usDiggRedditYahooMyWebGoogleWhat's this? Best of the Blogs El Paso Times Staff Article Launched:07/01/2007 12:55:11 AM MDT Welcome to the Best of Blogs column, a sampling of the variety of Web log entries that you can enjoy every day on the El Paso Times Web site. usDiggRedditYahooMyWebGoogleWhat's this? Best of the Blogs El Paso Times Staff Article Launched:07/01/2007 12:55:11 AM MDT Welcome to the Best of Blogs column, a sampling of the variety of Web log entries that you can enjoy every...

The cynical buzz about Minnesota 2020, the new progressive think tank launched last week by founder Matt Entenza, was that it is merely a launching pad for his political comeback. We are tired of a state that focuses on divisive side issues while our schools, health care, transportation, and economic development suffer. A Minnesota 2020 trademark will be an emphasis on nonmetro Minnesota, particularly those agriculture-dependent counties where economic growth has lagged and population has...

But to join the conversation with your comments, please use our letters to the editor feature at the bottom of each article. And waits for the magic of "grid parity" But there may be no stopping this train wreck. Introducing How the World Works. Recently in How the World Works. And South American farmers are wasting no time following suit. Copyright 2007 Salon Media Group, inc. Reproduction of material from any Salon pages without written permission is strictly prohibited. Patent and...

So far, the field is crowded with do-it-yourself tycoons _ think Virgin Group chief Richard Branson and Amazon.com inc. founder Jeff Bezos _ who are spending their own fortunes in ventures that promise to give civilians their astronaut wings and the chance to float in zero gravity. The infant industry got a boost in June when a Boston-area investment group backed a private rocket company developing a spaceship that will take off and land like an airplane. The project, entirely financed by...

He admitted that about half of the competitors were "really nervous" to have hundreds in the audience looking into their frying pans while they created their culinary concoctions. In addition to Hathaway, the other chefs from the Tennessee and Kentucky region in the contest were Sue Maddux from Ponder Creek Estates in Louisville, Jack Mitchell from Echo Ridge in Knoxville, David Ovalle from Creekside at Shallowford in Chattanooga, Cathy Schneeman from Jackson Oaks in Paducah, Ky. In...

Lindsey attributes the small number of loans granted by his program to the dwindling number of farmers and the rising value of land in south Montgomery County -- not race. Zippert criticized the FSA as well for not putting together loan programs that cater to the needs of small farming operations, which include most of those owned by black farmers. They review an applicant's credit ratings, previous farm experience and amount of delinquent federal debt as well as ability to qualify for a...