Argus Observer' new press units.

Ontario — On Tuesday, The Argus Observer will be printing its newspapers using upgraded press units installed in a significant investment project made by parent company Wick Communications. Work to remove three existing units and install four new units began Thursday and will conclude Monday, when the first test runs will take place.

The upgrade will improve color reproduction and allow for four process pages of color per section.

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The Half Moon Bay Review helped fuel a sensation created by one musician, one piano and one very special view.

On Feb. 1, California artist and musician Mauro Ffortissimo enlisted friends to haul a disintegrating baby grand piano to the bluff top overlooking the Pacific Ocean. His plan: Play Robert Schumann’s “Arabeske” every night at sunset through the month of February. Then he planed to burn the piano in a bit of performance art and recycle the parts for his visual art.

The Review was the first news organization on the scene, responding to a growing chorus of Ffortissimo fans on social media. The newspaper’s first published notice came from freelancer Greta Mart and former Half Moon Bay Review photographer Lars Howlett, who lent a stunning photo that the newspaper ran on the front page.

Since then word has spread like wildfire. Stories about Ffortissimo and the impromptu concerts have run in the San Francisco Chronicle, the San Jose Mercury News and the Los Angeles Times. By Valentine’s Day, hundreds of people were showing up for the nightly shows.

Meanwhile, the city of Half Moon Bay calls the piano an unpermitted “encroachment on public property.” It has said the installation has to go no later than Feb. 14. All is not lost, however. Half Moon Bay Mayor Rick Kowalczyk told the Los Angeles Times that he was seeking some solution that would allow the piano to stay through the month.

John Mathew, president and CEO of Wick Communications, said the newspaper has long been in direct competition with many publications, and because St. Tammany Parish is so connected to metropolitan New Orleans and so many of its residents have moved to the Northshore in recent years, the newspaper has had a tough time finding the sense of community that a community newspaper needs in order to be successful.

Twenty-four positions will be lost as a result the newspaper’s closing, though several employees will be offered positions at other locations within the company. Employees will receive severance and assistance in resuming their careers elsewhere, Mathew said. The closing was announced Thursday February 14th, by Joy Kennon, publisher of St. Tammany News and a group manager with Wick Communications.

“Many of you know we have struggled financially for the last few years, and unfortunately we are unable to continue operating at a loss each month,” she told staff members at a somber meeting Thursday afternoon.

Kennon pointed to declining advertising revenue in an uncertain economy as the cause of the paper’s financial woes. Hurricane Katrina is also partly to blame for the shuttering of the newspaper and its website, thesttammanynews.com, she said.

“Since Hurricane Katrina there has been a fundamental change in the parish population and the residents’ desire for community news,” Kennon said.

Mathew said Wick Communications, which owns 28 newspapers and 18 specialty publications in 12 states, remains committed to community journalism. It’s other three properties in the Lake Pontchartrain area, L’Observateur in LaPlace, The Daily News in Bogalusa and PN Printing in Bogalusa, will remain in operation.

Old design ... New design ... Click on the images to see full-size.

A redesign of The Daily Herald was unveiled for readers Tuesday, Jan. 15.

The new look features a new “The Daily Herald” logo in the top left side of page one, with each word stacked on top of each other. Next to the logo is a large space promoting interesting stories not on the front page with graphics and links to their locations inside the newspaper.

Other features of the redesign include a more modular design with easier to read type and headlines centered above all stories. Also included were new section and page labels, new jump heads and new info boxes. The entire print publication was part of the redesign including the classifieds.

The redesign process started in late September when Henninger Consulting was hired to team with newspaper staff to update design patterns and layout techniques to bring a more contemporary look to the newspaper.

Publisher Titus Workman stressed throughout the process, the focus was on making The Daily Herald easier to read and more comfortable while continuing to provide the best and most comprehensive coverage of current news and local events.

Lisa Berrian has been named the new ad director for the Daily Iberian

Lisa Berrian has been named advertising director of The Daily Iberian, said publisher Will Chapman.

Berrian has worked previously in advertising sales and sales management for The Ledger-Enquirer in Columbus, Ga., and The Telegraph in Macon, Ga., both owned by the McClatchy newspaper company. She started in the newspaper business as an intern while in college at the University of Georgia, then went to work full time as a display sales representative in Macon in 1988.

Berrian was promoted to posts of more responsibility several times, including retail advertising manager, niche-online manager, advertising manager, advertising director and vice-president of advertising.

She and her husband, Robert, are now living in New Iberia.

“We were fortunate to find someone with Lisa’s great experience and outstanding credentials to lead our advertising sales efforts. She’s already offered several ideas I’m sure will be popular with local advertisers,” Chapman said.