A good newspaper is a true serial with interesting characters and plot twists. Here are some of the stories unfolding in The N&O:

* Has House Speaker Jim Black done anything wrong? After Black and others testified last week before the State Board of Elections regarding campaign contributions, several board members said they thought laws had been broken. Black's attorney has said his client did nothing wrong; more board hearings and a federal investigation await. We're covering this closely.

* Will the Carolina Hurricanes win the Stanley Cup? This story has many lead characters, with coach Peter Laviolette, young star Eric Staal and the newly acquired veteran Doug Weight among them. Tune in again after the Olympic break.

* Can Raleigh get over its stucco syndrome? Plans for a downtown hotel are on hold while the council struggles with building materials. Everybody's a critic on this one; next installment soon.

* Will Wake schools find a funding plan that wins public approval? We have at least six reporters covering various aspects of the schools' growth challenge in print and online. Wake parents and taxpayers are players, and they'll write the next chapters.

* Which local teams will play for the national college basketball championships? Duke women, UNC women, Duke men, N.C. State men, Carolina men, Shaw women ... keep the remote handy and your subscription up to date.

* Will a new nuclear plant be licensed in Wake County? Progress Energy wrote the opening of this one, which will play out for several years; opponents and neutral experts are among lead characters.

We're digging into these and other stories because each step not only is interesting but also offers people in our community the chance to get involved. In the age of short attention spans, these so-called "incremental" stories can help you understand the issues as well as the flash points.

If we do our jobs well, you learn things that allow you to act (from political involvement to ticket-buying) if you choose.

The plots are pretty good, too.

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Next weekend, we'll change the way we give you stock tables at the end of each week.

At the same time, we'll add some business coverage to our Saturday and Sunday sections.

The week's-end stock tables will appear Saturdays instead of Sundays. We will not publish stock tables on Sundays.

The tables Saturday will include the 52-week high and low and the week's high and low, material now found Sundays.

We'll also add a local business page on Saturdays. On Sundays, look for a new consumer column in our Work&Money section.

The changes eliminate repetition between the Saturday and Sunday tables, save some newsprint and improve both sections.