Because of the Memorial Day weekend, you won't find any coupon inserts in this Sunday's News and Observer.

Take a break from coupon clipping and enjoy the time off with your family and friends.

Remember that surprise freebie I hinted at in Sunday's paper?

Be sure to check your Parade magazine. You'll find a coupon for a free Cherry Berry Chiller peeking out of the top of the magazine.

This is a new frozen drink McDonald's is offering. These typically cost $2 and up so a great freebie.

There's also a coupon for $1 off a medium or large frozen strawberry lemonade, frappe or fruit smoothie.

Look for two coupon inserts in this Sunday's home-delivered Final Edition of The News & Observer.

One Smart Source and one Red Plum are scheduled with a combined total of 134 coupons worth nearly $150 before double or triple coupons come into play.

A reader new to couponing asked me how to best use the Centsible Saver coupon database, which made me realize there are probably a lot of coupon rookies out there who would appreciate a little more information.

I update the database each week, logging each coupon we receive in the Sunday inserts contained in The News & Observer. A new version goes up early Sunday morning at 5, making it the most timely and definitive guide to coupons in the Triangle.

If you subscribe to The News & Observer and you haven't discovered the N&O ZONE, you've been missing out on some great opportunities for freebies and discounts.

The program rewards home-delivery subscribers with all types of perks -- everything from drawings for free gift cards to movie passes and concert tickets.

This week, the ZONE is giving away free passes to the highly anticipated movie, "The Hunger Games." Twenty-five folks will receive one "Admit-Two" pass. The pass is good for Monday through Thursday showings at Mission Valley Cinemas or Six Forks Station Cinemas. Winners will be chosen at random on Friday, March 23.

Look for two coupon inserts -- one Smart Source and one Red Plum -- in this Sunday's home-delivered Final Edition of The News & Observer.

There will be a total of 127 coupons with a face value of about $156 -- and that's before every-day double coupons, which we're fortunate to have at Kroger, Harris Teeter and Lowes Foods.

Look for three coupon inserts -- one Smart Source, one Red Plum and a skinny General mills insert -- in this Sunday's home-delivered Final Edition of The News & Observer.
There will be plenty to clip: 110 coupons with a face value of about $105 -- and that's before the first coupon doubles, which we can do every day of the week at Kroger, Harris Teeter and Lowes Foods.
As always, I'll have the coupon database updated and the best Sunday deals posted early Sunday morning, about the same time your paper hits the driveway.
Please note: Single-copy and State Edition papers may not contain all coupon inserts.
 

The Chapel Hill Town Council has apologized "for the actions taken against the press on Nov. 13." That was the day police made arrests at the former Yates Motor Co. building at 419 W. Franklin St., which had been occupied by protestors.

Two journalists were detained. One of them was Katelyn Ferral, a reporter for The N&O and Chapel Hill News. Before police arrived, Ferral was on the scene for about 15 minutes, interviewing people inside the building and walking around the site. When police approached the building they ordered everyone to get to the ground but allowed Ferral to shoot photographs. After a few more minutes, they told her to get on the ground. She told them she was a reporter and provided identification. She remained face-down on the ground for 15 minutes, was cuffed and then detained for about 30 minutes before being released. 

It's clear Chapel Hill police didn't know what to do about the journalists. They knew Ferral wasn't doing anything illegal; otherwise they would have charged her. She in no way hindered their work. If police thought Ferral was in their way (and no one representing Chapel Hill police has ever said this, including Chief Chris Blue when I later met with him), they could have directed Ferral to a spot away from the action. Other police agencies in the Triangle routinely direct reporters to a spot deem appropriate by police. But Chapel Hill police had no written policy on how to work with journalists at a crime scene. Since then, I have shared Raleigh's written policy with town officials and met with Blue and Roger Stancil, town manager, to talk about how journalists and police can work together. It's in everybody's best interest -- police and those being arrested -- for independent observers to record the proceedings. Blue agrees with this. The presence of journalists can help protect police from unfounded claims of inappropriate force.

There was no reason to detain Ferral, other than police didn't know what to do with her. In this country, that's not a good enough reason to force a citizen to lie face down and be cuffed.  

A majority of the council recognized that. We accept their apology and will work with Chapel Hill to help police and journalists do their jobs. --John Drescher

Big news for coupon clippers this weekend.

Look for four coupon inserts -- one Smart Source, two Red Plums and the February P&G BrandSaver -- in this Sunday's home-delivered Final Edition of The News & Observer.

Look for two coupon inserts -- one Smart Source and one Red Plum -- in this Sunday's home-delivered Final Edition of The News & Observer.

There will be 98 coupons with an estimated face value of $114 and that's before every-day double coupons, which we're fortunate to have at Kroger, Harris Teeter and Lowes Foods.

I'll have the coupon database updated and the best Sunday deals posted early Sunday morning, about the same time your paper hits the driveway.
(Single-copy and State Edition subscribers may not receive all coupon inserts.)