Question: Why do the political cartoons attacking Hillary Clinton in your editorial pages outnumber the cartoons attacking all other presidential candidates by at least 10 to 1? – Bill Betz

Answer: I’m dubious about the 10-to-1 calculation, so the first thing I’d ask is for a tabulation to back it up – by date and cartoonist. But allowing some room for hyperbole, I don’t question the assertion that anti-Hillary cartoons outnumber anti-others. As she acknowledged when it was suggested she was under attack from the men, she’s the front-runner and she will attract most of the attacks. In the past, we have commonly heard protests from people who think President Bush is being singled out for similarly harsh treatment. It’s pretty much the same situation: Editorial cartoonists, who think of themselves as political traffic cops, look at it this way: Whoever’s in the driver’s seat is going to get the ticket. – Doug Floyd, editorial page editor

Question: The beautiful picture of Mary Verner being sworn in should have been on the front page, not buried in the middle of the paper. When a mayor messes up, the Spokesman runs a headline that makes a person think: “What, has World War III started?” But when a new mayor gets sworn in, it does not seem to be very newsworthy. – Inge Sandvoss

Answer: Fair point. I’ll offer some context. The day before the new mayor was sworn in, we had a front-page story outlining some of the first major steps Mary Verner planned to take. We felt that was an important story for our readers because she told us that she hoped to restore alley garbage pickup and that she would try to persuade City Council members to block a proposed utility rate cut. Those two issues are important to taxpayers and readers, so we played the story prominently. We also mentioned in the story that she would be sworn in that day.

In our minds, it was old news by the time she was sworn in. Swearing-in ceremonies are by nature very routine. Given that she was on the front page the day before talking about key issues, we didn’t think it necessary to put the ceremonial development on the front page. – Gary Graham, managing editor

Question: I have not seen the next episode of the “Brothers in Arms” story. I would like to see the story to the conclusion of their service to our country and to their family. I want our community to hear and see what the two young men are doing for our country and your freedom in this country. – Terry Smith

Answer: Let me assure you that we understand very well the importance of the “Brothers in Arms” series. It’s a body of work that we’re very proud of here at the newspaper. For a newsroom to make such an ongoing commitment to any single story is fairly unusual because the pace of breaking news is relentless. To tell stories and take photographs like those in this series takes a lot of time to do well. That kind of journalism is not easy to do.

We have not abandoned this series, but we are facing some unusual challenges. After the last story ran in October, the newsroom was forced to lay off a considerable number of its staff in the face of companywide budget cutbacks. Among those laid off was Jim Hagengruber, the reporter on this series. The layoffs were seniority-based, per union contract. The layoffs had nothing to do with performance. The photographer for the series, Brian Plonka, is still with us. But these staffing challenges mean that we need to find a different way to tell this story.

We are well aware that these stories have struck a chord with a number of readers and that, of course, is the goal for all that we do here. What I can tell you is that we continue to monitor their progress and we continue to look for ways in which we can tell those stories to our readers. – Carla Savalli, senior editor for local news

Question: I’m writing to express my concern with a particular cartoon that captures the first spot in the Sunday comics. Our daughter, at 3, is interested to know about what is going on with the characters. I enjoy reading them to her and will screen out cartoons that are beyond her years. What does bother me are the depictions in Opus which I and my family find offensive. A few examples that I can think of off hand include tattoos, cigarette smoking, obnoxiously portrayed cleavage and protruding butt cracks.

What I would ask is, why not section off the comics with an adult audience so that children can have a more family-friendly version of the comics? – Tim Lovell

Answer: I think the problem would be deciding which comics are “family friendly” and which are not. How can you determine whether a comic strip will always and forever be appropriate for a 3-year-old? Even “The Family Circus” deals with issues, such as death, that a very young child may not be ready for. Some parents may not want their kids to see Garfield kick Odie off the table, or see Lucy pull Charlie Brown’s football away.

The newspaper – including the comics page – is edited for adults with respect for reasonable community standards. I love that you are introducing your child to the newspaper, but I can’t decide for you what content is or isn’t appropriate for her. You are the best person to make those decisions, and it sounds like you’re doing just fine without my help. – Ken Paulman, features editor