Seth Borenstein's story from the Washington Bureau showed uncommon enterprise in coming up with a story no one else seemed to report. Having gotten his hands on EPA smog data for 2002 before it was published, he broke the news that violations of smog standards jumped 31 percent from 2001, up for the second year in a row. An unusually hot and humid summer had a lot to do with the higher numbers - likely little comfort to the coughing and bleary-eyed. The story does a lot to put the numbers in context -- noting, for example, that smog is down significantly from the 1970s. But it also notes that new EPA smog standards slated to kick in by 2004 would have (if they had already been in effect) meant a 61 percent jump in violations.

(See: http://www.realcities.com/mld/krwashington/5422942.htm)