Kayce T. Ataiyero

Consumerland: Behind the new gold rush - March 3, 2009 - With gold trading at near-record highs and a deluge of TV ads promising small fortunes for old gold jewelry, there is a lot of temptation to turn your broken chains and unwanted rings into cash.

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Dear Abby

Compatible relationships are built on respect, not argument - March 2, 2009 - DEAR ABBY: I have been dating a wonderful man I'll call "George" for the past 14 months. We have never had an argument or even a disagreement. We both have good jobs, like doing the same things, and we see each other every weekend. Our co-workers and family members have commented that we seem remarkably happy as a couple.

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Eric Benderoff

Read on iPhone book apps - March 2, 2009 - The most popular platform for reading electronic books is the mobile phone, not the much-talked-about Amazon Kindle.

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Barbara Brotman

What to do when your winter garb's gone but winter's going strong - February 24, 2009 - And so now we reach that special time in Chicago when winter turns ugly.

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Steve Chapman

Obama's retreat on Iraq no surprise - March 1, 2009 - A sound, if cynical, policy for elections is to never vote for a candidate whose policies match your own. Since politicians often renege on their promises, you are better off voting for a candidate who says he'll do the opposite of what you want—and trusting that he's a liar.

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Steve Dahl

Golf Camp, Day 5: Graduation day - February 27, 2009 - Friday (5:16 p.m. CST): This has been an exciting week for the world of golf. First, Tiger Woods returns to the game and then Steve Dahl graduates from golf camp.

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Bill Daley

Don't wait to open that special bottle of wine - February 25, 2009 - Drinking the wine of your choice is the theme of this week's column, including wines you currently own and wines currently unobtainable, thanks to Illinois law.

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Julie Deardorff

Ease into triathlons with indoor events - March 1, 2009 - If you're curious about the sport of triathlon—and yes, you can do one—try an indoor race first. The run-bike-swim events, held at some Chicago-area health clubs, offer newbies a relatively gentle introduction to the addictive world of multisport events.

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Amy Dickinson

Lesbian couple should join the festivities - March 3, 2009 - Dear Amy: I'm a 24-year-old well-educated woman with a good job and a wonderful family. I'm also lucky to have a loving, supportive girlfriend. She and I have been together for three years.

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Eric Gwinn

Smart ways to spend extra minutes - March 1, 2009 - Got a minute? Smart ways to spend an unexpected break in your busy day.

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Jon Hilkevitch

CTA puts out 'for sale' sign - March 2, 2009 - For commuters looking to buy a home or start a business near a transit line, the Chicago Transit Authority may have just the deal.

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Steve Johnson

In praise of silence - March 3, 2009 - Having a moment of silence for Paul Harvey is almost redundant. Among other distinctions in his almost six-decade career, the man was the master of the pregnant pause, the impresario of the implied ellipsis.

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John Kass

Blago's got a book deal, now you give him a title - March 3, 2009 - Who the heck would ever plunk good money down to read a book titled "The Governor" by Rod Blagojevich?

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Garrison Keillor

Cold comfort - February 25, 2009 - Some friends from the Confederacy came to visit us in St. Paul last week when the temperature was around zero and so we had to haul out electric blankets and crank the thermostat up to 68, but they still felt "chilled" and so I made them go for a walk outdoors, and when they returned, they felt warmer. They only needed to get perspective. Cold is not so cold if you compare it to actual death.

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Julia Keller

Borders closing: When a bookstore bows out - March 1, 2009 - It's not my favorite bookstore. Ever since they moved the fiction section into the dungeon—that may be a tad melodramatic, born of too many feverish readings of the Bronte sisters, but you do have to ride the down escalator to get there—I've been a little disgruntled with the Borders at 830 N. Michigan Ave.

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Rick Kogan

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Gail MarksJarvis

Thinking honestly about savings - March 1, 2009 - It's time for an uncomfortable conversation about the facts of life.

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Jim Mateja

Suzuki packs a lot in little SX4 crossover - March 1, 2009 - Suzuki is a bit player on the auto industry stage.

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Clarence Page

When prisons jail kids for cash - March 1, 2009 - While many Americans, including me, were caught up in the fury around the New York Post's weird dead chimpanzee cartoon, remarkably less attention was paid to a far more serious scandal in Pennsylvania's coal country: a multimillion-dollar scheme to jail kids for cash.

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Kathleen Parker

Where's Bobby? - March 2, 2009 - I liked the old Bobby Jindal better—the one whose brain moves so fast, he's already indexing questions his interviewers haven't thought of yet.

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Phil Rosenthal

Problems, promise for papers predicted - March 1, 2009 - "There seems to be a growing public and advertiser feeling that newspapers are dying," the man told the American Newspaper Publishers Association. "It's only a question of when, not if."

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Mary Schmich

First lady bares her arms and a nation is awestruck - February 27, 2009 - Talking about Michelle Obama's buff arms seems unseemly, doesn't it?

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Dawn Turner Trice

YouTube generation has something to teach parents - March 2, 2009 - I spent several hours on Saturday in front of my television watching Tavis Smiley's daylong "State of the Black Union" summit held live in Los Angeles. It was the 10th such event during which scholars, politicians and deep thinkers convene to talk about how to fix what's broken and how to build on what's working in the black community.

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Mary Umberger

It's the McMansions' style, not size, that counts - February 22, 2009 - Personally, I have nothing against McMansions. I'm not even sure I could define what a McMansion is.

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Ellen Warren

No such thing as too many thank-you notes - March 1, 2009 - Two people with the same predicament:

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Bob Weber

Steering fluid flush not needed, but it won't hurt - March 1, 2009 - QI read your article on fluid flushing (Motormouth, Jan. 11) with interest.

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Jon Yates

What's Your Problem Update: 24th ticket tossed out, too - March 3, 2009 - Mark Geinosky is now a perfect 24 for 24 in Chicago parking tickets.

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Eric Zorn

Let's give instant run-off voting a chance at the polls in Chicago - March 3, 2009 - How dizzying is Tuesday's special primary election?

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