Jason it is possible to approve an article without creating a new version of the article, which is what is most likely occuring for your editor.

On the approval screen instead of Editing a version, if you were to preview the version that is waiting for approval, by clicking on the article name/link, then click on the "change approval status" link in the admin menu above the article.

From there the editor can add any notes and change the status of an item, without creating a new version.

Does that help?

The site looks great Jason, if you have any other questions let us know.

One quick comment, on the page below you have Top news, but it's way down the page, not sure if you wanted it there or not.

http://beta.naturalfoodsmerchandiser.com/tabid/66/itemid/3025/Inside-the-mind-of-the-consumer.aspx

It looks like you just need to put a valign="top" in the TableRow (tr) that those columns are part of, assuming you want it at the top of the page.