No Animals Were Harmed During This Interview
by Lin Orndorf

I have always had a huge soft spot for animals.  Cats, dogs, guinea pigs, rabbits, birds, squirrels, and horses have been part of my life in one way or another at one time or another.

On the Political Trail: Meet James Akers
an interview by Lin Orndorf

2008 is proving to be quite an interesting year for politics.  From the neck-and-neck race between the Democratic frontrunners for the presidential nomination to heated local contests in our region, there is plenty of real political drama for everyone.

Mentioning the Unmentionable Vice
by James Dye

I had the opportunity recently to attend a continuing legal education (CLE) symposium at Emory University in Atlanta.  CLE classes are notoriously dull affairs of well-fed lawyers and desiccated judges, huffing and blowing about collateral estoppel and mispronouncing certiorari while some distinguished speaker raises tedium to a high art. 

Can you believe we’re 5 months into the year already. It’s May. The azaleas are in bloom, the tulips are up, it’s light until 8 or so and it’s time to get out and enjoy not only the weather, but also the party scene. As usual, I’ve been racking up the miles on the Vista Cruiser making sure that I can bring you the low down on all your favorite spots. But first, a few special announcements.

Stephanie Sinclair Does Charlotte
by Stephanie Sinclair

Well, just in case you didn’t get enough of me in my own column, The Sinclair Report, I am this month, filling in for my sis, Sierra LaMae as she takes a much needed rest. I hear she’s in a posh private rehabilitation facility in Belmont… but that’s just rumor. And you know I never spread rumors.

So I’m going to do my best to retrace Miss LaMae’s sizeable footsteps from last month and make sure all you Charlotte area party people don’t miss a thing either.

Barefoot Joe
A Rough and Tumble Country Butch

Wnt2bbutch      << As my name indicates I want to be butch but I'm not really sure what that involves or even if that is something that I am capable of being......Any helpful hints, ideas, whatever this message evokes from you would be great.>>:::chuckling:::....I have been butch for as long as I remember and am still not sure exactly what that involves.  It's more than any one thing that "butch" brings to mind.  More than the haircut or the clothes or the job or the women I chose to love.  Male essence contained in a female body comes about as close to what butch is as I have heard but I have yet to find a definitive definition...:::grinning:::.....or see a check list that you could go over and come up saying.....ayup, I'm butch.  But your question evokes a couple of memories........one of which I'd like to share. 

What the Rubberman Wrote
by Michael Harney

I never knew spring-cleaning involved so much history!  You may have heard that the Western North Carolina AIDS Project is moving into a new space.  In order to do so, the staff members have been going through old files and cabinet shelves and piles and stacks of paper to separate what will be absolutely necessary for the next three months while we are in our temporary office space before moving to our permanent building in September. 

The details are too many to explain in these few paragraphs, but the overall message is that we are moving to a new and larger space. 

I hope I have a window in my new office...

Fitness Corner
by Kam Parker, C.P.T.

We interrupt this program for a reality check from your OIA personal trainer.

This week my partner’s father entered hospice to continue his battle against metastasized prostate cancer. I don’t like to talk about cancer, but I recently heard a bio-chemical scientist express the notion that our country is in a state of denial regarding its causes. With the progression of my “father-in-law’s” disease, I feel compelled to write about cancer this month and how fitness plays a role in its prevention.

Sacred Space
by Rev. Louisa A. Dyer, MA

“When things go wrong, don’t go with them.”

These words that I saw on a marquee really summed up the power each of us has to be happy or miserable.  “Things” will always happen that could be disturbing – yet we have choices about how we respond, and those choices determine, in large part, whether we feel good or bad.

A large part of my legal practice involves helping domestic partners plan their lives and estates to avoid complicated, costly, and frustrating bureaucracies whenever possible. The crème de la crème of bureaucracies is probate, a nightmare for any family but most especially for domestic partners.

Mortgage Market
by David Kanis

2008: Year of Sweeping Changes for Mortgage Lending Qualification

Foreclosures are up. House prices are down. How bad is the current housing crisis? Can you even get a loan in today’s mortgage market? Should you be worried about your own credit situation?