For an understanding of what's happening in Haiti at a pivotal time, you need only track the hectic week Miami Herald Caribbean correspondent Jacqueline Charles just spent in pursuit of two very different stories.

The first, which runs on today's front page, is about one of the most encouraging international projects in years, the construction of new homes in the border town of Ouanaminthe.

The second, unfolding throughout the past week, is the story of how yet another prime minister was ousted, prompting a bitter debate in the Haitian senate as competitors jostle for position, all with an eye on next year'selections.

To Jacquie Charles, Haiti's most veteran foreign correspondent who has covered the country for years, the two themes sum up where things stand in the struggle to overcome a string of natural disasters and setbacks.

``It's one step forward and three steps back,'' she said.

This is also a good time to recognize the importance of consistent and relentless reporting on a topic with enough subplots to confound the standard journalist, which Jacquie surely is not.

A native of Turks and Caicos who spent much time in Haiti growing up, she first started covering Haiti for The Herald as a high school intern. While handling assignments from education to politics over the years, she always helped on Haiti until she took over the beat three years ago.

Today, she plays a singular role at a point when many eyes are trained on Haiti. Former President Bill Clinton was only half-joking during a recent visit as United Nations special envoy when he turned to Jacquie in a crowd of people and said:

``I just do what she says I should be doing.''

Jacquie's four stories over the course of the week show that there's much to be done -- and much that rests with Haiti's leadership getting strong support from abroad. Her reporting sounds encouraging notes about opportunities for progress that haven't existed in decades.

Jacquie will be there to chronicle every step, both forward or backward. In fact, even after dozens of trips the past two years, Jacquie often takes her vacations in Haiti. When she does, she avoids the hotels popular with tourists and stays with relatives.

``I want to always be reminded what it's like not to have electricity, not to have anything,'' she said. ``That's when you realize why people are using charcoal, why they're cutting down trees, why things are the way they are in Haiti.''

A BANK'S GOLDEN DEAL

The most revealing reading in today's paper is the front-page story about how Goldman Sachs unloaded billions of dollars in securities in advance of the mortgage meltdown, a move many are now questioning.

Greg Gordon, one of the McClatchy Washington bureau's most dogged reporters, spent five months looking into how the Goldman Sachs Group shed more than $40 billion in mortagage-backed investments after it foresaw the housing collapse.

In the process, many of the buyers were left holding fizzled securities as Goldman emerged at the top of the nation's rearranged financial heap.

Gordon spent day after day sorting through financial records, Securities and Exchange Commission reports and securities prospectuses. He tracked down former bank employees and was able to obtain records of the questionable sales materials.

The series explains a great deal about what went on under the radar in the housing collapse. It also raises many questions that deserve responses.

``I think this sheds light on what appears to be a major problem in terms of protecting institutional investors,'' said Greg, who has spent 30 years as an investigative reporter, mostly in Washington, ``because that's mostly what these were.''

He added: ``Now that we have a supposedly revitalized Securities and Exchange Commission, are they going to go in and really examine whether these firms abided by their obligations?''

READER QUESTION

Barbara Gillman, a dedicated Miami Beach reader for half a century, called to question the front-page coverage of the Dolphins last Monday. ``I'm a big sports fan,'' she said. ``But that doesn't mean I want to see it on the front page. It was a big photo, like there was a war going on.''

This is a good question for a week with more sports than any other time of year, between the World Series, the start of basketball and hockey seasons, a soccer tournament and pivotal Dolphin games.

Almost all of this runs in the Sport section. But The Herald does make it a point to play up the Dolphins in Monday's paper, because this is the team South Floridians care most about and the coverage lands on a slow news day.

That will keep up as long as the Dolphins are in the midst of things and the story doesn't outweigh important news of the day. Still, sports are part of the fabric of our community and key moments deserve a prominent place in the paper.

So what do you think? Are we making the right call?

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