Meme Wars By David DeVoss In the years between 9/ll and the U.S. invasion of Iraq, Osama bin Laden and his lieutenants publicized Al Qaeda’s beliefs, demands and atrocities with a succession of crudely produced audio and videotapes sent to Al Jazeera and other networks. By March 2004, however, the way that news and ideas…
Detroit Emerges from Bankruptcy, but Recovery will take Years By David DeVoss For close to a century the Forest Arms apartments was one of the most prestigious addresses on Detroit’s near Westside. But by the start of this decade Detroit’s declining population, municipal mismanagement and foundering economy had left the building reminiscent post-war Berlin The…
How Dry I Am By David DeVoss After four years of drought it has come to this: California’s politicians are trying to convince Los Angeles residents to drink treated sewage. Toilet to Tap is no joke. The idea was floated 20 years ago during the last serious drought, but foundered on the fact that recycled…
Natchez Trace Pathway Through the Past By David DeVoss It’s midnight on the Mississippi. In the antebellum city of Natchez, high atop a bluff overlooking the river, lights are winking off in the Victorian mansions and plantation homes emblematic of the Old South. Down on the riverbank, inside the Under-the-Hill Saloon, a dozen yahoos fresh off…
Guide Dog Graduations Offer Glimpse of America at its Best by David DeVoss Graduations are joyous events. For students with newly learned skills, they mark the beginning of lives as independent adults. At Guide Dog schools around the country the ceremonies are even more emotional since there they celebrate, not only the hard won mobility…
By David DeVoss For the past 35 years whenever a resident of Dallas, Texas wanted to fly to New York, Chicago or Los Angeles he had to drive half way to Ft. Worth to depart from Dallas-Ft. Worth Airport. This year that same traveler can fly to every major city in the continental U.S. out…
By David DeVoss When the baseball season begins anew in April most Americans living in the Midwest will once again turn their attention, at least for six months, to the St. Louis Cardinals, a team whose culture and tradition equals that of the New York Yankees. From North Texas up through the plains states into…
California Gem Features Life in the SLO Lane By David DeVoss Like most migrants to California, I spent my early years bouncing between San Francisco and LA. In due course I became acquainted with the delights of San Diego, the stunning beauty of coastal Highway 1 and the patrician delicacies of Napa Valley. It was…