While other Humboldt State University students were getting ready to start their day, or attend class Wednesday morning, Shuai Chen was wishing a happy new year to her family in China.

An international student from Xi´an, China, Chen was recognizing the beginning of the Lunar calendar, one of the most significant holidays in several Asian cultures.

Lunar New Year starts today for the United States, but since Chen's family lives on the other side of the world, they've already been celebrating for a day and a half.

Similar to the U.S. New Year, Lunar New Year signals a fresh start and a time to bring good fortune to households. Traditionally focused around spending time with family and eating special dishes, students who are far away from home are finding it hard to celebrate without their loved ones.

Nottingham baby case hijacked by anti social work movement

The case of a newborn baby removed from his 18-year-old mother – known only as G – despite no care order being in place is undoubtedly an example of poor practice. Put quite simply, the legal processes that should have been followed before a child can be taken into care were not.

Career sideman Michael Ramos steps out with 'Charanga Cakewalk'

Michael Ramos bears not a single distinguishing characteristic of the revolutionary. He's a quiet, unassuming, trim, and well-dressed man who has spent almost his entire career in subordinate roles in a variety of groups. He's been a member of the Bodeans and the Rembrandts and played accordion and keyboards for Patty Griffin, John Mellencamp, Paul Simon, and, currently, Los Lonely Boys.

Yet on the long bus journeys and overnight hotel stays that take up far too great a percentage of a road musician's life, Ramos uses Pro Tools to transform all the music he's played and has grown up with into a unique synthesis that blows apart preconceptions. Ramos has released two albums as Charanga Cakewalk, which is what he calls the result. It's a conceptual group, like Steely Dan, consisting of Ramos and whatever friends, acquaintances, and heroes he manages to corral.

Big pants save the day

A family home was saved from burning down when a pair of giant knickers were used to put out a fire.

Mrs Marsey said: "When they found the pan on fire they did what most people do and panicked.

Da Vinci offers artistic blend of Italian classics

Gnocchi are so tiny they look like kernels of hominy. They're chewy yet light, topped with similarly sized pieces of buffalo mozzarella and a fresh tomato sauce. You can get the gnocchi on their own or in a pasta tasting with rigatoni Bolognese and half-moon-shaped pasta stuffed with mushrooms, spinach, and ricotta. The Bolognese is excellent, as deeply meaty as a good stock, but the stuffing in the half-moons is bland. Any flavor it has is dominated by the sweet, bisque-like corn sauce the pasta is served with. This might be a topping to save for summer, when just-picked ears could redeem it.

The pasta tasting has the obvious appeal of allowing you to sample more dishes, but it has a drawback, too: The rigatoni are significantly better when ordered on their own, for the simple reason that they come in a bowl, which keeps the Bolognese warm.

January 2003

Once again American soldiers stand ready to defend their nation's interests and free a people from tyranny. Alan Caruba says it's a shame no one cares about the diminishing freedom of Americans
Problems for the Axis of Weasel: Jackson Murphy says that world events are rapidly illustrating the irrelevance of nations like France and Germany
Walking on thin ice: All the protests and UN posturing doesn't change a fact, says Henry Lamb, Saddam Hussein is on the thin edge of the wedge and it's going to be George W. Bush to give him a shove
America's non-resolve to fight evil: Even as American soldiers prepare themselves for a seemingly inevitable war against Iraq Ed Cline says the United States is fighting the war against terrorism halfheartedly
Does the US have a double standard with regards to North Korea and Iraq?: David T.

Gayles: Three decades of delicious decadence

The year was 1978. Woody Allen's film "Annie Hall" won the Oscar. "Hotel California" by the Eagles won record of the year. "Elvis: The Legend Lives!" opened at Palace Theater in New York for 101 performances.

And in Capitola, Gayle and Joe Ortiz opened Gayle's Bakery on Feb. 14. Their first-day sales were less than $50. They served a couple of dozen customers. They had one employee, Gretchen Friewald. They went to bed exhausted but returned to the bakery at 2 a.m. the next day and did it all over again.

American Idol Buzz

We're very simple people. We're not into going out and partying. We like to go to the beach and cook dinner at home. I'm a nester. I like decorating my house… I used to be excited about shopping and fancy restaurants. I'm not like that anymore."

Fashion, economics drive new trends for homeowners

WENGE, it's been good to know you.

Sunken Jacuzzis, we had some good times.

Blue and brown, I can't believe it's over.

After a couple of years of same-old, same-old on the home front, winds of change are blowing in. Some are driven by fashion, others by economic conditions and lifestyle shifts.

2008 will see waves of mainstream homeowners going green to save green, according to Ann Mack, director of trendspotting at JWT, a New York advertising firm. What Mack describes as a desire for "Prius homes" is being driven in part by financial incentives.

"Major banks are offering energy-efficient mortgages for homeowners," Mack said. Some changes are product-based (installing solar panels), while others are behavioral (holding out longer in summer before turning on the AC).