If the newspaper seems bigger and feels heavier to you today, you’re right.

Today’s issue of The Observer is the first edition of our newly designed newspaper featuring more sections that will publish on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.

There are a lot of new things to like about today’s Observer:

andbull; A clean, readable design. We’ve taken our regular news and features and created a design that uses type fonts and spacing that’s easier to read.

andbull; Special features. The B section gives you Home and Living, with recipes, lifestyle features and our local gardening column.

andbull; Extra fun. You’ll find that the comics page now includes a “Wonderword” puzzle in addition to the daily Sudoku puzzle. The back page of the B section is now called Coffee Break, and we’ve added “News of the Weird” – briefs about the strange but true news of the world. We’ve also added “Dear Abby” in place of “Annie’s Mailbox.”

andbull; Bigger classified section. You’re getting the combined classified advertising from The Observer and the Baker City Herald to create a more robust marketplace – more ads for shoppers, more shoppers for advertisers. We’ve also included crosswords and horoscopes for the next two days.

andbull; Sports Monday. Every Monday you’ll find the weekend wrap-up with photos, scores and stories of local, regional and national interest.

andbull; “Your Guide to the New Observer” is an insert today that gives you a day-by-day guide to the features you’ll find on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, plus information on our services for readers, advertisers and community organizations.

Our next issue will publish Wednesday.

In addition to your local news and a Wallowa Life page in the A section, you’ll find that the B section is devoted to business and agriculture in our new Business and AgLife section.

Wednesday’s paper also features the new Go! magazine, complete with a new entertainment and events calendar.

And there will be extras, such as a special feature section about agriculture and shopping information in the form of advertising inserts.

Friday’s issue will include our newsy local A section, a B section for Health and Fitness and an expanded classified section that includes yard and garage sale maps and ads for both Baker City and La Grande.

Inside our new Outdoors C section, you’ll find the new TV listings schedule, printed on brighter, heavier paper.

I think you’ll find there’s a lot to like about your new Observer.

If you have suggestions for stories, please call me at 541-963-3161 or email me at publisher@lagrandeobserver.com.