About Calendars...

Some readers might be wondering about our publication schedule; this issue appears exactly three weeks after our September 18th edition. Isn't this supposed to be a biweekly -- or weekly -- newspaper? Yes and no, but more about that in a moment.

There are several reasons why we held this issue until today, the most significant being the Jessica Mitford story. When we learned that she was going to be speaking at an undertaker's convention on October 2nd, we thought it would be too good to miss, and worth delaying the issue to cover it. We were also surprised to find so little published about her life and career, which required far more primary research than customary for a feature of this type. We're sure you feel it's worth the wait; this is the largest and most comprehensive profile that has appeared anywhere.

Another reason is because of password protection and sign-up forms. Some monitor.net subscribers didn't like the idea of having to enter a name and password to read the newspaper, so we reprogrammed the controls. If you have a monitor.net account, you will not be required to first sign in.

But the most significant reason is this issue's size. This is by far our biggest edition yet; the Mitford feature alone is roughly 25,000 words -- the length of a small book.

So how often does the Albion Monitor appear? For now, we will publish twice monthly. That's different than biweekly; some months -- like this September -- have five weeks. We also need the flexibility to hold the edition for a day or two when there's breaking news. Starting with this issue, we'll announce at the top of our front page our next publication date, as soon as we can be certain of it.

And soon, we will publish the Albion Monitor on a true biweekly schedule, with new editions appearing every other Saturday. Our plans are to follow that with issues three times a month, and eventually a weekly edition.

To do that, however, we need your help. the newspaper is supported entirely by subscriptions to monitor.net Internet services. If you live in Sonoma County, we would be glad to have you join us. We offer the fastest modems available anywhere and competitive rates. (For more information, see our home page.)

We'd also like to remind you to contribute to our calendar section. This part of the paper is not password-protected; anyone can read -- and contribute -- upcoming events that they'd like to announce. Is your group having a fund-raiser? Is there an important government meeting you want people to attend? Want to announce a conference, rally, or anything else? Let us know, and we'll put it in.

Some highlights from this issue: our hypertext feature on Jessica Mitford explores her extraordinary life and career. We also reprint an excellent investigative article on Bob Dole's fund-raising machine. More on Headwaters in the wake of last month's massive protest, and a report on the Caltrans snafu at Fort Ross. Don't miss the amazing debate by four liberal Congressmen, exploring why Americans are angry -- and have good reasons to be. And as always, political and health stories you won't find anywhere else.

In our next issue: features on Lighthawk, the group that volunteers its aircraft for environmental causes, and Simone Wilson returns with another hike through history. We'll have that analysis of the situation in Canada, where Native people are rising in protest across the nation. More local news and coverage of some startling new discoveries on water and air pollution.

Hope to see you then.

Jeff Elliott, Editor

Special thanks this week to Joseph Boyle of Oakland, who generously contributed his collection of Z magazines to the Albion Monitor.

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