The reader was incensed.

"Dogs dogs dogs, I'm so damn sick of dogs," she fumed in an e-mail to me a couple of weeks ago. "All the newspapers had dogs on the front page today for various stupid reasons."

Barb, as she signed her note, included us in her scalding criticism because of The Bee's coverage of Gov. Jerry Brown's dog. She has been in touch regularly since that day to alert me to "dog content" in newspapers across America.

"I'll repeat it: too much dog/pet stuff in the news!" she exclaimed in one of her e-mails.

While I guess I have a higher interest and tolerance for pet news than Barb, I'm glad she wrote me. Regular reader contact is one of the perks of this job and this column.

A steady flow of e-mails, calls and conversations in the grocery aisle keep me and The Bee connected to the people we aim to serve with coverage.

The shouters and insulters are no fun, of course, but they're the exceptions who remind me how much I appreciate readers who care about issues.

After all, one of a newspaper's most important functions is engaging people in community issues and public life. That's our role in promoting a successful region: Providing information and debate to as many citizens as possible so that they can take part and form their own views.

So I enjoyed talking the other day with Vera, a longtime reader, about her ideas for possibly building a new Sacramento Kings arena in Dixon and using the old arena site in Natomas to shelter homeless people.

Several dozen readers responded to my Feb. 20 column about The Bee's coverage of homelessness, which appeared alongside a California Forum cover story on the same topic by Ginger Rutland.

A reader named Lorraine suggested several steps, including a survey to find out how many homeless people were locals and how many were drifters from elsewhere.

Jim, a reader who once lived in Petaluma, wrote to recommend that we seek out a man there who had helped establish successful programs to address homelessness.

A reader whose daughter and son-in-law had lived downtown and suffered several bike thefts wrote to suggest we offer The Bee parking garage as homeless shelter. I replied that the garage is in active use.

Many others wrote or called with questions or suggestions, and I shared many of those with reporters and editorial writers covering the issues.

Keep 'em coming.

Few topics bring more reader response than changes to the comics lineup, and we're inviting comments on replacing two strips.

We've done a variety of surveys in the paper, online and through formal reader research over the past year or so. As a result, features editors have decided to drop Lio and Tundra, two strips that rated lowest in reader surveys, and are trying out others over the coming weeks.

All of the strips have fans, and we've already heard from Lio and Tundra followers.

Yet we also receive regular complaints from readers who dislike those strips or others and want us to try out new features.

To take part in the discussion, go to www.sacbee.com/livinghere and vote in a poll; e-mail comics@sacbee.com; or write to Comics, Sacramento Bee, P.O. Box 15779, Sacramento, 95852.

© Copyright The Sacramento Bee. All rights reserved.

Reach The Bee's editor, Melanie Sill, at (916) 321-1002.

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