Patch Launches Dispatches: 'The Changing American Dream'

We're excited to inaugurate a new series for our North Hills Patch readers: "Dispatches: The Changing American Dream."

Every day, the national media are full of stories about how American families, businesses and neighbors are adjusting to these trying times.

There are so many changes happening so fast that it's dizzying: national debates about unemployment, foreclosures, debt, religion, government and private enterprise all touch on fundamental ways in which we see ourselves and our communities.

At North Hills Patch, we want to explore that conversation on a daily basis so we can better understand how our neighbors are adjusting to the challenges and opportunities that surround us.

We don't think there's one American Dream, but a multitude of American Dreams that a multitude of people are working toward achieving.

Looking out across nearly almost 900 Patch sites, we see businesses holding their collective breath at they decide whether to expand; college graduates returning home because they can't find jobs; and senior citizens bringing boarders into their homes to help pay the bills.

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

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

Nationally, there's a debate about whether taxes should be raised during poor economic times. 

Locally, we know that municipalities could face significant financial burdens next year if Allegheny County sticks to its current property reassessment timetable.

Nationally, there's a debate about the education system, which is at the center of our dreams of a better life for our children.

Locally, we know the  is facing lower funding levels this school year from the state, and that federal money for economic development projects and housing projects in Ross Township and West View is drying up. The most important people to turn that situation around are not national politicians, but our school and township and borough leaders.

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

Of course, we want your help. Tell us what issues and what stories in the North Hills go to the heart of your American Dream.