Statesville Pulse

This summer the R&L will feature blogger Amanda Peralta on our Web site. Her blog will follow her recreational pursuits in Statesville.

Ever want to know what young people think about and do in town? Here's your first-hand source.

Visit www.statesville.com and click on R&L blogs. Her blog is called Statesville Pulse.

What's happening

On May 1, Statesville, Mooresville and Lake Norman will launch what will be the most comprehensive community calendar in the county (and clearly the most alliterative).

Not only will you be able to search by ZIP code, category, venue or price, you will also be able to submit your own events for inclusion.

Want to start submitting your events? The form is available here. Remember, it launches on May 1, so people won't start seeing your events until then.

Our hope in launching this new calendar is to make the search for things to do easier. The partnership among the three publications will give our readers the most bang for their Internet buck.

Beginning on May 1, the calendar seen on the right will be posted on each Web site. To get started, click the day, click the advanced button to get more search options or click add event to submit your own.

Will online submissions be printed in the newspaper?

Yes and no. Yes, each newspaper will print a community calendar as they always have. The online calendar allows venues and organizers to post more information than the print editions can fit onto their community pages. In that sense, not everything from the online calendar will make it into print.

We look forward to serving our readers with this new feature, and we hope you will embrace it as your one-stop destination for what's happening in Iredell County.

Beyond words and photos

The R&L and Lake Norman Navigator are moving beyond words on paper. Learn more about events and stories through slideshows and video. Here are some highlights:

See a photo slideshow of life at Fort Dobbs through a re-enactment held this weekend.

Take a tour of Statesville's $10 million estate, which includes more than 200 acres and two homes.

See what Lake Norman Elementary School students are using new technology to learn.

County track meet

This week's Game of the Week comes to you from Lake Norman High School. North Iredell, West Iredell, Statesville, South Iredell, Mooresville and Lake Norman track and field athletes convened at Lake Norman Thursday.

For video highlights and stories, visit www.statesville.com.

Photo reprints

In case you needed another reason to get excited about www.statesville.com, we have several new features on the horizon.

First, users will soon be able to order photos taken by our fine photographers. Not only will you soon be able to order photos, but you can have photos printed on different surfaces. I'll have more information on this later.

Second, ever wish there was a comprehensive list of events and activities around the county. Ever wish you could easily search this list? Ever wish you could easily add to this list? You soon can! Yes, statesville.com, mooresvilletribune.com and navigatethelake.com will soon have a fully-functioning calendar feature. You'll soon be able to search by location, price or family friendliness of events all over Iredell County.

Have ideas for what could make our sites better for users? Comment here.

Week in photos

If you haven't yet noticed, our photographers capture a lot in a week. Now you can review the week through our photo gallery. The photo above was shot by O.C. Stonestreet.

Reviewing a week in photos isn't all we have in our gallery. Check out the recent WalkAmerica fundraiser, or an Easter pageant hosted by a local church.

Online scheduling

There is a method to our madness here at www.statesville.com.

Weekdays at 5 p.m.
We publish 5@5, our comedic look at Statesville characters with host Jim Munoz-McNally. He also gives a sneak peek at the next day's headlines.

Mondays
We take down the poll before noon and replace it with a new question. The results of the poll are published in Tuesday's R&L.

Fridays
We compile the week in photos, from the previous Saturday through Friday, and post it in our photo gallery.

Once a week
The R&L sports desk picks the best game of the week and we post video highlights.

Daily
If there are traffic troubles, we'll post them as soon as we know of them. The same goes for breaking news stories.

Have anything you think we should add to www.statesville.com? Post your comments with ideas and suggestions.