Holly::Some readers may remember that I write my column about my children each summer when I go on vacation.

Holly::As you can read from Maureen Duffin-Ward's column today (for those of you who didn't already know), she is leaving us. Going back home to Philly.

Holly::Let me drive home the point of last week's story about police activity in shopping centers for those who missed it -- or missed its point, as some shopping center managers feared would happen.

Holly::The first reaction of many (including Mayor Charles Meeker) when they heard about the 42-story building proposed for a site next to Crabtree Valley Mall was: It's too tall! Put it downtown!

Holly::A friend asked me over the weekend about the status of the plan to build a new road and bridge to connect the new and old sections of Falls of the Neuse Road.

Holly::Think of how much the world has changed since Raleigh voters approved $47 million in bonds for parks and recreation facilities.

Holly::Wake is a growing, prosperous county. Subdivisions with grand homes are popping up like weeds. Upscale retail outlets, such as Saks Fifth Avenue and Rolls Royce, have found us.

Holly::By the time you read this, I will be 50. Years. Old. I had to drag it out of myself.

Holly::If this column saves just one person from the grief and heartache my family went through last year, I'll be happy.

Holly::I was talking to my friend Louis on the phone when he asked me what we've been up to at the North Raleigh News. I told him I was excited because we were working on a series, something we rarely do.

Holly::OK, one more column (I promise) on the hotly contested school budget:

Holly::It's not how much money the school system gets; it's how they use it -- or misuse it. That sums up responses I got to last week's column, in which I wondered how anybody could be against raising property taxes a measly $35 a year.

Holly::You may not know it, but there is a battle for your soul going on at this very minute. Well, at least your heart and mind.

Holly::There was not much fanfare last week when the City Council approved a five-year plan to bring about more housing for low- and moderate-income residents.

Holly::I first started noticing it back in 1998. Every member of the landscaping crew working on the common areas outside of the apartment building on Ebenezer Church Road, where I was living at the time, was Hispanic.

Holly::Earlier this month, we ran a story about The Raleigh Independent Business Alliance, a group of independent, local retailers trying to sell shoppers on the idea of buying from them instead of those large chains that come in from out of state.

Holly::My wife and I were eating dinner last year with friends when talk got around to schools. One of their kids is the same age as one of ours, so it was a natural topic of conversation.

Holly::I plead guilty to DWW -- Driving While Wondering. As I drive around North Raleigh, a lot of things make me go, "Hmmmmm."

Holly::Often, when I'm finding it hard to wrap my mind around an issue, I find that the reason is that the information I have doesn't fit into familiar paradigms.

Holly::It seems like a good week to write about some tidbits that have been lying around my inbox but weren't quite meaty enough, on their own, for a full column.