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I’m ending my Olympic truce with the Reporters' Notebook. Not that I actually declared one, but it was so time-consuming to take all the sports and spectacles in, I didn’t have time to write anything. I realize now I just have to make the time.

Because another quadrennial, high-stakes competition has taken the spotlight: the national conventions. This is a busy 27 or so days for the news media between Beijing’s opening ceremonies and John McCain’s big speech in St. Paul. Bulbs are flashing and laptops are losing sleep as athletic and political prowess is flexed on the national and international stages.

Both the New York Times and the Financial Times.

In the past two weeks.

Both stories covered the local, regional and national foreclosure/real estate crisis, using Merced as a metaphor for the problems.

I thought both reporters presented the situation here fairly and reasonably thoroughly. David Streitfeld, the NYT guy, used to work for the LA Times and may have visited our area before, so his long story was informed with local voices and scenes.

Merced native Peter Rojas, of Engadget fame, has agreed to answer questions posed by Sun-Star readers. Got something you'd like to ask him? E-mail me or post your questions here.

If nothing else, I've always found state Sen. Jeff Denham to be an earnest fellow.

During the recall he faced, Denham made a point of portraying himself as the victim in an unprovoked attack by Democrats. All he did, he repeated, was vote against a bad 2007/2008 budget.

A majority of voters killed the recall when they went to the polls in June.

Perhaps it's Denham's new press secretary, Jann Taber, but I've noticed a strong sarcastic streak. Check out another Denham statement.