Twenty years of local news and arts in the spotlight

It’s a matter of precision. With the word “local” at risk of becoming a term as ubiquitous and somewhat meaningless as “green” or “organic,” as this week’s cover story illustrates, we remind you of the specific use of that term when we applied in our cover package from last year, “How local can you go?” […]

Paying tuition with plastic can cost you

The cost of higher education is getting—what else?—higher. This time, via the plastic payment option. Paying by credit card involves an additional 2.75 percent convenience fee. Though that may seem like a small addition, the costs rack up when you are dealing with numbers like the cost of higher education. That additional fee has increased […]

Dialogue on race progress on the right track

“This one just sort of feels different to me,” says Cindy Stratton of the Commission on Children and Families. Stratton, along with 17 other residents and City Councilor Holly Edwards, was appointed by City Council to the Dialogue on Race Steering Committee. Their charge is to join outside consultants to facilitate discussions about race relations […]

The corporate co-opting of "local"

HSBC, one of the biggest banks on the planet, has taken to calling itself “the world’s local bank.” Winn-Dixie, a 500-outlet supermarket chain, recently launched a new ad campaign under the tagline “Local flavor since 1956.” The International Council of Shopping Centers, a global consortium of mall owners and developers, is pouring millions of dollars […]

Local Food Hub linking farm and table in five counties

Think of the Hub as a missing link. Enthusiasm runs high in these parts for local food—it represents an alternative to the big-box way of doing business, among other much-discussed benefits. But that doesn’t mean it’s always easy for consumers to find or for farmers to market and distribute. To close the gap between supply […]