Opinion

When you’re frequently bombarded with ads for credit cards at big banks, it’s easy to overlook credit cards at a local credit union. These not-for-profit organizations typically require membership based on location or affiliation with an employer, a family member or an organization. Major credit card issuers generally don’t have these requirements. Read more

Everyone can think of two words that pop up in conversations regularly. Sometimes they are followed by excuses and other times they are used in sentences and pass as fast as the sentence was spoken. Read more

I’m a proud “word nerd.” I love words; I collect them like baseball cards. I like weird words, wonky words, witty words and even a handful of Welsh words (fun fact: the word for “carrot” in Welsh is “moron”). As a person prone to collecting things, I hoard words like a doomsday prepper stashes toilet paper. Is it an illness? Probably. But it’s cheaper than golf. Read more

It would be interesting to learn if people who are hesitant or unwilling to get the COVID-19 vaccination would feel the same way about receiving a vaccine that protects them from tick bites. Read more

Few economists predict we’ll return to the double-digit price increases of the late 1970s and early 1980s . But knowing some of the ways consumers coped back then — and how things are different now — can help you formulate a plan to deal with rising prices. Read more

July 3 couldn’t have come soon enough if you asked me. Here I’ve been cooped up in my house as per COVID-19 instructions. The chance to get out and mingle with others was most welcome. Read more

Skeptical of the four-year college degree? It’s still your best bet to make money. Read more

Beelzebub. Mammon. Legion. These are demon names. Today we’re talking about demonyms, which are different from demon names. The devil is in the details, I suppose. Read more

This column draws together my interests in history, drama, preservation and the ways nonprofit organizations can help their communities. Read more

The trove of IRS records recently uncovered by ProPublica has confirmed what many have always suspected: Billionaires often enjoy a substantially lower tax rate than the average American. Read more

I was going through my dictionary recently when I came upon an ‘unusual find’. It centers around the prefix “un”, and its usage combined with various words. Read more

Hey, internet: Remember millennials? Many of us have graduated from our lattes and leisurely brunches to become parents with jobs, car loans and perhaps even a mortgage. Read more

Kids love to tell you precisely how old they are. Adults, on the other hand, treat age like a tightly guarded state secret. With kids, the “half” in their age makes all the difference. My son isn’t merely “seven”; he’s “seven-and-a-half.” You’d better get the “half” in there, or he’ll take it as an insult. I have half a mind to divulge my age, but I stopped counting a long time ago. Read more

A pandemic-fueled boom in crowdfunding has small businesses flocking to capital-raising platforms that experts say could help many companies get back to normal — as long as small-business owners are able to launch effective campaigns. Read more

As a bicycling enthusiast, I’ve had the opportunity to ride in communities across the country, including Venice, Florida; Nashville, Tennessee; Flagstaff, Arizona, and Riverside, California – all of which have designated bicycle lanes. Read more

There aren’t that many people in the church I attend who’ve telephoned me to inquire as to my well-being. So, the other day I decided to do a “switherroo,” as my mother would say. I reached out to them to see how they were coping with these challenging times. Read more

As the COVID-19 vaccination era makes it safer to travel, many people who stayed home during pandemic shutdowns are vacationing again. Airport checkpoint numbers have increased about 20% from January through mid-June, 2021, compared with the same time frame in 2020, according to Transportation Security Administration data. Read more

The Oxford English Dictionary is at it again, welcoming a fresh batch of words into its hallowed halls. In all, 700 words and meanings (senses) got added to the OED in June. Here are some of the highlights. Read more

Road trip! Read more

I don’t get it. When somebody tells me “No,” that one word that is very emphatic. “No fishing!” What’s hard to understand about them? “No hunting on private property” is another example. And third, “No swearing in church!” What’s hard to comprehend about these three words? Yet, people think they have the right to do anything they want and heck with the postings whether they be laws, ordinances, or signs stapled to trees by private citizens. Read more

Are you constantly on your phone? Do you bury your face in your Facebook feed? Do you find yourself all atwitter for Twitter? Do you constantly talk about TikTok? Personally, I’m tempted to spend every instant on Instagram. The studies and statistics I found are all over the place, but the average smartphone user spends over two hours per day using social media. Read more

Sipping a beer while sitting under a tent listening to live music. Hearing a traditional craftsperson explaining how to make a wooden bucket. Eating pigs and pierogi. Browsing the craft booths. Learning history from an 18th-century re-enactor. Read more

I find it somewhat ironic that the pandemic swayed me into committing habits that I wouldn’t haven’t done otherwise. Look at me now. What am I doing? It doesn’t take much to conclude that if I didn’t do a lot of research for stories on this machine (not always a good thing because websites can’t always be trusted) I’d be stretched out in front of the tube watching more television than I care to admit. Read more

It’s no secret people under a certain age (I’m going to put it as high as 50) throw around the word “like” as if they lived in mid-1980’s Beverly Hills. “Like” gets used as much as the word “the,” functioning as the filler word of many non-Californians’ daily lingo. Read more