4/1/08 - As of today, I'm ending Wrongmont.

It's far from an end though, in many ways it's a beginning, and quite a beginning on the horizon.

As some of you may have seen, I recently started a Voter Registration Drive effort called Vote Longmont. It came from my years of trying to get people to pay more attention to their local community and government. So it was one offshoot of Wrongmont, and I think an important one. It will take up a fair amount of my time and money, but hopefully it will be worth it in higher registrations and turnout.

I've also been invited to join a fairly large media operation to write on subjects having to do with Longmont. It pays, not enough to be a second job, but I'm flattered to be considered. Prior to this offer, I had already been working on a much larger project than Wrongmont in scope and reach. The timing of this is total coincidence, but you know what they say about coincidences.

I'm well aware of the perceived connotations to the name "Wrongmont", and that is partly the reason for the change, but not totally. After people read my stuff or got to know me, both online and personally, they got to see that I was actually a Longmont supporter and booster. Even friends who would agree with what I was saying, still after all these years, didn't really care for the name. And those that didn't know me, it maybe left a bad first impression. I thought it was snappy, a little sarcastic and witty (like myself), and easy to remember and type into a browser.

But I also knew there were limitations with the name, and what people thought it meant. I don't like limitations, especially self inflicted ones.

Without giving too much away, I'm hoping my new project will interest people in wanting to participate. I will cover a wide variety of issues and topics and welcome outside submissions, as long as its Longmont related as much as possible. One example is I will showcase local talent, and I already have at least one band interested in taking part.

Local politics will still remain a large part of what is covered, but will be done in a much more interesting and entertaining way, at least that's the goal. The rest, you'll just have to wait. But whatever it is, and to whomever wants to take part, it will reach a larger audience than any other avenue I've used prior - combined. A hint: The Yellow Scene once said of me " By founding Wrongmont.com, Rodriguez became one of EastCounty's early independent publishers." The plan is to eclipse that. I'm not interested in standing still, no matter how comfortable it may be.

What's ahead is daunting and challenging, mainly because I'm not willing to do things half-a, well you know. And if it just doesn't work out, well, I guess you could consider this an April Fools joke.

While the name may change, the promise I made to myself and to my friend, the late Jeff Sands, remains.

©2008 Chris Rodriguez/Wrongmont.Com
(Chris Rodriguez is a Longmont resident, and the editor and publisher of Wrongmont.Com, a community website that raises local issues to increase public awareness and interest)