the preferred base.

This is absolutely massive news for South Wales - creating jobs, prosperity and huge spin-offs for the area in general.

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food

One of the greatest things about living in South Wales is the great eating out.

We have such a wide variety of venues across the region - genuinely something for every taste.

This morning I had the good fortune of attending the Echo's Food and Drinks Awards at the Marriott in Cardiff, where we recognise the best venues across South Wales.

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judge

Today we report on a legal story.
Cardiff's top judge has been promoted to the High Court in London.
So what's so interesting in that?, I hear you cry.
Well the particular judge is a certain Judge John Griffith Williams QC, a very well respected law man who is well-known to newspaper readers as the man at the centre of the Craig Sweeney sentencing controversy.
The judge found himself at the centre of a national storm over sentencing of paedophiles with Home Secretary John Reid leading the attacks on what he said was 'soft sentencing' of serious criminals.

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windy and junkets

Just as we were putting our city final edition to bed today a story reached us about the roof of a Cardiff school which had been blown off in the gales.

It was one of those moments when all hands are on the pumps as our reporters rang about to get as much information as possible just as we went to press.

The damage to Michaelston College is the worst that we came across South Wales today as we were battered by 75mph winds.

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big brother in Cardiff

There's something about the TV show Big Brother that brings out the madness in people.
You only have to think back to George Galloway's embarrassing scenes - 'Would you like me to be the cat?' - or any number of wannabees who have been caught in the glare of the reality TV cameras.
Just last night I settled down to watch the latest series of Celebrity Big Brother - confession time, I am addicted - and witnessed the emotional crumbling of the 70s pop star Leo Sayer.
It is car crash TV but totally unmissable.
There is just something about the show which attracts bizarre behaviour and colourful characters.

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An amazing story

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As an editor, every day is stimulating. I walk into the office knowing that anything - absolutely anything could happen.

Today was one of those fantastic days when I loved - really loved - our lead story.

Our front page today carries the striking image of a premature baby's tiny hand clinging onto his mother's fingers. For me, it's a wondefully powerful picture.

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FA Cup

Yesterday's big match was at the centre of discussions this morning - for City's creditable performance and the behaviour of some fans inside the ground.

Spurs may have had their big guns out but the Bluebirds were an able match, and had the best of play for most of the match.

Captain Darren Purse, talking to us in today's paper, is quietly confident that City can travel to White Hart Lane and come back with a win. We hope so.

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Gren

Not many people are known by just one name. In Wales we have a few - Gareth, Max, Barry and also Gren.
Yesterday we had the sad job of informing the people of Wales that Grenfell Jones - known across the country as Gren - had died.
It is never pleasant to inform readers of a death - particularly so when that person is part of the Echo team.
Gren was simply a newspaper legend.
I can't think of many journalists who have contributed to a daily paper for 40 years.

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New Year cheer

So today we start the New Year off with some good news as missing woman Joanne Duggan is found safe and well.

After three days with no contact her family were fearing the worse.

But today police found her in a house in Penarth.

We'll be updating the story as the day goes on.

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happy new year

A happy new year to all our readers.

Cardiff was one of the only cities in the UK to continue with its New Year celebrations last night - and it did so in style.

And with so many cancellations elsewhere it left the BBC only with cameras in Blackpool's Tower Ballroom and by our civic centre as a means of reflecting the celebrations outside London.

Yet again the city council's events team did us proud.

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