About 100,000 newcomers arrive in Atlanta each year, some of them dazed and confused. What's the Downtown Connector? You can get food at the Big Chicken but not at Spaghetti Junction, right? And why is the tea in Atlanta so sweet?

AJC lifestyle reporter Jamie Gumbrecht, a Michigan transplant, is in that number. Gumbrecht and editor Mike Benzie, also a newcomer to Atlanta, came up with the idea of a blog that would answer reader questions about life in Atlanta. The Newcomer blog debuted on accessatlanta.com in April and has gotten 68,000 page views. Dozens of AJC writers now blog. Jim Galloway's Political Insider, Rodney Ho's Radio Talk and American Idol, Peach Buzz and those involving college football recruiting are among the AJC's most popular blogs. Jim Wooten's Thinking Right blog is also a major hit.

Since small online communities often develop around specific interests, providing a forum for newcomers is a great reader service.

Gumbrecht's blog is a place where people can ask questions, share experiences and get answers. This week, she blogged about the best breakfast spots, shared information on registering to vote and posted a beginner's guide to riding MARTA. That topic served as a baptism by fire on the dynamics of race in a city that is supposed to be too busy to hate. Some bloggers quickly turned the discussion into a debate about the behavior of poor black people.

"I've had a few posts with aggressive, sometimes racist, commenting. Overall, though, I think readers have been interesting and helpful," Gumbrecht says.

AJC staffers monitor reader posts and delete those violating the site's commenting policy (which can be found under the visitor agreement link on ajc.com). Readers can also request that an offensive comment be removed. Online editors believe it's important to have a liberal commenting policy. Interactivity editor Lea Donosky notes that only a small percentage of people violate the user agreement.

Gumbrecht, who blogged at her previous job, is enjoying finding answers to many of her own questions about Atlanta. "We're all wading through issues like how to get a recycling bin and how to get a Georgia license plate. We're also trying to catch up with the local history and traditions that you just know if you've been here a while."

Local elections coverage. In a presidential election year, it's easy to lose sight of local elections. The AJC editorial board doesn't plan to endorse in all the July 15 races, choosing instead to focus on a few key races.

This week, the board endorsed DeKalb commissioner Burrell Ellis in the race for CEO of the county. The board will make endorsements in the Clayton County school board races based largely on how candidates answer questions in a community forum Sunday from 5 to 7 p.m. at Clayton State University. The event, co-sponsored by the AJC, is free and open to the public.

When making endorsements, "We look at the candidates' background of service, resume, length of time in Clayton and other civic involvement," said AJC editorial page editor Cynthia Tucker. "The average citizen, no matter how much time he or she tries to spend, still doesn't have the time to commit to going through the backgrounds of 32 people. We consider our endorsements in races like this very important."

The AJC voters guide will be available Monday on ajc.com. To address the needs of early voters, the AJC will run a version of the guide in community sections on July 3 and again on July 10.

Private Quarters and the Horizon page are on the move. Beginning Sunday, the popular Private Quarters column, which gives readers a look inside unique metro Atlanta homes, is moving to Sunday's Living section. The Horizon page, which features growth and development news and Maria Saporta's column, will be moving to the Sunday Business section.

The move will give more depth to the Sunday Business section, something readers are hungry for, according to our research. The Private Quarters feature attracts people who aren't traditionally business section readers, so the move to Sunday Living will allow for a broader audience and create more space in Business for growth and development news.

> Contact Angela Tuck by e-mail at insideajc@ajc.com, by phone at 404-526-5819, by fax at 404-526-5610 or by writing P.O. Box 4689, Atlanta, GA 30302.