They don't call it Coffee- and-a-Muffin University, but you can get an education along with your java at the monthly meetings of the Wake County Citizens for Effective Government . The meetings are held in Cafe Espresso, a coffee shop in the corner of the Borders book store in the Six Forks Station shopping center at Six Forks and Strickland roads.

The meeting Aug. 21 was a milestone of sorts for the 2 1/2 year-old group: It was the first time a member of Congress was the featured speaker. Rep. David Price drove out from his Chapel Hill home and, armed with charts and graphs, gave a good rundown of recent developments in Washington (with a mild Democratic slant).

He later answered questions and listened to concerns from the audience. (I didn't count, but several dozen is a conservative estimate).

The congressman told me after the meeting that he learned something, too.

"I didn't know what to expect. I didn't know how large [the audience] would be," he said. Such gatherings, Price said, are "a measure of what's on people's minds, a measure of what they are intense about."

The congressman said he was impressed with how well-informed the group was.

And no wonder. WCCEG members have been meeting since early 2001 and have heard from the likes of former Wake County Sheriff John Baker, Cary Mayor Glen Lang and Raleigh Mayor Charles Meeker. They've focused on such topics as budgets, growth, sex education and immigration. They've had candidate forums -- and have another one coming up (more on that below).

The group was started by North Raleigh resident Gerry Bowles after she lost a race for the state Legislature in 2000. She had gathered a group of committed volunteers who had energy left over after the campaign, she said.

"Everybody said, 'What do we do now?' " Bowles said. The end result was WCCEG.

The group is nonprofit and nonpartisan. Bowles, a 56-year-old former legislative assistant and current homemaker, is a Democrat but is married to a Republican (she's fond of reassuring GOP voters, "I sleep with a Republican"). Indeed, conservatives such as Don Carrington of the John Locke Foundation and former state Rep. Art Pope have been featured speakers.

I detected a Democratic tilt to its membership (when I asked a Republican member if she felt comfortable participating, she said she did but added that the group has a "Democratic flavor.")

But attendees Aug. 21 did seem to come from a variety of political stripes. The group's goal is "the improvement of the quality of life for all Wake County citizens" through providing information and "an opportunity for dialogue on issues that impact Wake County citizens." They do seem to take that mission seriously.

With elections coming up, now is a good time to get better informed. Look for in-depth coverage in the North Raleigh News, from a northern Wake perspective, on the races and the school and recreation bond referendums. But with so much at stake you may want to dig deeper.

WCCEG meets the third Thursday of every month at 7:30 at Borders . There is a $10 membership fee. The next meeting, on Sept. 18, will be a forum for candidates for Raleigh mayor and council and Wake school board. For more information, call Bowles at 847-9901 .