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Creepy, kooky, mysterious, spooky — and singing?

One of Americas most macabre clans gets a musical
makeover in The Addams Family. Based on Charles Addams original
one-panel cartoons from The New Yorker, the show promises to be a
family-friendly take on the darker side of life.

Sara Gettelfinger, who plays Morticia Addams, says the
script plays up the morbid humor in the familys relationships,
tendencies, activities and connections to the outside world that has
made the franchise so popular since the comics debuted in the 1930s.
Addams creation inspired a long-running sitcom, several animated
cartoons, three movies (including 1991´s The Addams Family and 1993´s
Addams Family Values) and now a musical...

Small business leaders offer mixed reviews of State of the Union

Posted at 03:22 PM ET, 01/25/2012
Small business leaders offer mixed reviews of State of the Union
By J.D. Harrison

President Obama called for increased support for entrepreneurs during his State of the Union address on Tuesday.
(Saul Loeb – AP)
President Obama’s third annual address to Congress opened with celebration of military accomplishments, featured a number of initiatives targeting education reform and ultimately centered on a growing divide between the wealthy...

Modern Family, Sunday, 7.30pm, Ten

Modern Family, Sunday, 7.30pm, Ten

At the top of its game, Modern Familys razor-sharp look at complicated family relationships is an absolute hoot.

Then there are episodes like Hit and Run, which start off promisingly but fall back on stereotypes and obvious jokes.

Gloria gets frustrated when Jay and Manny refuse her help with their work and school problems, while Mitch and Cam question how to handle confrontations after being in a fender bender.

Claire decides to run in the local council elections, leaving Phil to look after their children with typically disastrous results.

The strong family bonds between the disparate groups always make Modern Family...

Small business donations would earn tax break

Standing inside the warehouse at NAEIR, two area congressmen announced Thursday new legislation that is designed to offer incentives to small businesses and local mom and pop shops to donate excess items to nonprofits and receive a tax break in return.

US Reps. Aaron Schock, R-Peoria, and Bobby Schilling, R-Colona, are hoping small businesses will receive the same tax deduction given to larger corporations when they donate extra inventory to charity and nonprofits. Currently, small business receive no tax incentive to do so.

Its to create a level playing field for every business in America to donate excess goods and products, said Schock, the bills sponsor.

The...

Local agencies unite for families

Kingdom Covenant Christian Center, through its Seeds of Success program, will offer free community financial education, covering from investing basics and how to save to retirement savings options and debt management, the program?s financial literacy specialist, Frederick Arthur, said. He added, ?Financial education is a tremendous issue. We?re excited to be part of this.?

The Center for Family Services has a parenting empowerment program aimed to strengthen family relationships through group meetings that cover the challenges of raising a family, Luz Perry, parenting counselor for the Center for Family Services, said.

Holden said the agencies have been meeting weekly and working...

Pollock’s Legend Still Splattered On Art World

Enlarge National Gallery of Art, Ailsa Mellon Bruce Fund

An artist who abandoned all conventions, Pollock used the separation and marbling of the wet paint enamel to create the dripping patterns in Number 1, 1950 (Lavender Mist).

National Gallery of Art, Ailsa Mellon Bruce Fund

An artist who abandoned all conventions, Pollock used the separation and marbling of the wet paint enamel to create the dripping patterns in Number 1, 1950 (Lavender Mist).

...

Small Business Strategies: Year of the Dragon offers lessons

Who wouldnt want all that? Well, if Chinese astrology is right, theyre coming your way as we enter the lunar — or Chinese — New Year.

Its the Year of the Dragon, considered the luckiest year in the Chinese zodiac, and it should be a great year for entrepreneurs and small business owners, according to whats predicted to affect you and your small business in the coming year.

• COLUMN: Index of Rhonda Abrams Small Business Strategies columns

The Chinese New Year began Jan. 23 and festivities continue for two weeks. So Gung hay fat choy! (Loosely translated, thats happy new year.)

Now, Im not a believer in astrology,...

Break Brick, Break Bread, Break the Mold

Art and food mixed at a dinner last Thursday at Engine 43, a private residence and social club in San Francisco’s Excelsior neighborhood, in the form of bricks served on a bed of hay.

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Using small hammers, a group of about 40 diners smashed the bricks until the clay...

Education, small business looks at future without Gov. Perdue

Cafe owners Matt and Erin Scully were able to open their doors thanks to a small business loan offered by the city of Greenville, one that Perdue supported.