An hour short, but plenty to know this weekend

Some weekend in store for news operations.

The Japanese earthquake is huge, and will be all over the news this weekend. But we' have a few other things planned for the Sunday, March 13, Gazette as well. Plus, the switch to daylight-saving time Sunday morning will present an interesting ordeal for our paper, as well as others with a printing schedule.

Sunday morning Gazettes may be delivered up to 30 minutes later than usual because of the switch to daylight-saving time. We will lose an hour overnight but our delivery folks will make every effort to get the paper to readers as early as possible.

To help out, The Gazette will start its press 30 minutes earlier than usual Saturday night.

This happens every year. But much more seems to be happening this year. For one, more earthquake and tsunami coverage will continue in full force from Japan. But The Gazette also has a two-part series on the openness of government in Iowa that will run Sunday and Monday. This report will include a guide on how you can gain access to your government's records and reports from Steve Reed, who recently joined our newsroom, about some things that will baffle you if you care about transparency in government in Iowa.

Steve's series coincides with Sunshine Week, an annual attempt by First Amendment enthusiasts to remind citizens that government in this nation should adhere to transparency as it works on our behalf.

One other important matter is going on for some folks -- the Class 4A high school boys' basketball final gets played late Saturday night. The game will feature a team from our back yard -- Linn-Mar High School. Our problem is that the game starts at 8:05 p.m., when we are planning an early press start to get papers out in time.

You can follow the game at www.iowaprepsports.com Saturday night. Meanwhile, here's what we'll be doing:

We'll get the press started for papers that go farther out into Eastern Iowa and then remake a couple of pages after the championship game concludes for papers that get delivered to the Cedar Rapids-Marion metro area and parts of Johnson County. Getting complete reports into print in such a short period of time truly is a regular miracle. Pulling it off is so rewarding, though.

As always, subscribers to The Gazette can read the printed paper at www.mygreengazette.com. Also, www.TheGazette.com always is there with its regular updates.

For delivery issues: (319) 398-8333 in Cedar Rapids, (319) 339-3150 in Iowa City or toll free at 1 (800) 397-8333.