“Just check out our Web site.”

No this isn’t a late-night ad for a new exercise product or a get-rich-quick scheme, but it could soon be a chorus heard throughout even the smallest neighborhood meetings.
More and more, neighborhoods are looking to the Web, e-mail, and other instant communications to let residents know about the latest news and controversies, while others are ditching traditional newsletters to cut down on costs. But the gradual move to the Internet is slow, and not every neighborhood is finding success in new technologies.

The Poinsettia Heights Neighborhood Association abandoned its monthly newsletter last February when costs exceeded the group’s budget. The cost of printing the newsletter and then mailing it simply became too expensive, said association president Mike Vonder Meulen.

Earlier this year, Vonder Meulen said, the group considered replacing the defunct newsletter with an “e-letter” that would keep people up to date on various city issues and neighborhood events. The monthly information would serve the same purpose, but without much of the cost.

Robert Alcock, president of the South Middle River Community Association, said running out of money has not concerned the neighborhood much. Despite the costs, the association still publishes a newsletter and maintains a Web site, www.smrca.com, which includes news updates and a calendar of events.

Each month, volunteers hand-deliver about 2,500 copies of the neighborhood’s newsletter.

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