Andy Howell

Nationally, all eyes are on the presidential election as incumbent Barack Obama and challenger Mitt Romney battle neck and neck to the November general election.

But in Layton, many residents are concerned about a proposed major development on the west side of town and whether it will be an economic boon or create unmanageable congestion and sprawl.

In another Top of Utah area, some residents are concerned or encouraged about the direction of Ogden School District. And in the 1st Congressional District, voters wonder who will best represent their interests — Republican incumbent Rob Bishop or Democratic challenger Donna McAleer?

Covering election campaigns can be monotonous for reporters on both the local and national levels. Candidates often give similar stump speeches at each campaign stop, and reporters must scramble to find different angles and subjects to write about.

Jesus Lopez Jr. is a jack of all trades.

By day he is a mild-mannered reporter covering Weber County three days a week.

At night, on weekends, he becomes a presentation editor, designing and laying out pages of the Standard-Examiner print edition and posting stories to our digital platforms.

In September, we ran a Calvin Grondahl editorial cartoon that depicted President Barack Obama shining the shoes of a Wall Street banker.

When feature reporter Becky Wright went out to the Historic 25th Street car show last week, she brought along her two nephews, ages 4 and 10. She gave them a camera and asked them to shoot photos of the cars they considered cool.

Tanya Purcell was surprised when Standard-Examiner reporter Loretta Park was able to get her 8-year-old son to open up about his infatuation with Batman.

Luke Purcell, described by his mother as a shy boy, was credited with notifying adults about a house fire in his Layton neighborhood while he was running around in his Batman costume.