In August, North Carolina lawmakers approved a lottery. Almost immediately, reporters J. Andrew Curliss and Dan Kane turned up political connections that might have influenced the lottery bill and a lottery commission appointment.

Curliss and Kane broke a series of stories about House Speaker Jim Black, his unpaid political aide Meredith Norris (who resigned), his lottery commission appointee Kevin Geddings (who resigned) and potential lottery vendor Scientific Games, which had employed both Norris and Geddings.

Investigative work has long been part of The N&O's DNA. In 2005, we stepped up our watchdog efforts.

Pat Stith reported in March that overloaded trucks were damaging highways and that the state wasn't doing inspections. Stith's work prompted more enforcement and helped stop a law that would have loosened limits.

Joseph Neff reported in July on Gastonia neurosurgeon Richard Greenberg, who had at least nine malpractice settlements under his belt for mistakes that maimed patients.

Neff followed with a story showing how state law prevented patients from finding out about Greenberg's history. Greenberg is blind in one eye and colorblind in the other.

In October, Greenberg and the N.C. Medical Board struck a deal: He will never perform surgery again but retains his medical license.

Earlier in '05 we dug into problems among patients who had undergone surgery involving medical instruments tainted with hydraulic fluid at two Duke hospitals in the Triangle.

We reported on fraud in the Wake schools and told readers that Durham mayoral candidate Vincent Brown had a criminal past he had not acknowledged. Brown withdrew.

Along with the investigative work, we offered other coverage you might remember.

The N&O launched a community newspaper, The Durham News, in March. Our staff delivered sparkling coverage of the U.S. Open, including a multimedia package with video course tours and pointers that won a major design award.

We sent teams to Iraq and to Afghanistan. After Hurricane Katrina hit, we published a special section on how people could help and sent teams to New Orleans and Mississippi to bring the story home here.

We put more breaking news and updates online. We intensified our efforts to provide information that's useful as well as newsworthy.

Our reporting on skyrocketing gas prices, for instance, included a two-page spread on boosting mileage and saving money.

Look for more improvements in 2006: a watchdog feature looking at things that aren't working and who's accountable; expanded home and garden coverage; more consumer news and more opportunities to participate online.

Already live at www. newsobserver.com: A much-improved state weather report and an ACC basketball site called ACCNOW.