Editor's Notebook: Election countdown

A reminder to readers: The deadline to submit political letters to the editor is 5 p.m. next Tuesday, Oct. 28, one week before Election Day.

We are striving to print all political letters we receive, but publication is not guaranteed. Regular readers of the Opinion pages will have noticed in recent weeks an increase in the number of letters to the editor published. Last Sunday, for example, we published 22 letters, with all but three dealing with political issues such as the presidential contest and Prop. 8.

In order to get as many local voices on the Opinion pages, the regular syndicated opinion columns from the likes of Thomas Sowell and Robert Scheer are sometimes appearing online only. You'll also find exclusive online political columns on the site.

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Have you been to the Appeal-Democrat's Info Center lately? There are two new offerings: the Voters Guide Database and Pub Crawl.

The voters guide presents vital information on races, local measures and state propositions affecting Mid-Valley residents. Readers can also print out a ballot.

Pub Crawl is just that: readers can search for any bar in the area by name, city, zip code, or events offered.

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"The rumors of my death have been greatly exaggerated" is among the famous quotes attributed to Mark Twain. Thanks to a mistake in an Appeal-Democrat story Tuesday, Russ Clark could have been using that line. In the front-page story on a proposed Marysville sales tax, the newspaper referred to Clark as the "recently deceased former owner of Carl's Jr."

Clark is alive and well — and fielded a number of phone calls Tuesday. Sorry, Russ.

Have a question for Appeal-Democrat Editor Len La Barth? Contact him at llabarth@appealdemocrat.com or join the discussion at the "Ask the Editor" forum. Find it online in "Your Mid-Valley" at our Forums page.