Travis: How do teachers savor their summer? Let’s count the ways

In just a few days, the school year for Newton County children will be over. We'll see pictures of them rushing out of the schools' doors, cheering.

Yarbrough: They’re schools, not businesses, as teachers know well

Dear Public School Teachers in Georgia:

McCoy: Where am I? Brain is not playing fair

It's not cool to keep silent

I remember the first time I ran away from home. I was in sixth grade and I had been wronged in some way. I was sure my parents loved my sister more or denied me some privilege, and I was having none of that. I stayed home when my parents left for work, skipped school, packed a bag and took my bike to this little secluded spot by the river, thinking that was an awesome place to live. I was home before my parents.

Credit report coding trips up buyers

Are large numbers of homeowners who have negotiated short sales with lenders at risk because of a startling omission in the American credit system? Do their credit reports and scores indicate that they were foreclosed upon, rather than having negotiated a mutually agreeable resolution with their lenders?

Sometimes, perspective changes things

Single and lonely in a new neighborhood, a guy invites his neighbors to a drop-in party. With ample food and drink, he sits alone as party time comes and goes.

Who's teaching students to hate U.S.?

Brothers Tamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, who are accused of setting the bombs that exploded at the Boston Marathon, attended the University of Massachusetts. Maybe they hated our nation before college, but if you want lessons on hating America, college attendance might be a good start. Let's look at it.

Where am I? Brain isn't playing fair

Last week, while out of town and staying in a hotel, I had a most exasperating experience.

Property tax proposal doesn’t add up

The word tax is a three-letter word that might as well be a four-letter word these days.

Cushman: Crisis management

My graduate course in crisis management was the 2012 Republican presidential primaries as a senior advisory and national media surrogate for Newt Gingrich.

Crosswalk confusion is rampant

I try to walk at least five days or more a week for close to an hour.

Dalton mayor mulls run against Deal

David Pennington, the mayor of Dalton, is making noises about challenging incumbent Gov. Nathan Deal in the 2014 Republican primary. Say what?

Carter: Character, integrity are true pillars of society

I was conversing with a couple of friends this week, each of whom expressed frustration and disappointment at having been wronged recently in a business transaction.

McCoy: Men, watch your step at weddings

If you're a man who's been invited to a wedding, you need to heed my advice so you know what to do at these alien affairs.

How home sellers shoot themselves in the foot

With full-fledged sellers' markets underway in dozens of metropolitan areas around the country, new research has found curious statistical patterns emerging: Even in cities where listings get multiple offers within days or hours, significant numbers of homes are sitting on the market for six months, 12 months or more with no takers.

Travis: Upgrading to new computer headaches

Around 20 years ago my bedroom TV committed murder/suicide. It was sitting on a gate leg table whose leaves were folded. The TV was one of those very large and heavy ones, and its weight must have made the table legs begin to separate. That slight tilt led to the TV jumping to its death in the middle of the night, and it took the VCR with it. The crash scared me and my husband to death.

Visiting the ‘ladies’ room’

It happened again today. Something was wrong with the gents' toilet and I wanted to wash my hands. What to do? What to do? Yep. I did it. I washed my paws in the room marked "Ladies." The door was wide open, no one was in there and the sink was calling my name: "David ... David ... come wash up in here." If you've ever heard a sink calling your name, you'd best just ...

Williams: Authors dispel myths about Lincoln

Steven Spielberg's "Lincoln" has been a box-office hit and nominated for 12 Academy Awards, including best picture, best director and best actor for Daniel Day-Lewis, who portrayed our 16th president. I haven't seen the movie; therefore, this column is not about the movie but about a man deified by many. My colleague Thomas DiLorenzo, economics professor at Loyola University Maryland, exposed some of the Lincoln myth in his 2006 book, "Lincoln Unmasked." Now comes Joseph ...

Carter: Win, lose or draw another conclusion

As someone who exchanges ideas and discusses opinions through social media, writing a printed newspaper column feels a bit odd. I'm used to the back-and-forth interaction I experience online or in person. Dialogue is a vital exercise where I learn from different perspectives. Forced to explain myself, it sharpens, clarifies and sometimes causes me to challenge my own thinking.

A view from the Georgia House

The House again saw only a handful of bills during our third week, but that situation won't last long, since the committees have begun to pump out a steady stream of new legislation. Our main work was getting out the "little budget," as the bill to adjust the current, fiscal year 2013 budget is called. This bill makes adjustments to reflect the actual rate at which revenue is coming in, and is also used to ...

Giving back builds community

Native Americans of the Pacific Northwest coast of the United States and Canada had a long tradition known as potlatch. Hosts would invite other tribal members and family to a grand celebration that marked milestones such as births and marriages. Typical activities included singing, dancing and eating, not unlike festive occasions we celebrate in our own lives.

Travis: The evolution of Valentine's Day

Tomorrow is Valentine's Day. I will get some cards from my children and grandchildren. And I will give them cards, but that's about it. I don't expect fancy flowers and candy from my husband and he doesn't expect presents from me. That doesn't mean we aren't happy with each other; we are. It just means we are happy without the presents.

Yarbrough: Ralston's move a 'good start'

Are you sitting down? I had a meeting with House Speaker David Ralston last week at the Capitol. Got your breath yet? There's more. It was a good meeting.

Williams: Women in combat

A senior Defense Department official said the ban on women in combat should be lifted because the military's goal is "to provide a level, gender-neutral playing field." I'd like to think the goal of the military should be to have the toughest, meanest fighting force possible. But let's look at "gender-neutral playing field."

Carter: Keeping Donkeys off the edge

Last week was bad - or so it seemed then. Work days were jam-packed with stressful moments, evenings were too short, nights were sleepless, and I could never catch my balance or my breath. Even finding time to write a column was a chore.

Morgan: Seeking love, or chocolate

She's single and lives in a small town where, she said, "Everybody knows everybody." She won't do the bar scene, and there aren't many other options for meeting single men where she lives. What she'd like is a serious long-term relationship and she doesn't rule out marriage. So what's a woman to do?

Cushman: Let's keep our eye on the ball

It seems the Republican Party news is getting worse. This past fall, we suffered the defeat of our nominee for president. Based on the economic conditions, Republicans should have won. Many Republican pundits tagged Mitt Romney as the winner days before the election, talked about a possible landslide and were flabbergasted when he lost.

Travis: A ‘folk artist of architecture’

I walked down my back steps last week and saw a daffodil blooming. I know that in itself is not unusual. What makes it unusual is that it was blooming in the bed of my husband's pickup truck.

Yarbrough: Don’t just ‘walk away’ from public schools

As many of you recall, I opposed the recent charter school amendment, not because I oppose charter schools - I don't - but because I thought the wording of the amendment was duplicitous. I thought it grossly unfair that Gov. Nathan Deal could wax eloquently on the need for passage of the amendment but School Superintendent John Barge was not allowed to talk about opposing it. It was like Goliath beating up David.

Put away childish things

It was front page news last summer when Chick-fil-A restaurants across America became the flashpoint for one of our nation's most divisive issues. Following statements by the restaurant chain's President, Dan Cathy, opposing same sex marriage, gay rights groups organized a nationwide boycott. To counter, conservatives opposed to same-sex marriage flooded the nearest Chick-fil-A to make a statement. It got ugly.