• Light at the end of Governors
Back when the city started the widening of Governors Drive, a road I use each morning to get to work, I feared the worst. During rush hour, especially in the morning, traffic would be snarled for miles. People would burn up their gas idling. I envisioned drivers getting angry and taking shortcuts, legal or otherwise.

• Lean times take hold at City Hall
Over the past few years, City Hall has seemed almost recession-proof. Local economic growth plus a solid national economy poured new millions into the city's budget, and those budgets paid for expanded services, new programs and facilities and more employees.

• Why vote for Amendment One?
When aides to Gov. Bob Riley asked if he could visit us last week to talk about Amendment One, I had to wonder why. The Times (and my colleagues) had repeatedly recommended a "yes" vote this coming Tuesday.

• Tommy Battle's first acts bode well
For the first time since his runoff election victory Oct. 7, Huntsville Mayor Tommy Battle came by to meet with The Times' editorial board last week, and he brought some familiar faces in new roles.