Register formally announces Long Beach expansion

Everybody else was talking about it, and now the Orange County Register is ready to spill the beans: the paper is starting a Long Beach edition to publish six days a week as a separate newspaper. The Long Beach Register is scheduled to debut August 19, says a story in the OC Register:

The newspaper will feature at least 10 pages of local news and sports and six pages centered around schools, including sports. On Saturday, subscribers will receive just the schools section, which will have prep sports....

For home delivery, the Long Beach paper will be wrapped around the Orange County Register and distributed in most of Long Beach as well as parts of Lakewood, Cerritos, Artesia and Signal Hill.

The new Long Beach daily will also be at 450 news racks and retail outlets throughout the area, either as a stand-alone or combined with the Orange County Register. For a short time, free copies will be available for sampling....

Aaron Kushner, publisher of the Orange County Register and chief executive of its parent, Freedom Communications Inc., said expansion into Long Beach was a natural move for the company, which is focused on how to build communities.

"In the case of Long Beach, it is a city where we really could add tremendous value," he said.