A few weeks ago, I was running out the door to catch a Metra train, with not a minute to spare. I thrust the baby at my mother-in-law and with hot rollers still in my hair, dashed outside to my car. Later, as we laughed about how close I had come to missing a much-anticipated night in the city, my mother-in-law said, "It's just how some people operate … by the seat of their pants." My heart sunk, but I knew she was right. For all my best intentions, my life is not organized, efficient or gracefully run. I search for my keys daily, am constantly trying to remember when my library books are due and have laundry baskets filled with paperwork to file. Read ahead
Source: articles.chicagotribune.com
Ofer Malamud would tell you that while growing up in a middle-class neighborhood in Hong Kong, he spent long hours playing rudimentary games on his 1980s Apple computer. Yet Malamud, 35, now an assistant professor at the University of Chicago's Harris School of Public Policy, also would tell you that prior to a recent study he co-wrote, he believed that poor kids used their computer time far more fruitfully — say, for educational pursuits. In fact, many of us wax idealistically when it comes to poor students and computers. That's why we appreciate initiatives such as those by the international nonprofit One Laptop Per Child, which attempts to bridge the digital divide by distributing laptops to children in developing countries. The thinking is that giving a poor child a computer can go a long way toward improving his life by leveling the academic playing field. Read ahead
Source: articles.chicagotribune.com
The Broward school district on Monday delivered pink slips to 1,305 teachers, secretaries and maintenance workers as the school district struggles to close a $130 million budget shortfall. Two days before the school year ends, the district notified 568 teachers and 737 noninstructional employees that they will not have jobs when classes resume in the fall. "This is the worst possible scenario coming true," School Board Chairwoman Jennifer Gottlieb said. Read ahead
Source: articles.sun-sentinel.com
Since 2000, I've lived in seven apartments in three different boroughs of New York City. The rentals have ranged from a spacious three-bedroom in a riverside high-rise to a microscopic box adjacent to a dive bar. While I've truly liked almost every place, each has presented some interesting obstacles for grocery shopping. Since a lot of big city apartment-dwellers have probably met with the same hurdles, I figure I'd address a few and provide alternatives.Read ahead
Source: articles.moneycentral.msn.com
The main idea behind financial regulatory reform is to prevent a repeat of the banking crisis that sent our economy into the Great Recession. But there's more to the new law than that -- a lot more. In addition to new rules regarding supervision and regulation of U.S. financial firms, other new rules do everything from reducing the amount stores pay for debit card processing to providing more financial literacy to our nation's citizens. While many of the bill's provisions are designed to protect consumers, some of that protection will come at a price. Read ahead
Source: articles.moneycentral.msn.com