Dear Readers,

Today the Times Union takes one more step into the digital future, enhancing the newspaper that has been our community's mainstay for 159 years. We're introducing timesunionPLUS, a digital package of our best journalism plus an array of added benefits — all available only to subscribers.

If you're already a Times Union subscriber, you're entitled to all the benefits of timesunionPLUS just by registering online. If you're not yet a subscriber, you can sign up for timesunionPLUS for as little as $3 a week. Here's a sample of what timesunionPLUS will give you:

• Full access to our exclusive reporting on every platform — the timesunion.com website, our mobile site, our iPad app, or the popular eEdition (a digital replica of the print newspaper that's delivered to your inbox each morning).

• A daily bonus section, Section U, delivered exclusively with your eEdition, on topics that include food, personal finance, health, travel, and technology, plus a Week in Review section each weekend – and special issue briefs from time to time on major topics of interest.

• Special offers from advertisers and opportunities to sign up for Times Union events and contests.

• A weekly newsletter and, each evening, a video report on the stories we're tracking in the newsroom — hours before the print edition hits the streets.

Check out the ad on this Friday's page A3, and sign up by going to www.timesunion.com/GetPLUS, or calling 454-5454. We hope you'll make timesunionPLUS a regular part of your information diet. It's one more way the Times Union helps you live smarter.

Sincerely yours,

George R. Hearst III

Publisher