Allow the admin to set the default for the "Publishing Options".
Add "Display Categories" as a publishing option.
Add "Title is link" as a publishing option (e.g. the ability to turn of title as link).
Add "Link title to http://..." as a publishing option (allowing the title to link elsewhere).
Weed out the bugs from the "Insert Image" funtion.
Widgets:
Show number of articles in the "Section" widget, like it is shown in the "Categories" widget.
Create a "Welcome" widget - which prompts log in or registering if not logged out, or shows users avatar (linking to the profile) and number of unread posts (linking to the "What's New?" page) and number of unread PMs (linking to the inbox).
Improve the "Recent posts" widget - Include thread name (linking to start of thread), include something from the last post, include a link to the last post AND include a link to the first unread post for members that are logged in.
Layout:
Simplify the "Grid Manager" in the admincp and include more grids to choose from.