Some people apparently think that because our name is The Acorn we're the same folks who've been involved in registering people to vote.

For those of you who don't know, ACORN is also an acronym for Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now.

It's a group that's getting plenty of negative publicity. Some of its workers were paid for the number of names they got on voter registration forms, and since some people will cheat to make money, that other ACORN, the one with all capital letters, is the center of controversy.

And because Barack Obama had an early connection to ACORN, some of the most vocal voices on conservative radio are making it an even bigger issue.

We, on the other hand, are a group of five community newspapers that took the name Acorn because our area is the home of oak trees, and we all know the proverb "Great oaks from little acorns grow." Yes, they're also the little nuts that squirrels love to eat.

Coincidentally we have been involved in telling people to register to vote. As a newspaper, we have a civic responsibility to do so. So, if you're 18 or will be by Nov. 4, if you're citizen of California and of the U.S., and if you aren't in prison or on parole for a felony, we encourage you to register to vote no later than Monday.

Maybe the people who thought we were connected to ACORN have overactive imaginations. Maybe they're gullible.

As long as we're at it, here's a list of other ACORNs we have nothing to do with:

Alliance to Conserve Old Richmond Neighborhoods (Virginia); AIDS Community Resource Network; A Classification Of Residential Neighborhoods (CACI International Inc.); Accelerated Community Oncology Research Network; Arlington County Online Resource Network (the Arlington, Va., online library system); Aviation, Construction, Ordinance, Repair (Navy); Arms Control Research Network; and Automated Correspondence Online Response Network.

The Free Dictionary by Farlex provided the above list via the Internet, and we thank them for it.

If somebody asks the other ACORNs, "Are you connected to that great little community newspaper in Southern California?" they can always answer, "No, we're the acronym; they're the nuts."