You've Got Mail … From the City

By Lookout Staff

Wading ever deeper into the Information Age, the city has launched a program that allows residents to receive updates on everything from City Council meetings to developments via e-mail.

Residents can subscribe to the new e-mail notification system called Web Information Network (or WIN for short) for free and receive regular updates on areas they're interested in, such as bus schedule changes, purchasing bids, active projects in the planning division and weekly job openings with the city.

Other areas include City Council agendas, minutes and wrap-ups, City TV schedules, planning commission agendas, the latest edition of the city's newsletter --Seascape -- and updates on construction and street work.

"It's sort of a modified version of a list service," said city spokeswoman Judy Rambeau. "It gives information and encourages people to get on the web."

Subscribers will have to fill out an on-line form and provide their e-mail address and a password. Residents also can change the areas on which they receive e-mail by using the form.

Categories will be added as public interest areas are defined and city staff becomes familiar with the new system, according to a statement.

Currently, the city's web site offers all of the information contained in the e-mails, but residents often have to sift through numerous pages of information to find what they're looking for.

With a high number of the city's residents on-line, officials believe WIN will be a success.