The Debut

The Debut: Schwartz in the City

Welcome to Schwartz in the City. Using this blog as a vehicle, I hope to provide the educated masses (i.e. chronline.com readers) with an added depth of insight to coverage that appears in The Chronicle. I’ll never offer an opinion on a local news story related to this newspaper, but I will certainly weigh in on a variety of other topics ranging from sports and entertainment to journalism issues and the outdoors. Ideally, I would like for the content of this blog to eventually be driven by the reader. This blog will hopefully be a venue for answering questions, responding to e-mails and discussing both the important and the mundane. Below you will find several categories that I will strive to include in my blog on a semi-regular basis. Enjoy.

LOCAL: In Tuesday’s Chronicle, I wrote a story about the “Chehalis Stink” — an odor that has afflicted the Prospect Hill neighborhood for four or five years, according to city staff. It seems a solution has finally been pinpointed in the form of a chemical dosing station that would neutralize the odor by adding bleach or some other chemical to the sewage. It got me wondering: Are there any other areas of Lewis County where residents are living with putrid odor? If so, shoot me an e-mail.

RANDOM LINK OF THE DAY: Have a bad day today? Maybe your car wouldn’t start, or your dog left a brown-colored “gift” on your brand new rug? Well, give thanks — I doubt your day was as bad as this poor woman’s.

SCHWARTZ SPORTS: Two rounds into the men’s NCAA national basketball tournament, and my bracket is as busted Rocky Balboa’s face after 15 rounds with Apollo Creed. Yes, I picked the Duke Blue Devils to win it all. No, I didn’t expect the Washington State Cougars to make it to the Sweet 16. I stand to lose $45, as well as my dignity if things continue to progress as they have.

IN THE NEWSROOM: Chronicle crime reporter Sharyn Decker shocked co-workers Tuesday when she erected a five-foot wall around the back side of her workspace. The structure has been compared to the Berlin Wall because of its divisive nature and its potential to create turmoil in an otherwise peaceful workplace. Help stop Decker from completely surrounding herself. E-mail her at sdecker@chronline.com, and tell her to “tear down this wall!”

PERSONAL: Finally, rather than bore readers of this blog with an extensive personal introduction, I’ve decided to narrow my brief biography down for easy consumption. Below are the “Eric Schwartz essentials” as they would appear on the back of my baseball card.

Team: The Chronicle

Name: Eric Robert Schwartz

Hometown: Cameron, North Carolina

Bats: Right

Throws: Right

Acquired: First pick in The Chronicle’s December 2007 “supplemental draft”

Interesting fact: Schwartz graduated from Forks High School in 2003, and left the dark, damp depths of the North Olympic Peninsula to pursue journalism at Centralia College, and later at Eastern Washington University. His sports heroes include Brett Favre, Jesper Parnevik and Cecil Fielder.

Have a question, comment or news tip? Email me at eschwartz@chronline.com and I will reply in a timely fashion.