Free Republic

Already facing the loss of federal government funding, the community-organizing group Acorn also has run afoul of one of its big corporate partners, Bank of America Corp. In response to questions from The Wall Street Journal, a spokesman for the banking company said it has "suspended current commitments" to Acorn Housing, an affiliated group, and "will not enter into any further agreements with Acorn or any of its affiliates," pending assessments by the bank of the organization's operations. Acorn, officially the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, has been under fire since the recent release of secretly recorded videos...

If California sells well in California, it sells even better in Cleveland, Ohio. Fred Eastman, owner of the California Greenhouse Cafe, has turned a small Lancaster restaurant on Commerce Center Drive into a thriving seven-location chain and has plans for further expansion. Eastman's most recent addition is an eatery at The Avenue at Tower City Center in Cleveland, an idea hatched by Eastman and Forest City Enterprises, which owns the Antelope Valley Mall. Originally from Cleveland, Eastman has connections in the Forest City organization. His acquaintances there urged him to make the move to the Midwest, and it proved to...