Local hot spots are bracing for a busy Fourth of July weekend. Officials say the gas crisis is giving Erie’s tourism industry a competitive edge.

“Inner Expressions” Clausen House Art Collaborative Latest works. Opening reception at 6 p.m. at the Lakeview Mural Gallery, 450 Santa Clara Ave., Oakland. The show runs through Aug. 1. 839-1114.

"I can't speak." This is how Robert Sean Leonard — an actor who has been performing professionally since age 14, who has uttered lines written by Shakespeare, Stoppard, Williams, and O'Neill — begins our conversation.

LAKEWOOD RANCH

Ted and Barney weren't the only ones to give Abby the receptionist the brushoff. Britney Spears' hyped two-episode appearance on How I Met Your Mother didn't catch the eye of...

A listing of real estate transactions recorded in Pitkin County for the first half of 2008 (updated through June 25).

Ted and Barney weren't the only ones to give Abby-the-receptionist the brushoff.

It looks like at least one actor -- or should we say actress -- has a chance of making one of Emmy's prestigious acting categories. Mary McDonnell, who plays President Laura Roslin in "Battlestar Galactica," has turned up on an unofficial shortlist for Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series.

Should Kane County Forest Preserve District open a nature center right down the road from where the St. Charles Park District plans to build one?