Towels, Sunblock, and, Oh Yeah, Checkbook

by | Dec 22, 2009 | Newspaper Articles

written for The New York Times AS soon as beach season started, I set out on an odyssey to test the Connecticut Supreme Court ruling that municipal beaches must be open to the public, not just to residents. In the family van, my two daughters and I sought out beaches...

Closing in on the Killer of the Lobsters

by | Dec 22, 2009 | Newspaper Articles

written for The New York Times SCIENTISTS who have been studying the sudden decline of the lobster population in Long Island Sound in 1999 are still months away from releasing their findings, but they said they have narrowed down the likely causes. For the first time,...

Bring Back Recess

by | Dec 22, 2009 | Newspaper Articles

written for The Washington Post On October 25, 2002, schoolchildren in the Washington area emerged gleefully from locked classrooms and ran out to the playground. “Recess is back,” proclaimed The Washington Post. But had the snipers who shut down ordinary life for...

Drawing a Line on Outdoor Clothes Drying

by | Dec 22, 2009 | Newspaper Articles

written for The New York Times FOR 43 years, Joan Brainard has been hanging laundry twice a week in her backyard in Deep River. All she requires is dry weather above 20 degrees. Her routine is so established that if neighbors do not see wash pinned to her two 50-foot...