MOSES LAKE — Expanded sports and business sections are being unveiled Monday on the Columbia Basin Herald’s home page at www.columbiabasinherald.com.

MOSES LAKE - Expanded sports and business sections are being unveiled Monday on the Columbia Basin Herald's home page at www.columbiabasinherald.com.

New portions of the sports section include separate headings for football, volleyball, basketball and baseball, said Kody Johnson, who works in Internet business development management for the Herald.

"With fall sports just around the corner, I believe readers will be pleased to find they now have an online resource for news, photos, blogs, league standings and schedules for their favorite teams," he stated.

There is a section for the Big 9 league and other football leagues in surrounding communities.

Sections for other sports news, latest photos and a story archive are included.

The business section is also undergoing improvements by adding a new Marketplace Business Directory.

For more information about participating, contact Lynn Garza at 509-765-4561, ex. 127.

"This is one of the most exciting new products I've seen in the last 10 years and to call it an online business directory doesn't even begin to scratch the surface of what this can do for local businesses," Johnson stated.

Business owners control their portion of the directory by adding logos, photos, coupons and restaurant menus.

Businesses can blog and post employee photos, customer testimonials, awards and store hours.

A 20-minute business tutorial for marketplace participants is planned in the near future.

Upcoming improvements at www.columbiabasinherald.com include video clips of the Grant County Fair, which is Aug. 17-21.

Reorganization is also planned for Northwest Hook & Bullet section of the Web site.

An online restaurant and entertainment section called the Edible Entree is also in the works. Restaurant reviews, blogs, and reports from secret shoppers are featured.

The improvements are part of a Web site redesign that started three weeks ago.

The work is paying off. In July, Web site page views increased by 24 percent and readers remained on the newspaper's site 9 percent longer, according to Johnson.