Early morning visitors to our Web site should have noticed something different on our home page during the past few weeks: a healthier dose of breaking news items to go with your morning coffee.

And it's not by accident, either.

Several weeks ago, general assignment reporter Al McKeon agreed to start his shift several hours earlier in order to function as a morning Web reporter. Al starts his shift at about 6 a.m. and holds down the proverbial fort until the cavalry arrives later in the morning.

Al has covered a number of topics during that time, including breaking crime news, traffic reports, allergy updates and presidential candidate visits, to name a few. 

By way of example, here is what Telegraph online readers saw this morning:

• 6:25 a.m.: The threat of fire danger continues today, although winds won't blow as strongly as the past few days and could aid firefighters.

• 7:41 a.m.: NASHUA - A drunk woman who put her fist through a window lashed out at police officers and a nurse who tried to treat her, wildly scratching and spitting, police said.

• 8:57 a.m.: NASHUA - A 14-year-old student stole $800 cash from a Fairground Middle School teacher's purse between classes, police reported Wednesday.

All of this is part of our ongoing efforts to bring you news as quickly as possible in between the publication of our print edition of The Telegraph each morning.

In fact, readers can take that process a step further by signing up for our Telegraph Alerts. Subscribers can sign up for text-message alerts on their mobile phones and PDAs or e-mails on personal computers for breaking news, severe weather, school closings, primary candidate visits, and high school sports news and scores.

(Speaking of which, I just received a text-message alert (5:12 p.m.) on the postponement until next year of the Montreal-to-Boston professional bike race that was scheduled to pass through Greater Nashua in August. And, no, I didn't just make that up.)

Kind of gives a new meaning to the words "Keeping You Connected To Your Community" that appear each morning on Page 1 under The Telegraph nameplate, doesn't it?