The Kiggins Theatre marquee sign is illuminated Thursday during the Columbian Conversations: Wildfires in Southwest Washington event. (Taylor Balkom/The Columbian)
After a week of hearing from readers, I am hopeful that our crossword puzzle problem has a solution.
Last week, I wrote about the changes readers had noticed in The Daily Commuter crossword puzzle, which for many years was authored by a Spokane woman, Jacqueline E. Mathews. Mathews retired around the end of the year, and Tribune Content Agency, which syndicates the puzzle, named Stella Zawistowski to succeed her. Zawistowski, a Princeton University graduate who lives in Brooklyn, N.Y., has a strong background in crafting crosswords and a mastery of trivia. She set to work putting her stamp on The Daily Commuter.
It didn’t take long for Columbian readers to react. Most thought her changes made the puzzle too cryptic, too difficult and too centered on popular culture. I heard from at least a dozen unhappy subscribers prior to last week’s column, which attracted another 70-plus comments. Even though I only asked to hear from readers who liked the changes, the feedback was 3 to 1 negative.
Apparently, other newspapers that carry the feature have been hearing from readers, too. Tribune sent this note to Daily Commuter subscribers: “Several clues in the Daily Commuter puzzles for the week of Feb. 5 have been revised and all puzzles reposted. After receiving feedback about the puzzle’s difficulty, some clues have been revised to ensure the puzzle is easier to solve during a commute.”
In other words, Zawistowski has apparently agreed to continue the puzzle at about the same difficulty level readers are used to.
I’m sure that will disappoint some readers, who were enjoying the changes she had brought. If you enjoy a more difficult puzzle, we do offer the daily New York Times crossword. And if you want to try more of Zawistowski’s more challenging puzzles, visit her website, toughasnails.net.
This was our second event at the Kiggins Theatre, with last year’s conversation focusing on housing and homelessness. It is in our business plan to do these events on a regular basis, often featuring the work of our Community Funded Journalism reporters who cover affordable housing and homelessness, transportation, the environment, and health and social services.
Associate Editor Will Campbell is the host, and as he says, his goal is to create a live news article by questioning a panel of experts, each with a slightly different perspective on the issue at hand. Questions from the audience are another important piece; the audience questions at Thursday’s event were excellent. Perhaps that’s because they, too, were experts. When Will asked for a show of hands, a majority indicated they’d previously been warned to evacuate their homes due to an approaching wildfire.
If you didn’t get a chance to attend the event, you can read the story in today’s paper or online at www.columbian.com.
This year’s theme is the economic impact of artificial intelligence, which is something I haven’t seen discussed yet at the local level. Economist Scott Bailey will also deliver his annual economic outlook for Clark County, which is always one of my favorite talks of the year, even when the predictions aren’t favorable. I’m hoping for good news this year.
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