Best Blogs: Tampa, Back to School and Making the World a Better Place

Did you miss some of the blogs this week on McLean Patch? Each week, we'll round them up in one convenient place for you.

Here are the highlights from blogs that ran Aug. 25 to 31.

• Evan Draim, 17, is the youngest delegate to the 2012 Republican National Convention. He also hails from Northern Virginia. He offers a unique first-person perspective on all the excitement in Tampa.
• "The presence of hurricane Isaac did not dampen the spirits of Republican activists at the convention...or the energy of the many media outlets here!"

• Ivy Main, vice chairwoman of the Virginia Chapter of the Sierra Club, offers a few easy tips that nearly everyone can accomplish, like giving blood, walking a shelter dog and paying other people compliments.
• "You don’t need to be a hero or a saint to make a difference in our community. Small gestures, even ones that cost you nothing, can have large impacts."

• Executive Director of the Virginia Coalition for Open Government, write about how can help parents of school children get documents about local schools.
• "For starters, school district records about school business are public records. That may come as a surprise, but for purposes of the Freedom of Information Act a public record is one that is used in the transaction of public business."

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