If the front page of the newspaper is the first draft of history, then the editorial page is the second draft. Editorials provide a philosophical context that puts the public interest first with their sense of community and historical perspective. Since its founding in 1812, the New Haven Register has been passionate in its beliefs, often standing against prevailing political moods. The three decades of New Haven Register editorials from the 1980s through 2013 in this collection continues this tradition. The editorials take aim at the issues and personalities in the news: New Haven's economic development, The feud between the schools and City Hall that cracked open a racial divide, The fate of the long struggle to build a major New Haven shopping mall, Yale University's embrace of New Haven, The battle over a state income tax, Corrupt cops and politicians, Yale-Haven Hospital's growth as the region's dominant health care provider. Included is an appendix on the Register's editorial history from its founding as an anti-Federalist paper in 1812 to its ownership through most of the 20th century by the Jackson family.