The Yolo County Sheriff's Department is starting a program that will offer a "sexual offender mapping system, an e-mail notification feature and postal notification." The program is called "Offender Watch" and it's meant to inform and educate Yolo county about its estimated 257 sex offenders.

On top of your bills, a postcard from your dentist saying you need another check-up, and a pack of coupons from SaveMart™, you're also going to get a yearbook full of the creeps that live in your neighborhood. While it sounds like a good idea with good intentions, this might feed into a lot of surburban paranoia. Overemotional residents who choke back tears while handling those "Have You Seen Me?" thingies in the mail now have to prepare for a batch of "Have You Seen Me? If Yes, Run" packets about sex offenders.