Chico can be a pretty small world sometimes. On Friday, I happened to head downtown for a slice of pizza where I ran into one co-worker at City Plaza. Later, I ran into another co-worker near Duffy's.

I guess I didn't expect to see them -- I usually don't see anyone I know when I visit downtown. Still, I run into people enough times to keep things interesting.

Oh, I walked through part of City Plaza's fountain and emerged with a sharp, distinct smell of chlorine on my clothes. I wonder if the city increased the amount of chlorine after some parents complained.

Hey all -

I wanted to share two of the best things to happen today. First off, someone installed those paper towel dispensers that auto-magically whirl paper out when you wave your hand in front of them. Truly, we live in a wondrous age.

Perhaps more importantly, I'm proud to announce that I helped relaunch my newspaper's Web site today at ChicoER.com. The redesign has been a long time coming, and I'm glad to turn our site on its head (esp. with the help of my co-workers).

Oh, I also devised a slightly corny slogan to go with it. "The new ChicoER.com - the power of more." One huge reason why I'm not in public relations, although I'm all right with it.


ChicoER.com - It's for real.

It's a modest effort compared to the most progressive of the "Web 2.0" sites. I mean, where are the delightful search "clouds," jerky 30-second video clips and user-defined 'news' sections?

Still, it's a pretty big step forward for a 30,000-circ. newspaper used to putting out stories just once a day. I'm happy with this blend of old-fashioned journalism with the best the Web can offer, including multimedia, mashups and some user-contributed material.

I hope those interested enjoy it as well. Please let me know what you think.

-- Ryan

- Learn about the redesign -- Including the "power of more." (Just one of the three or four things I've had to write about the redesign).
- Watch Editor David Little discuss the new site.