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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Casting ballot for voting coverage

The Spokesman-Review

Question: Would you publish the legislators’ votes as they happen? I think this would be a great service for those of us who really want to know how those representing us vote on an issue. It would not have to be a large article, just the yes or no on legislation happening. If we need more information, we can get it. Please consider offering this service to us. – Kay Stoltz, Spokane

Answer: We’ve received a handful of requests recently from readers who would like to see us publish more of the votes by state legislators from our region and members of Congress. As we prepare for the Idaho and Washington legislatures to open their respective sessions in 2006 we will make plans to publish as many of the individual votes as possible. We’re also taking a look at how we might be more consistent about publishing the votes of members of Congress, especially on the major issues. – Gary Graham, managing editor

Has news budget increased?

Question: I am confused. Just after I decided to stop my subscription, owing to your current editors’ attempts to turn the S-R into a tabloid, you come out with a good paper (no pun intended).

The Saturday, Dec. 3, paper was nearly as good as the better small-town papers in the Northwest like the Eugene Register-Guard. Has your news budget actually increased or were you just trying to put out a few decent papers prior to the mayoral recall? – Bill Gray

Answer: Well, I think we publish pretty decent papers most days. There was no particular effort to pump up this week’s editions. So much depends on the run of news, our staffing levels and our ability to get timely information from beat reporters and their sources.

After some downsizing in 2000, 2001 and 2003, the newsroom has enjoyed two years of stability and will experience some very, very modest expansion in key areas in 2006. That stability makes it easier to produce papers of consistently high quality. – Steve Smith, editor

Where is Sudoku?

Question: Do you just print the Sudoku puzzle whenever you have room? And since puzzles are not listed in the index, do I just have to look every day? Why not put the crossword (which could be eliminated altogether in favor of a decent crossword such as the ones you have on Saturday and Sunday) the word jumble and Sudoku all in the same section? And then list the puzzle page in the index.

I was so impressed to see The Spokesman-Review get on the Sudoku bandwagon early – it clearly is all the rage in the big metropolitan areas that I visit. So I’m disappointed when I can’t find the Sudoku, this morning for instance. – Barbara Umbdenstock, Spokane

Answer: Sudoku is published in the classified advertising section, and on Friday appears in the “7” section.

I’ve asked the staffs of both “7” and classifieds to come up with a tag we can run every time we run a puzzle telling readers where to find it. – Pia Hansen, features editor

When do Ivins columns run?

Question: When do the Molly Ivins pieces run? Never seem to find them. Presuming she’s in Opinion, why not put the byline in there so we can find “our writers” more easily? – Doug, Phnom Penh, Cambodia

Answer: On any given day, we choose a selection of two or three syndicated columns we think best provide a mix of opinions about timely and relevant issues. No columnist regularly appears on any given day of the week, but several of them, Molly Ivins included, show up about once a week on the average. – Doug Floyd, opinion page editor

If you click on the writer’s name in the byline, you get a list of all of their articles and/or columns. – Ken Paulman, online producer