The time has come for a change at the South Whidbey Record.

And it starts with this issue.

Simply put, we haven’t done such a bang-up job covering the goings on in Olympia the past few years. Readers have noticed, and we’ve heard them. We can do a better job keeping readers up to speed about the legislative session and what lawmakers, particularly our lawmakers, are deciding on our behalf.

Utilizing an internship program available through our membership with the Washington Newspaper Publishers Association, we’ll be picking up stories over the next six weeks — this year’s session is due to end March 10 — that relate to or may have ramifications for South Whidbey. Check out our page 1 story about two bills concerning teacher compensation.

We’ll also be hosting a newspaper-sponsored get-together of all three of our 10th Legislative District legislators in Freeland later this month. The event is set for 10 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 20 in Whidbey Telecom’s conference room adjacent to the WiFire Coffee Bar.

Sen. Barbara Bailey, R-Oak Harbor; Rep. Norma Smith, R-Clinton; and Rep. Dave Hayes, R-Camano will all be in attendance.

The purpose of the event is to give readers a chance to meet and speak with those who represent them in Olympia before the session ends. So do your homework now about all the bills you support, detest or have questions about because you’ll have a chance to tell them just how you feel. Our attending lawmakers will have about 10 minutes each for opening remarks, but the remaining hour is reserved for questions from the crowd and a breakout period where each elected official will host their own discussion table. For those too shy or are otherwise unwilling to ask their questions in front of a crowd, this is their chance. That was Smith’s idea, and it was a good one.

On that note, it’s not often we have all three of our state lawmakers under one roof on South Whidbey, especially during mid-session. The last time was in 2014, and that was after the session ended. So we think it’s pretty cool that they were all willing to make time to meet with constituents when it matters most and when it’s the most challenging to do so.

Also, thanks are owed to Whidbey Telecom and Co-CEO George Henny. He graciously and generously agreed to let us use the space, and on short notice. Very cool.

So there it is. We’re committed to doing a better job keeping readers up to speed about state issues that relate to South Whidbey, and hope this will serve as a good start.