Color Choices for Civic Journalism/Research Site

[Black Max]

We're locked in a seemingly endless redesign of our site (see sig). Right now, the site owner and I are at loggerheads. The designer (who has apparently abandoned ship in midstream), gave us a very pastel-driven site based on denatured blues, grays, and light sandy browns. The owner likes the colors, though he's open to suggestion. My position is, we're a serious research and information site, and we need to present a sense of solidity, gravity, and elegance. In other words, though most of our real estate is white (lots of text), I want stronger, darker colors to anchor the site, mostly rich blues and dark, weighty reds.

What do you guys think? Don't waste too much time telling me how bad the current color choices are, I tell most people the site's colors were chosen by swamp dwellers. Instead, I'd like to hear some thoughts about good solid color choices. If you know of some good examples of color swatches from http://www.colorschemer.com/schemes/index.php or http://www.colorcombos.com/ (or another site), let me know.

[Ray_bman]

Blues are good to promote trust, stability, and reliability which is why many businesses will use it. There could be some cultural aspects to consider, but I understand that blue has a very positive vibe (meaning) in many countries.

[Black Max]

Blues are good to promote trust, stability, and reliability which is why many businesses will use it. There could be some cultural aspects to consider, but I understand that blue has a very positive vibe (meaning) in many countries.

I read in one article that blue is the only basic color that won't offend or distress some major culture. I'm going with a blue-derived suggested scheme, but my site owner likes those pastels!

[RayCreations]

When too many people are working on one project, it is quite difficult to complete them with satisfaction. Everyone will have a different opinion.

[Black Max]

When too many people are working on one project, it is quite difficult to complete them with satisfaction. Everyone will have a different opinion.

You're right, but in essence there's only the two of us. The designer has fled, and the rest of the site participants could not care less. And two is more than enough for differences of opinion