Doom? Check. Gloom? Yep. Despair? Oh yeah, its all in there in this big crisis gumbo weve cooked for ourselves. But Im here to say that its not the end of the world, that things are not monolithic, that, certainly, there is some good that comes with all of this bad.

When we started this thing called the USA about 130 years ago, the cornerstone of our democracy was the right to vote in free elections, provided you were a white male. Weve loosened up over the years, but still a huge chunk of Americans do not exercise this inalienable right to choose.

Its officially fall, and that means its time for one of the worlds most common crops to rear its bulbous, orange head. It seems anything can be flavored like pumpkin a semi sweet flavor usually jacked up with sugar, cinnamon and other spices.

Like any respectable purveyor, Foothills uses beer in its batter — in this case, its own Pilot Mountain Pale Ale, which gives the fried rings a malty taste and a lightness derived from the CO2. The colossal yellow onions are hand cut to the thickness of one’s ring finger, doused with crushed red pepper and salt and dipped in a light crepe batter.

Look, I’m 29-years-old and enough of a feminist to know that “girl” is not the proper label to affix to a professional embarking on the next stage of her ca reer — in Las Vegas, baby! But I’m playing the needy card here.

Sociologist Richard Florida brought the term to prominence in his 2004 book The Rise of the Creative Class. To hear Greensboro’s politicians, pundits and policy wonks tell it, they’re going to be the saviors of our cities — young, bright, affluent men and women riding in on a rainbow of diversity and disposable income.

Chances are you took advantage of the recent tax free weekend or office-supply super sales before the first day of school this week. But still! There may be a few things you forgot on your back-to-school shopping list.

Our president had a ball in China, from that awkward, lower-back slap when the volleyball player wanted a pat on the butt to “raising the roof” of Beijing National Stadium. He was living it up in the Big Red, but it wasn’t all great “Daily Show” clips; there was also a serious side to his visit.

I’ve been trying, when possible, to telecommute a few days a month in an effort to save money and do my share to curb our national jones for gasoline. There are other nice things about it too.

You might have noticed the house ads running for a while, but now it’s for real: YesWeekly.com has a brand new look. It’s YesWeekly.com 2.0, if you will. The first thing you’ll notice is the pure bling-factor — this is a handsome, handsome upgrade. Stories will be formatted better, and we can have more photos at higher quality.

Okay so the economy sucks and you lost your job, or you’re home from college, like me, and have to move back home into your parents’ basement. You don’t want to add your home address on your MySpace or Facebook as “mom and dad’s,” but you have to deal with it anyway.

July is National Hot Dog Month, but here in North Carolina we eat them all year long, usually graced with a slide of chili and a mound of finely chopped cole slaw. That's how we do.

July is National Hot Dog Month, but here in North Carolina we eat them all year long, usually graced with a slide of chili and a mound of finely chopped cole slaw. That's how we do. Many of them are purchased on the street - both Greensboro and Winston-Salem have day- and nighttime purveyors of this American delicacy right out there on the sidewalks, the cheapest form of al fresco dining anywhere.

Clay Felker, an American journalism pioneer, passed last week at the age of 82. He was a giant in the industry, and an inspiration, either directly or indirectly, to everyone working in magazine journalism today. His achievements are numerous, but his crowning achievement was the creation of New York.

Clay Felker, an American journalism pioneer, passed last week at the age of 82. He was a giant in the industry, and an inspiration, either directly or indirectly, to everyone working in magazine journalism today.

Welcome to the YES! Weekly Pop Quiz, where we ask politicians and public servants questions about their jobs. This week we called the mayor of High Point and three city council members. The rules are simple: The candidate must answer immediately no research, no callbacks.

Watching the surfers at Wrightsville Beach Aside from the fact that the surfers monopolize the prime waves, the best thing about being at Wrightsville Beach is watching the them paddle in ahead of an arriving water mass, rise to their feet as it surges beneath, perform a poetic slalom along its advancing line, turn 180s or take the express towards the shoreline before collapsing in the surf.

Aside from the fact that the surfers monopolize the prime waves, the best thing about being at Wrightsville Beach is watching the them paddle in ahead of an arriving water mass, rise to their feet as it surges beneath, perform a poetic slalom along its advancing line, turn 180s or take the express towards the shoreline before collapsing in the surf.

Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY) The junior senator from New York ended her bid for the Democratic presidential nomination less than a week and a half ago. During her run, she built a coalition of white working-class and women voters that nearly put her over the top. The easiest way for Sen. Barack Obama to bring these folks back into the Democratic fold would be to tap Clinton for veep.