The JS did the entire region a huge favor with paper’s two-part series on abuses in the child care system. Top-flight journalism was done here, offering an example of why a local newspaper is so vital to a community. Let’s see a blogger match that effort.

People who actually care about early childhood education have been watching this fiasco play out for years, recognizing that the system was designed to be defrauded, not to offer quality care.

It is too bad that so many records were withheld from the paper. It does not speak well of the system or the the state’s and local governments’ management of the system. What don’t they want the public to know? If those records contain personal information, can’t it be redacted and the records released?

If we don’t know what’s wrong, we can’t fix it. But then, maybe that’s the point.