What a weekend of news. Talk about variety.

The Saturday Morning Sentinel was one of the strongest newspapers we've had this year. The A1 lineup included: A story of a family worried about a missing woman; a moose-motorcycle accident that claimed the life of a Maine
man (Maine's fourth moose-motorist fatality this year); a mayoral budget veto in Waterville; a story about rural Maine Internet service; and a feature previewing the Winslow July 4 celebration, which is one of the area's largest.

We talk a lot about story "mix" on the front page, hoping for a combination of hard-news stories, people features, issues, crime and government coverage. That's what Sentinel readers got Saturday.

Then, on Sunday and Monday, we used Portland Press Herald stories to "cover" a truly historic event happening right now in Kennebunkport, where President Bush, former President Bush and Russia's Vladimir Putin are gathering to mend U.S.-Russian relations, and perhaps reach some agreements. No matter how you feel about the Bush Administration, this is a major news story for Maine.

Today, we had an intriguing story by Craig Crosby about a study ascertaining what happens when trout and other fish swallow rubber worms used in fishing. (Turns out, not much. They seem to stay in the fishes' bellies, perhaps forever.) I must say I winced a little at seeing the
"detail" (up-close) photo, in living color, of a disemboweled fish on the front page of the Sentinel this morning.

Interestingly, I've not received an e-mail or phone call objecting to the somewhat-graphic photo. Perhaps people read the story, which was thoughtfully done, and realized that the photo was important to illustrate the story. Or perhaps in Central Maine people are used to catching, handling and preparing fish for a cookout or pan fry.

If you missed it, you can read Craig's fish story here: Mystery of the Missing Lure