Patch Launches National Effort To Chronicle Local Economic Struggles

Today marks the beginning of a new Patch project called “Dispatches: The Changing American Dream.”

Given what we see in the dizzying, discouraging headlines everyday, these are trying times for the nation and the world: A near-record national unemployment rate. A seesawing stock market. Skyrocketing college tuitions. Mounting national and household debt. Underwater mortgages and foreclosures. U.S. soldiers dying in Afghanistan in our nation’s longest war.

“Dispatches” will chronicle how these larger events are playing out in our homes, our neighborhoods, our schools, our religious organizations, our businesses, our governments.

We don't think there's one American Dream. We all have our version that we're working toward. And today's hurdles are formidable. Looking out across nearly 900 Patch sites, we see business owners holding their breath deciding whether to expand; college graduates returning home because they can't find jobs; and senior citizens housing boarders to help pay their bills.

We also see bold new volunteer efforts, inspiring stories of local businesses that succeed because they innovated, and locals who've taken these trying times as a signal to engage more, not less, in their government.

At the purely local level, we want to know where we, as Bel Air neighbors, fit along these fault lines.

As the federal government battles over whether to raise taxes or make massive spending cuts, Harford County Executive David Craig managed to hold the line this year with no layoffs or tax hikes.

The rest of the nation may be facing massive layoffs, but boomtown Bel Air is watching a new hiring hundreds to staff its new location. Debates between political parties over election redistricting, happening all over the nation, have largely been one-sided as the Democrats have been out of the discussion in the Republican controlled county.

"Dispatches" will be built upon the compelling vignettes and snapshots we unearth across all of our Patch sites.

But don’t wait for us to find your story. This is a conversation. We need to hear from you. Tell us what stories in Bel Air you know of that best capture the American dream and spirit.