How is the government spending your money?

By ChrisCobler in Your Advocate: an editor's blog

I'm pleased to call your attention to a special series that starts Sunday under the direction of Public Service Editor Gabe Semenza. Semenza analyzed public databases to learn what federal stimulus money reached the Crossroads region and how it was ...

Merry Christmas -- and thank you

By ChrisCobler in Your Advocate: an editor's blog

I knew little about Victoria before I became Advocate editor almost three years ago. I hoped I would find a good home for my family and a newspaper that cared about its community and meaningful journalism. Christmas seems like a ...

How can public officials reach out to their constituents?

By ChrisCobler in Your Advocate: an editor's blog

Some Crossroads leaders are discovering the Victoria Advocate Web site is a good way to reach out to the public. I commend University of Houston-Victoria President Tim Hudson and Victoria County Election Administrator George Matthews for blogging regularly in an ...

How can you tell it's Monday?

By ChrisCobler in Your Advocate: an editor's blog

Angry calls come with the territory of being an editor. After many years of practice, I usually can listen quietly for a while and get to the heart of a reader's concern. Occasionally, though, calls go like the one I ...

What are all of the innovative programs?

By ChrisCobler in Your Advocate: an editor's blog

A reader asked for this list to go with my previous post. It's too long to post as a comment, so I created a new blog entry. Thanks to Brittany Hollas, executive director of the VISD Education Foundation, for providing ...

Did you know Christmas came early?

By ChrisCobler in Your Advocate: an editor's blog

I had the privilege Friday of helping hand out almost $7,000 to deserving Victoria teachers. As a member of the Victoria Independent School District Education Foundation board of directors, I participated in a grant patrol. Our group handed out checks ...

Must a fascinating person be worthy?

By ChrisCobler in Your Advocate: an editor's blog

Pepper, a Victoria man with a checkered past, has 3,272 fans on Facebook. The Museum of the Coastal Bend, a wonderful place deserving of support, has 116 fans. Perhaps these same fans voted Pepper as the Crossroads' Most Fascinating in ...

What songs do you recall the first time you heard them?

By ChrisCobler in Your Advocate: an editor's blog

I was mesmerized Thursday night by the "Christmas at the Carillon" performance in Our Lady of Sorrows. As usual, the entire Conspirare choir concert, conducted by Craig Hella Johnson, sparkled and soared. I could go on and on about the ...

Why do reporters bother with social media?

By ChrisCobler in Your Advocate: an editor's blog

We first heard via Facebook about an out-of-town car crash this weekend involving a local couple. A friend of an Advocate staffer posted a prayer for the couple. On Tuesday, we heard via Twitter about StarTek's closing. Another reader blogged ...