Opinion

Monday, Jun. 30, 2008

Reader wants maps showing fires in state

Tribune depends on wire services to supply these maps, which are used when possible

Comments (0) |

Q:Why aren’t there maps listing places where there are fires in California? Also, when small communities are mentioned, can you note what big cities they’re close to so that we know where they are?

—Nadine Costello, Morro Bay

A: We strive to offer maps with all major fires that are still raging, but we depend on our wire services to provide them because they’re covering the fires and know the details firsthand; we don’t. On Friday, for example, we published a satellite view of the smoke

drifting from the wildfires in Northern California (wildfires were shown in red on the image) and accompanied that with updates on the major fires. Your suggestion is a great reminder for us to look for — and publish — maps regularly, even as the fires are starting to be contained. As for helping to identify where small communities are located, we depend heavily on our wire service reporters to do this too. Still, we’ll try our best to provide that information.

Q: To celebrate Father’s Day, there were two full pages of photos of fathers and their children in the Central Coast Living section June 15. It appeared that all of the photos but one were of Caucasian families. Why couldn’t the reporter and the photographer find any families representing other cultures that make up San Luis Obispo County? … Hopefully next year at this time you will publish a wider representation of the cultural diversity that we enjoy in San Luis Obispo County.

—Joyce Zimmerman, Atascadero

A: Since we launched this special Mother’s Day and Father’s Day feature four years ago, we made it clear that those selected to be photographed would be the first 20 who call to reserve a spot. This year about 80 people responded for Father’s Day, including one who called at 5:15 a. m. “We prefer to keep the opportunity open to everyone,’’ said Features Editor Rochelle Reed. “Over the years, we’ve had a fairly representative response. This year, much to our dismay, we had two families of color cancel their Father’s Day portraits at the last minute.” If you know a family whom we should include next year, please be sure to encourage them to sign up.

Q: I am reading the letters in the “Ask the Editor” column, and wanted to share my appreciation to The Tribune. I am impressed with how The Tribune puts positive news in prominent positions as much as possible.… Too much of today’s media focuses on sensationalistic stories of the bad side of society. I think part of what makes the Central Coast a positive and pleasant place to live is that we, as a community, are focused on positive local news, thanks to positive news reporting by The Tribune. Thank you.

—Greg Steinberger, Arroyo Grande

A: You’re welcome. We consciously strive to balance our coverage—to catch people doing something good or inspirational, for example, as well as tell the news and offer investigative reports on local issues, both good and bad. Thank you for taking the time to share your appreciation.

Q: Why do you keep moving Opus around? I keep losing him. Where have you hidden him this time?

—Anne Kelly, Atascadero

A: We have moved Opus to Sunday’s Central Coast Living section because there is no longer space in Sports for the cartoon strip—and we believe the Living section is a better fit.

Do you have a question about the newspaper, our Web site or our coverage? If so, please write me c/o The Tribune, P. O. Box 112, San Luis Obispo, CA, 93406-0112, or e-mail me at sduerr@thetribune news.com. You can also check out our editors’ blog at sanluisobispo.com