Good newspapers evolve.

At The Desert Sun, we're always looking for ways to improve. And, specifically on the Opinion Page, we want to engage our readers even more.

A few months ago, this page was dominated largely with syndicated columnists. While pundits like Jules Witcover, Ellen Goodman and Dan K. Thomasson are great, hearing what our neighbors have to say is more important to The Desert Sun. We're committed to sharing thoughtful stories, editorials and offerings from local residents and officials that focus on what's most important to you: The desert.

We have put a new emphasis on Valley Voice columns, dedicated more space to letters to the editor and have been more consistent with local editorials.

It's frustrating, for you and us, when we don't have enough room for all your letters. Committed to making this section a true forum of opinion, we will frequently expand this section on Sundays to include more of your letters and columns.

As you can see, we have the space today to take a thorough look at the Salton Sea, one of the most important and complicated issues in Southern California. In the next few weeks, we'll examine closely what happened with the Indio Youth Task Force and its controversial grant, the valley's blood bank scene, and the critical challenges confronting our regional economy.

We will also be inviting local experts to weigh in on whether President Barack Obama should send more troops to Afghanistan.

Another new feature today is our Letter of the Week. Every Sunday, we'll pick our favorite and highlight it with a photo of the author. Consider this a challenge to letter writers to be creative and thoughtful about life in our lovely desert.

Later this month, a familiar face will join our Sunday Opinion pages: local lawyer and entrepreneur David Baron. His rants and raves have been a regular feature of Desert Magazine. His column will appear here every other week, and we're confident it will spark an immediate reaction.

Also later this month, we'll be rolling out a Monday question-and-answer feature that quizzes valley newsmakers on local issues.

As your community conversations editor, I think this is exciting stuff. Despite the stereotype, opinion pages are not gray and boring. They should contain some of the most sophisticated writing in the newspaper. My job is to listen to the conversations unfolding in our desert, frame those topics and create an engaging forum where viewpoints and opinions are shared, debated and even celebrated.

What are your ideas? Are there features you would like to see? How best can we make this section even more relevant to your life?

I look forward to hearing from you.

James Folmer is The Desert Sun's community conversations editor. E-mail him at james.folmer@thedesertsum.com or call him (760) 778-4625.