Happy 60th birthday to Merl Reagle!

Orange here with a breaking news alert—

If you like Merl and his crosswords, you're in luck. There are three puzzles in honor of his 60th birthday today:

• For two daily-sized puzzles with Merl themes by Andrea Carla Michaels and Michael Blake, head over here. Both puzzles are available in Across Lite and, for those of you who prefer doing crosswords on paper, printable PDF.
• The latest puzzle at Matt Gaffney's Weekly Crossword Contest is a true tribute to Merl—a Sunday-sized puzzle with a totally Reaglesque theme and overall vibe. It's too late to enter the contest for this one, but it's definitely a fun solve if you enjoy Merl's Sunday puzzles (which now appear every other week in the L.A. Times Calendar section).

Merl's a great guy, and he's been an innovator in crossword construction for decades. He's a hoot, too—I always enjoy his color commentary on the American Crossword Puzzle Tournament finals. Speaking of the ACPT, registration opened today. The registration page is here, and the program info is here.