From the publisher

With my one-year anniversary as publisher of USA Today in the offing, I look back with a great deal of pride concerning the changes and progress we've made over the last several months. Our latest twist is the debut of a new column this issue, "Eye on Ecology," penned by Les Brown, a frequent and valued contributor to our magazine in the past. Brown, the president of Earth Policy Institute, also has stepped in as Ecology Editor. Murray Weidenbaum, whose byline appears on this month's informative and important outsourcing article, is our new Economics Editor.

By the way, Janet Larsen, Brown's colleague at Earth Policy Institute, has put a fresh, yet deadly, spin on the Global Warming crisis with her fascinating article about killer (literally!) heat waves. I miss the cold, wet spring already.

Our other Ecology piece is a real eye-opener as well: the once-every-17-years appearance of those ultra-noisy denizens of the daylight ... cicadas. Trillions of them will be emerging from the Midwest later this month.

This issue also showcases pieces by a pair of Cabinet members, Secretary of Education Rod Paige and Secretary of Agriculture Ann M. Veneman--the former tackling the issue of school choice and the latter reporting on her trip to Iraq, Afghanistan, and Uzbekistan.

As always, the Museums Today section is overflowing with brilliant images--this time with the spotlight on women illustrators, past and present. And, as long as we're talking about brilliant images, you'd be hard pressed to top those of the "Hat Ladies" of Birmingham, Alabama's New Pilgrim Baptist Church, a wonderful and visually appealing spread found in the month's Religion department.

On a more somber note, the Medicine & Health article details the recent phenomenon of men and depression. Apparently, guys are not holding up as well as expected in this fast-paced, high-strung, and uncertain world of nerve-racking endeavors.

Of course, should you ever miss one of these provocative pieces, or, for that matter, one of our Special Sections (for instance, last September's "The Nightmare of Missing Children"), our website can serve as a great resource. Whether searching for a back issue or one of our newsletter editions (Newsview, Your Health, and The World of Science), just log on to www.usatodaymagazine.net.

We love to hear from our readers. E-mail us at letters@usatodaymagazine.net with your comments.

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