Hey Elementary School students:

Are you opinionated? Do you have strong views on what is happening here in Tampa Bay with our sports teams, parks, schools and neighborhoods? Ernest Hooper and Sue Carlton are both local columnists for the St. Petersburg Times. This means they write their opinions about what is happening in Tampa Bay to share with hundreds of thousands of Times’ readers each week. Look for their columns in the “B” section of the Times or search for their columns in the paper’s archives by inputting their names in parenthesis like this: “Sue Carlton” or “Ernest Hooper.” Read a few of their columns to get an idea of the kinds of things they write about then think of an issue you would like them to share. Whether it is a new baseball stadium, the rights of students to hang out at Baywalk, or your concern about the homeless; write your idea for a column in the comments box by clicking the comment bar below. Be sure to give specific details about your column idea and why you think the Times’ readers would want to learn about this issue.

The student who has the best idea for a column will win a “Morty the Blogging Bee” stuffed toy, donated by the local non-profit organization, Charity Works. The “Mortys” will be awarded at the end of each month through May 2009. Ernest Hooper and Sue Carlton will select the column ideas they like best so be sure to think about what they like to write about before you enter your idea in this blog.

At the end of your blog response, make sure you write your first name and last name initial, grade, teacher’s name (from the class where you did the blogging) school and city. It should look like this:

Tammy J., 5th grade
Ms. Fraser’s English class
Williams Elementary School
Tampa

Good luck and keep blogging!