The message is very clear: If a role is positive, no Italian American actors need apply; however, if a role calls for a villain, Italian actors are actively recruited. It is Jim Crow in the arts.

It's hard to figure out how to separate the wheat from the chaff.

An e-mail lives forever unless you do something about it.

The decision to reduce our city staff was wrenching. But the cold, hard truth is that we can no longer support the investment necessary to cover the city as ambitiously as we do today.

You can get pretty much any piece in any wood, in any stain.

The Amish stand behind their work. If there is a problem, they will take it back and replace it. No questions asked.

We deal with about 50 different Amish families from Ohio who hand-make all our furniture. We have 40, maybe 50 catalogues for you to go through, and when you see something that you want, we'll shop around because the prices do vary. We find the best price that we can pass on to the customer -- the best quality at the best price.