HoustonChronicle.com News
Jan. 28, 2002
Volume 7.04
In this Issue:

Letter from the Editor

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Plus:

*Lots of Sports, Too
*What's New at HoustonChronicle.com
*How to Send Us Community Notices
*How to Contact Us

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Letter from the Editor:

Time for a quick review as we start another online year around here.

One of the obvious advantages of the Web is its immediacy.

That's something we try to utilize every day, as we start updating the
HoustonChronicle.com Web site -- especially the home page -- just about the
time the printed newspaper is landing on front lawns all over the city.

This becomes especially valuable when major news developments are occurring
halfway around the world in places like Afghanistan and the Middle East,
where the sun is revealing a new day just about the time those of us in
Houston are going to sleep and the overnight press runs are beginning for
the newspaper.

The newspaper will contain full accounts of developments from the previous
day, and then we can update those articles as the next day's events begin
unfolding.

Immediacy also is valuable closer to home, where new developments in
ongoing stories like the Enron coverage or jury selection in the Andrea
Yates murder trial come throughout the day. The Chronicle is keeping track
of these for you, and we use the Web site to provide the information even
before writing the articles which will appear in the next morning's
newspaper.

But it doesn't have to be a big story. News really never stops happening in
a city the size of Houston; so we keep bringing new stories to you
throughout the day. We do take a short break from about 2 a.m. to a little
before 6 a.m. most days, but somebody is minding the store for you pretty
much 'round the clock outside of those hours -- weekends and holidays
included.

Perhaps less obvious, another advantage of the Web is its longevity.

The Chronicle brought you some outstanding reporting this past year from
our reporters covering Central and South America. And if you missed the
special sections in the newspaper on the demise of the rain forest or
Colombia's FARC rebel movement, slip over to the World news section of the
Web site and they still are there so you won't overlook them just because
you missed seeing the paper the day they ran.

Ongoing stories like the Yates murder case, the Enron bankruptcy, Tropical
storm Allison -- even the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on America -- we can
provide not only the latest developments on the Web site, but all of the
coverage from the very beginning of the story. Or even older stories lake
the dragging death of James Byrd Jr. in Jasper a few years back or the A&M
Bonfire collapse and its aftermath. 

You just cannot get a more complete view of these stories than is available
from the Web site.

So, please, don't use the Web site just for a quick update of what's
happening. Spend a little time delving into the backgrounds of the major
stories of the day, too. 

After all, we are working to provide as complete a picture as we can for
you.

Thanks for visiting, and please take advantage of all we offer.

Mike Read
Editor HoustonChronicle.com News
mike@chron.com

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**Lots of Sports, Too

News comes in several flavors. 

One of the most popular turns out to be sports, where the games of our
youth turn into big business and entertainment as we become adults.

And we around here put a lot of effort into keeping you as up to date as we
can in this flavor of news, too. 

The Rockets and Aeros are in the middle of their seasons. Baseball's spring
training season is less than a month away. Professional football's Super
Bowl XXXVI is two weeks away, and Houston's Texans are preparing for their
first season this fall. 

We're not going to be ignoring any of this, but a lot of our attention
these days is being devoted to turning from last week's Houston Marathon to
next month's Olympic Games in Salt Lake City (and, of course, Houston's
ongoing bid to host the summer games here in 2012). 

But we can't ignore that most Texan of sports either as the Houston
Livestock Show and Rodeo is just around the corner.

Even if your taste in entertainment turns more toward TV and movies, we
think you'll be missing an important part of the news if you don't at least
take a brief tour through the Sports pages of the site from time to time.

You can start that tour at:
http://www.HoustonChronicle.com/sports

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*What's New at HoustonChronicle.com

**Traffic

It probably comes as no surprise to any of our Houston area readers that
the city's traffic is a mess.

>From the traditional congestion of the soon to be widened forever Katy
Freeway to the forever under construction highways all around the city,
traffic is a daily challenge for many of us.

Main Street is, of course, a mess because of rail construction. It seems
the entire downtown area is a giant detaour, whether from the construction
on the east side, the Cotswald Project on the north or just general
surprise projects on any street at any moment. 

The Southwest Freeway is a special challenge these days -- still under
construction through the Museum District, torn all to pieces out near the
Fort Bend county line, and now with multiple lanes blocked at its busiest
point where it crosses under the Loop 610 interchange near the Galleria. 

HOV lanes, Metro's Park & Ride, van pooling -- nothing really solves the
challenge, but we are trying to provide some tools to make it easier. 

We've got construction updates published in the newspaper and on the Web
site every business day. Maps of the various transit possibilities, and
links to real-time traffic conditions on all the major freeways. Along with
maps and directions if you just need a little help figuring out where you
are and where you need to be.

Follow all of the construction at:
http://www.HousotnChronicle.com/traffic

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**Archives Access for Non-Subscribers

For a couple of year now, the online archives of the Houston Chronicle and
the Houston Post have been open to Houston Chronicle subscribers. Those of
the Post are offline for some review right now. And HoustonChronicle.com
has partnered with Qpass to provide an easy and safe way for
non-subscribers to purchase access to archival material online.

Three kinds of passes allow non-subscribers to search the archives. One is
for 30 days, another for seven days, and a third lasts for 24 hours.  To
buy a pass and start a search, simply go to

http://www.HoustonChronicle.com/archives

That site also includes answers to any questions you might have about
this new service.

Please note that the Houston Chronicle archives includes only text of
news articles appearing in the Chronicle starting in 1985. It does not
include photographs, classified ads or paid death notices. As part of the
SubscribersADVANTAGE program, the archives remain free to Houston Chronicle
subscribers.

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*How to Send Community Notices to HoustonChronicle.com

If you or your organization has a public service announcement or news
about volunteer positions that you need filled, please send them via 
email to mailto:gwen.lewis@chron.com

HoustonChronicle.com reserves the right to edit any notices. 

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*How To Cancel Your Subscription to the Newsletter

HoustonChronicle.com News is never sent unsolicited, but if you desire
at any time to stop receiving the newsletter, please go to your mailing
list management page:

http://www.chron.com/mail/control.hts/97197771

or to be removed immediately go directly to:

http://www.chron.com/mail/unsub.hts/8/97197771

If you don't have access to a web browser, you can send any
email message to U-A8.10.97197771@chron-news.com and you will be
automatically removed from the newsletter list.

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How to contact us:
The HoustonChronicle.com World Wide Web site is located
                at http://www.HoustonChronicle.com/

The HoustonChronicle.com e-mailaddress is
mailto:hci@chron.com

The office phone number is (713) 220-2700.  We are located at 801
Texas Ave., Houston, Texas 77002. Comments to the HoustonChronicle.com
News editor may be directed to
mailto:mike.read@chron.com
or technical issues to the list manager at
mailto:mike.read@chron.com

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