It’s a great sign if you’re reading this

“What excuse this time?”

That was just one line in an e-mail that was sent to the Daily

Pilot on Friday and it left me groping for answers.

Many of you probably already know the story.

The Daily Pilot, again because of technical glitches out of our

control, was not delivered with the home editions of the Los Angeles

Times on Friday.

Indeed, the excuses are wearing thin with you, our faithful

readers, and advertisers. And I, along with everyone of us here at

this newspaper from the newsroom to the mailroom to the composing

room to the lunchroom, promise you one thing.

We want this fixed as badly as all of you.

The gist of it is this: Our presses, based in Glendale, break down

in the middle of the night, the paper doesn’t get printed on schedule

and because of various factors, the newspaper doesn’t arrive in

Orange County until past the deadline to combine it with the Times.

Frustrating? You bet.

Frustrating because we in the newsroom work hard to make sure

Newport-Mesa readers get the most up-to-date news, features and

sports headlines that we can. And I can’t even speak for the

advertising department, which works just as hard to put that part of

the paper together.

So I’m writing this column for a couple reasons. One, to apologize

and tell the readers our attention is focused on getting this fixed.

And the other is to give you some options if this ever happens again

-- which I know it won’t. Well, maybe I don’t know that but I want to

believe it won’t.

So if you don’t get your paper again, clip and save the following:

First, you can always come to the Daily Pilot offices at 330 W.

Bay Street in Costa Mesa and we will make sure you get a free copy.

If that can’t be done, please call the Daily Pilot’s Readers

Hotline at (949)642-6086. Leave your name and address and phone

number. That way we will have a taped transcript that we can use to

get the paper to you.

We check and transcribe the Readers Hotline every weekday, so

that’s also a good place to leave news tips or other items of

interest. But in the case of a missed paper, we will do our best to

get the paper delivered to you once you’ve left us your information.

I’ve even done that job myself. Come to think of it, delivering

papers is probably a lot less stressful than being editor.

Finally, the Daily Pilot is available online at DailyPilot.com.

All the daily news, sports and features and some photos that are

set to appear in the print edition should be posted live on our Web

site each morning. If you can’t read the print edition, at least you

should be able to see the cyberspace edition.

I know it’s not the same for many of you, but it’s better than

nothing, I hope.

Let’s just hope this rocky road is way behind us.

* * *

On the staffing front, I’d like to make a couple announcements.

Daniel Stevens has been hired as a new news editor for our copy and

design desk. He begins working with us this week. Stevens was hired

after longtime copy desk chief Deanna George left us to join another

newspaper.

Stevens comes to us from up north, where he was working at the Los

Angeles Independent Newspaper group as a copy editor. He graduated

summa cum laude from UCLA (sorry Paul Salata) with a degree in

theoretical physics.

So either way, we know he will immediately assume the role of

smartest guy in the place.

In a related move, Jose Santos, the art director of the Daily

Pilot who was the mastermind behind our new redesign, will take on

the additional duties of news desk chief.

Santos will oversee the design and copy desk operations and will,

along with me, Stevens and the current desk, work to improve

ourselves in this area.

Congrats to Santos and a hearty welcome to Stevens.

* TONY DODERO is the editor. He can be reached at (949) 574-4259

or via e-mail at tony.dodero@latimes.com.