Platforms Posted: All citizens who want to run for Whyville Senator, post your platforms in the Whyville City Hall petitions booth ASAP! The deadline to begin was last week, so get campaigning quickly....

Leading Candidates: On February 7, the leading platforms will be published in the Whyville Times. These folks will get to participate in the debates on the 18th and take part in the election that follows, so this next week is key!

The Great Debates! Hosted by the one and only City Hall on February 18, the Great Debate features Senator candidates answering the important questions of the day, as provided by citizens and City Workers.

Election Time: Time for everyone to vote! Every time you log in to Whyville, you'll see a vote screen come up. You only get one vote, so keep that in mind -- whatever your last vote is, that's the one that counts!

Senator Announced: The new Senator will be announced on the 26th, and the swearing-in ceremony will be scheduled shortly afterwards.

Hope that helps!

NEW SUBMISSIONS RULES: Because of virus issues, all emails to the Times with "hello" or "hi" or "help" in the subject line, or a blank subject line, will be immediately deleted. Remember, you already should be sending your works in with the subject line of 'Topic: Author's Name; Title'!

Now, back to the Times -- as some readers have noticed, lately the Times has been aiming for a little more "newsworthy" articles -- stuff about what's going on in the real world. Citizens who want to get into the paper should think about writing more journalistic reports rather than commentaries, especially if it's about an event that's just happened. It doesn't have to be what the mainstream news media are talking about, just something that Whyvillians would be interested in or affected by. You can get your information from the TV, radio, web or newspaper -- or you can even go out and investigate the news yourself!

Ah, and there's one more thing to announce! The new-and-improved Trading Post is out, and it's a spectacular hit. Almost every room at the Post has been filled since it opened earlier this week, to rave reviews!?? Thanks, City Workers!