Joyce Terhaar - From the Editor

One woman emailed after an exhibit in San Bruno. Some have called after seeing photos online. Another volunteered information during a casual conversation.

Last week our newsroom said farewell to a longtime and well-known Bee journalist, Bob Shallit, who is retiring.

Plenty of you, our most loyal readers, contact editors at The Bee to let us know what you think of our front-page news judgment.

A longtime senior editor at The Bee, Mort Saltzman, retired before the 2008 presidential election, went home after his last day and did something working journalists can't do: He planted a campaign sign in his front yard.

The story of Preston Lewis would have remained untold if Bee reporter Melody Gutierrez had not been using California's Public Records Act to document administrative leave costs in our local school districts.

It's been a "Groundhog Day" cycle since the late 1990s as Sacramentans have debated, promoted and ultimately killed multiple proposals to build a new sports and entertainment arena to replace the aging arena in Natomas.

Last Sunday's lead story in The Bee carried a byline familiar to longtime readers, that of Jocelyn Wiener. That familiar name, though, came to you through a new form of collaborative journalism.

Sometimes what The Bee provides along with our watchdog investigations is a giant megaphone.

In today's Bee you'll find two new sections to replace Living Here Sunday as we introduce California Traveler and a&e, an arts and entertainment tab.

Almost three-quarters of people who attended a Sacramento Kings game in the past year read The Bee in print or online.

How many of you opened a gift this morning to discover a new iPad, Kindle Fire or Nook inside?

Just more than two months after Occupy Wall Street burst into our collective consciousness, it's become a serious force in this region and California.

A few months back Charles Piller and his editor, Scott Lebar, wandered into my office to tell me Piller had discovered concerns about the safety testing on the new San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge.

Grace Rubenstein joined The Bee's newsroom last week to cover community health, our first significant step into something becoming increasingly common in our profession – journalism funded by nonprofit foundations.

A reader emailed me this week to talk about values, how The Bee's differed too much from his, for his taste.

Years ago The Bee asked readers which celebrity was most like the personality of the newspaper. You picked Tom Hanks.

Who would be surprised to hear that the digital media technology most used by teens today is texting?

Even within the newsroom, most people don't know the details of the work that goes into a particular story, photograph or investigation.

I didn't realize we were making history when The Bee and Los Angeles Times joined forces to sue the state Assembly to force disclosure of documents detailing its spending.

"What's this thing I keep seeing everywhere?"

The shadow of the McMartin Preschool fiasco hung over Sacramento law enforcement and media last week.

Lilly Manning came to The Bee because she wants to know her story.

If you are a reader of bylines, you've noticed some new ones in The Bee. We have nine interns with us this summer. They're the kind of young journalists who make me confident about the future of news gathering.

How many times last week did you hear someone say, "What the heck was he thinking?" when the latest update about New York Rep. Anthony Weiner came out?