Dear Friends:

Thank you for visiting our new and improved web site. In the coming months, we believe you’ll find it a must-stop on your daily Internet rounds, an indispensable read to stay in the know on Oklahoma government and politics.

As you might suspect, we’re still working out some kinks in our new site.

Here’s what you should know:

1. Most of our web site is free, accessible to all visitors.

2. There are sections, however, that are not accessible unless you are an on-line subscriber.

On-line subscribers, for example, can log-in to read an electronic version of The Observer as soon as it becomes available. You don’t have to wait for it to be printed and mailed. In addition, when reading it on-line, you can enlarge the print to a size that – for some of us – makes it much easier to read!

On-line subscribers also can log-in to read every offering from our syndicated columnists. As you might suspect, we don’t have space in our print edition to run every column we receive. Moreover, many of these columns are based on breaking news, meaning some will lose their timeliness before we next go to press. Rather than simply discard them, we’re making them available on-line.

Currently, you have three choices when subscribing to The Observer:

1. You may subscribe to the print edition only for $40 a year.

2. You may subscribe to the electronic edition/on-line access only for $40 a year.

3. You may subscribe to both the print and electronic edition/on-line access for $60 a year.

At the moment, for example, there’s no way for our current print readers to upgrade their subscriptions to include the electronic edition/on-line access. We are working to correct this oversight as quickly as possible.

We ask your patience as we expand our digital presence.

And as always, thanks for your loyal support of The Observer.

– Arnold Hamilton, Editor