Walmart has been hit with its share of rotten tomatoes, lobbed from proponents of local economies and social justice groups. The mega-corporation has long been criticized for overtaking towns and communities when it opens up new stores, bulldozing over a lot more than mere acreage...

For a community striving toward sustainability, Broad Ripple already has a lot going for it. Most residents live close enough to walk or bike to shopping, dining, and recreation. Public transportation is readily available. Locally owned shops outnumber national chains. Fresh-from-the-farm food is in abundance throughout the summer. Folks don’t have to start up the car to get to a lively night scene. And amid all this are plenty of opportunities for communing with nature, whether in wooded parks or on peaceful riverbanks...

Tom Chandler bought his home 15 years ago—a centuryold bungalow in the Fountain Square neighborhood of Indianapolis. With rotting window frames, ancient wiring, and outdated plumbing, the house posed challenges that would have withered the cast of “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition.” And Chandler, lacking the big-box sponsors of the popular TV series, knew the renovations could double, triple, even quadruple his costs.

Among my most vivid childhood memories is opening the pantry on my mother’s instructions to grab a jar of this or that. It may have been the darkest winter night, but that pantry door opened onto the summer past, as jars of golden peaches and bright red tomatoes glowed from their shelves. I felt warmer just looking at them.

For the last 30 years, audiences have been able to count on the Bloomington Playwrights Project (BPP) for drama and originality both on and off-stage. Last January, the nonprofit play production organization turned off its power and worked for a week without lights or heat to promote the 2010 theme for its annual AwareFest, “A Greener World.”