http://www.tribstar.com en-us Copyright CNHI All Rights Reserved. 5 Wed, 26 Nov 2008 22:07:00 +0000 http://www.tribstar.com/mark_bennet/local_story_331220552.html http://www.tribstar.com/mark_bennet/local_story_331220552.html It’s early Thanksgiving morning, and you’re staring into a cup of coffee, wondering what you can and can’t afford — today’s dinner, a Black Friday shopping run, those school fundraiser candies, your kids’ college education, a brake job for the car, the phone bill. Wed, 19 Nov 2008 21:19:00 +0000 http://www.tribstar.com/mark_bennet/local_story_324212008.html http://www.tribstar.com/mark_bennet/local_story_324212008.html The optimist in me sees Terre Haute’s glass half full. My inner pessimist says it’s half empty. Fri, 14 Nov 2008 12:08:00 +0000 http://www.tribstar.com/mark_bennet/local_story_318233501.html http://www.tribstar.com/mark_bennet/local_story_318233501.html In a legal sense, Cousin Eddie just showed up to spend the holidays with Hauteans. Surprised by Thursday’s Indiana Appeals Court ruling that — if it stands — would nullify the 2007 Terre Haute mayoral election? Well, as Clark Griswold once told Ed, “If I woke up tomorrow with my head sewn to the carpet, I wouldn’t be more surprised than I am now.” Tue, 11 Nov 2008 09:55:00 +0000 http://www.tribstar.com/mark_bennet/local_story_315231304.html http://www.tribstar.com/mark_bennet/local_story_315231304.html His voice sounds optimistic, strong.At 41, Nick Popaditch has big plans. He’s pursuing a college degree 22 years after leaving Indiana State University as a freshman. His new book hit shelves nationwide a few weeks ago. Next month, he’ll return to Terre Haute to autograph some copies at a book signing. Wed, 22 Oct 2008 22:05:00 +0000 http://www.tribstar.com/mark_bennet/local_story_296220512.html http://www.tribstar.com/mark_bennet/local_story_296220512.html Friends drew Aaron Boice to visit Chicago. A legacy enticed him to visit The Second City Theatre. In its lobby, dimly lit and gracefully aging, Boice waited at the box office window for tickets. The 24-year-old from San Diego said, “I’ve heard a lot about it. They’ve had a lot of famous comedians.” Wed, 15 Oct 2008 21:28:00 +0000 http://www.tribstar.com/mark_bennet/local_story_289212838.html http://www.tribstar.com/mark_bennet/local_story_289212838.html Our savings and investments may be evaporating. Wall Street is in chaos. We’re about to get a new president. Even Yankee Stadium will be replaced. Wed, 08 Oct 2008 21:56:00 +0000 http://www.tribstar.com/mark_bennet/local_story_282215710.html http://www.tribstar.com/mark_bennet/local_story_282215710.html Anyone who expected Tuesday’s 8th District congressional debate to turn into the Goode, the Brad and the Ugly probably left Vincennes University disappointed. Wed, 01 Oct 2008 21:49:00 +0000 http://www.tribstar.com/mark_bennet/local_story_275214929.html http://www.tribstar.com/mark_bennet/local_story_275214929.html America deserves a break from this 24/7 focus on the financial crisis, taxes and the war. Thank God for tonight’s vice presidential debate. Thu, 25 Sep 2008 16:25:00 +0000 http://www.tribstar.com/mark_bennet/local_story_268203100.html http://www.tribstar.com/mark_bennet/local_story_268203100.html Hollywood couldn’t have written Cathy Rubey’s success story any better. In fact, she wrote it herself. That’s what makes it so good. Now Hollywood is reading it. Thu, 18 Sep 2008 11:26:00 +0000 http://www.tribstar.com/mark_bennet/local_story_261221202.html http://www.tribstar.com/mark_bennet/local_story_261221202.html Aboard his frontier-style flatboat, Ron Drake is retracing the path of a young Abraham Lincoln. In a way, though, the legacy of an older, wiser Lincoln is following Drake. Wed, 10 Sep 2008 21:42:00 +0000 http://www.tribstar.com/mark_bennet/local_story_254214832.html http://www.tribstar.com/mark_bennet/local_story_254214832.html Fears? Maybe. Beers? Sure. Tears in those beers? No way.Many of the folks who have kept the German Oberlander Club’s popular Oktoberfest alive for 36 years worry that the musical genre at its heart could fade if younger generations don’t follow in their footsteps. They’re not frowning, though. Wed, 03 Sep 2008 21:36:00 +0000 http://www.tribstar.com/mark_bennet/local_story_247213713.html http://www.tribstar.com/mark_bennet/local_story_247213713.html What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas, except when it comes to Mr. Las Vegas. He, meaning singer Wayne Newton, left Sin City (the one in Nevada) for Terre Haute, but just for a day. Sat, 30 Aug 2008 22:16:00 +0000 http://www.tribstar.com/mark_bennet/local_story_243221611.html http://www.tribstar.com/mark_bennet/local_story_243221611.html It’s my memory’s favorite image of Richard Roth. White, button-down shirt. Loosened tie. He’s sitting, with his elbow resting on the copy desk just outside his office as Tribune-Star editor in the late 1980s. Fri, 29 Aug 2008 10:33:00 +0000 http://www.tribstar.com/mark_bennet/local_story_241221517.html http://www.tribstar.com/mark_bennet/local_story_241221517.html Plenty of skeptics would tell Carolyn Brown Hodge she’ll be wasting her time. The ride from her Paris, Ill., home into neighboring Indiana to persuade Hoosiers to back Barack Obama will needlessly burn up fuel, doubters would say. Democratic presidential candidates don’t carry Indiana, period, they’d remind Hodge. Wed, 20 Aug 2008 21:49:00 +0000 http://www.tribstar.com/mark_bennet/local_story_233215020.html http://www.tribstar.com/mark_bennet/local_story_233215020.html Coffee is coffee, right? Yes, until you stir something else into it. Coffee with cream isn’t the same as coffee and whiskey.