Please join me in welcoming Maria Marsala, our new Internet review columnist. She'll be describing the gems that she finds in cyberspace in the monthly "Online" column in the "In Review" section. I extend my thanks and blessings to Elana Lindquist. Elana began the column in late 1997, and connected us with "Coach Maria," who this month offers Internet newcomers some tips on taking the fear out of getting started; see page 25, especially if this sounds like you!

I am hearing from many sources that this is a time to get clear about intent. Let me share some of my intent for The New Times. This is a special issue for me. It's the 41st issue that has been produced under my leadership, and completes 15 years of consecutive monthly publication. It represents a benchmark for me in that all of the structural elements of the tabloid-size format I introduced last June are now in place.

This month, the Resource Directory section debuts in a full-page-width format. Because of the incredible number of details required to convert from the former "broadsheet" format to a tabloid, the reworking of the Resource Directory was deferred until this issue. Since last June, I've used the third of a page next to the old-width Resource Directory ads to place features and content that worked well to fill that space, rather than placing material where I would have liked it. My intent is to aggregate energy in focused areas within our pages.

Here are the details of that intent: The first few pages are meant to pull together a sense of community, joining the energy of like-minded persons. Here you can find my remarks, letters to the editor, and Community News (subject to availability of material). One part of my work that is especially important to me is the Prayer Ministry. People from across the planet send requests to The New Times requesting our readers' prayers, and I know that many of you include these requests in your prayer time. If you do not already, please consider doing so. This feature appears on the corner of the page for easy clipping in case you want to cut it out for use in your prayer and ceremony work.

In the next part of each issue, I intend to provide information related to persons and issues of current interest, often relating to opportunities to participate in events and workshops. The next major section is our health section, "In Harmony," where you'll find helpful information and choices for living a vital, balanced, and fulfilling life.

Our January reader survey indicated that 90% of you are serious readers, collectively looking for and buying over $1,000,000 worth of books monthly. Each month, a team of reviewers evaluates over a hundred new books, CDs, and transformational tools to find ones they think you'll find well written and cutting-edge. The results are presented in our popular "In Review" section.

I intend our Resource Directory to be a stand-alone feature that provides a well-organized listing of services and products. I hope that readers and advertisers alike will be rewarded by the flexibility afforded by the newly expanded width of this section. Following the Resource Directory is the "FYI" section, the most popular feature of the paper and the one you have told me you are most satisfied with.

Finally, capping each issue, I offer an opportunity to reflect on the influences for the coming month with James Jarvis' "StarWatch" column.

Much of my intent has been realized. No, I'm not done; The New Times, under my leadership at least, will always be a work in progress. So, what's ahead? We are working on building a section for educational opportunities and one for getaways, travel, and rejuvenation. I've also been making a number of major upgrades to our Web site. If you haven't been to lately, check it out!