Taxes during a recession are troublesome on many levels. Taxes on basic utilities — which almost everyone uses — are especially regressive and only increase the burden on any community. Unfortunately,...

Two percent — only 2 percent — is the margin by which one of the most significant pieces of legislation ever to come before Congress narrowly passed the U.S. House of Representatives last week. By...

Here’s a question I made up to include on any exam for fire chief, especially in cities with racially troubled fire departments, such as New Haven, Conn., and the District of Columbia: A truck driven...

Today is a turning point in a long struggle for Shelter House. Today, the organization — which provides support to eastern Iowa’s homeless population — will break ground on its new facility at 429...

I started smoking because it fit me. I was in my junior year of high school, and anyone holding a cigarette looked undeniably cool. And now I’m trying to quit. Sigh. The thing with cigarettes that I...

With apologies to Nike, if the United States were a for-profit venture, its slogan would be “Just do it.” Few would dispute the notion that we are an action-oriented people. From an early age, Americans...

I have a Twitter account, I announce to a friend, apropos of utterly nothing. (Which is typical of me. A great deal of the time, I’m a walking non sequitur, much to the consternation of my colleagues,...

South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford has become just the latest high profile politician to fall in the “booby trap.” Across this nation, regardless of party alliance, people are scratching their heads...

For the past three months, I have been carrying around in my briefcase a prescription for new eyeglasses. Do I have new glasses? No. Why? Because I’m too busy to get them. Because I haven’t gotten...

Summer is in the air and, unfortunately, that’s not the only thing in the air. A drive up Interstate 380 at certain points of the day will prove that. The air blowing in one direction will produce a...

Call it recession depression. There’s something oddly disappointing about living in the city with the lowest unemployment in the nation during the biggest recession in 75 years. Iowa City had an unemployment...

Parks and recreation areas are important. But are they as important as a stronger police force, better fire prevention, and flood-mitigation projects? Not even close. The Iowa City City Council recently...