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I'm regularly asked by friends and business associates what's happening in the local community for the upcoming weekend or the following week and sometimes the next month.

I'm certainly not clairvoyant, but I easily find this type of information through various sources. You can find out, too, by taking the following easy steps.

Of course, the traditional approach is to read magazines and other publications found in the lobbies of most restaurants and bookstores.

For example, whenever I'm browsing the selection of books at Page One or having a power lunch at Standard Diner, I pick up copies of AlbuquerqueArts, Local IQ, New Mexico Kids, Prime Time Monthly or the Weekly Alibi while sipping my tall nonfat latte.

These publications are chock-full of calendars, event lists and announcements of upcoming concerts or meetings or educational workshops. Of course, most of them also host Web sites with this same information.

The better approach and the simplest is to get connected to local information by signing up for one of the list serves or online newsletters described below. Better yet, all of them are free and arrive on a regular basis in the form of an e-mail. If you're interested in the latest news regarding museums, dance, theater, concerts, etc. related to the local arts, you'll want to sign up for the Albuquerque Arts Alliance's online newsletter "Something To Do" at abqarts.org.

The most recent issue included 32 pages of upcoming holiday-related events from the 11th Annual River of Lights to the upcoming performance of "The Nutcracker" by the New Mexico Ballet Company and the New Mexico Symphony Orchestra, and so much more.

Another great resource is the Albuquerque Convention & Visitors Bureau's e-newsletter which you can sign up for at itsatrip.org/enews.

It includes information about the many conventions and conferences at the Albuquerque Convention Center and other local venues. There are the traveling exhibits at the Albuquerque Museum, like the current "Temples and Tombs: Treasures of Egyptian Art from the British Museum," but there's so much more.

For example did you know about the Tricklock's "Revolutions International Theatre Festival," which will be staged in various neighborhoods throughout the city from Jan. 15 to Feb. 2?

If you frequent Downtown on a regular basis, then you'll want to sign up for the Albuquerque Downtown Action Team's "Get Down Weekly" e-mail newsletter at downtownabq.com/contact/index.php with news of sales, concerts and art shows.

For purely business and economic development activities in our local area, you'll want to sign up for the Metro New Mexico Development Alliance's quarterly e-mail newsletter at nmsitesearch.com. Topics range from specific industry news to new companies moving to New Mexico, or local ones expanding their operations.

The New Mexico State University's College of Business Administration and Economics also publishes a business-related monthly online newsletter called the New Mexico Business Outlook at bbrs.nmsu.edu/nmbizoutlook/.

Articles feature timely topics written by professors and local business experts, including former governor and NMSU business school dean Garrey Carruthers.

Basically a blog, newspaper and newsletter all in one, you might find the New West Newsletter of interest. Editor Emily Esterson typically includes a timely story about some aspect of business in Albuquerque or Santa Fe each month. See newwest.net to sign on.

New Mexico Business Weekly offers daily "E-Mail Alerts" at albuquerque.bizjournals.com covering such topics as industry news, local business trends and job openings.

And if none of these online publications meet your needs, you can always set up a Google Alert at google.com/alerts to receive news about a developing story, a competitor's activities or an emerging industry trend on a daily, weekly or "as it occurs" basis.

You might even want to add your name to see if you are being quoted or referred to by someone else on the Internet.

This is only a small portion of the many online e-newsletters and e-bulletins available to you to stay abreast of what's happening in our local area. The best part is they do all the work and all you have to do is read your screen.