EDITOR’S NOTE: Big changes this week in the Coastline Pilot

You’ve probably noticed the Coastline Pilot has a different look this week. There are a lot of changes to the front page and inside, as well.

Even the size of the paper has changed. It’s now a half-inch narrower in keeping with the size of our sister newspapers, the Daily Pilot and the Huntington Beach Independent.

If you look at the website, you’ll find it’s been completely retooled as well. Now, at www.coastlinepilot.com, you’ll be able to post your own news stories and photos, as well as see all the stories in the print edition.

New this week online, our sports reporter, Ashley Breeding, is reporting the results of sporting events and getting them onto the website within hours, so you can know how your favorite local teams are doing without waiting for Friday’s paper.

Coming soon will be blogs by our writers and, hopefully, community members and officials who want to speak their minds on topics of the day.

Here is a list of the major changes in Friday’s paper:

 New public safety map, with five areas of Laguna Beach marked out, so you’ll know exactly where a police or fire incident took place;

 New Great Outdoors section with old favorites like Steve Kawaratani’s gardening column, the Outdoor Calendar, and — new — a beach water quality report from Laguna Beach High School’s Surfrider Club;

 New Going Out section with expanded nightlife listings, plus photos, columns and stories;

 In Business, a special page focusing on retailers and other local business concerns;

 Artcetera, our popular arts listings, and art and entertainment briefs, which now have its own pages;

 New Faith page for Where to Worship listings, briefs and stories; and

 Surfing Soapbox will now be found in the expanded Forum section.

Of course we will still provide coverage of local schools and sports, and Barbara Diamond’s Our Laguna column will stay in its new home on page 3.

We hope you enjoy the new format. It’s part of our commitment to making our award-winning weekly newspaper even better.

CINDY FRAZIER is City Editor of the Coastline Pilot. She can be contacted at [email protected]