Tallahassee newspaper apologizes for how it treated civil rights leaders 50 years ago

A public apology on behalf of the institution does not undo what was done, but it is a symbol - and simply the right thing to do. Sometimes words need to be said, and written, for the healing to begin. Painful emotions bottled up inside for all these years - feelings of hurt, betrayal and anger - need to be addressed. It is our hope that we at least get you to think and talk about an issue that few seem to want to think or talk about. It is our hope this apology acknowledges the hurt we have caused and perhaps allows for healing.—Patrick Dorsey, President and Publisher, Tallahassee Democrat and Bob Gabordi, Executive Editor

An architect with plans for a new Gulf Coast

He's the man architecture critics love to hate: Andrés Duany, charismatic prophet of the New Urbanism, with his nostalgic prescriptions for dense, walkable neighborhoods energized by stores, mass transit and traditional housing.—Robin Pogrebin, The New York Times

Fifty years ago: Tallahassee newspaper on the wrong side of history

Fifty years ago, Tallahassee's newspaper of record placed itself on the wrong side of history when it failed to support the black community's calls for the end of segregation on city buses.

On Tuesday, the Tallahassee Democrat's executive editor publicly asked its readers then and now to forgive it for what he called the newspaper's "callousness and indifference."

"It is inconceivable that a newspaper, an institution that exists freely only because of the Bill of Rights, could be so wrong on civil rights," said Bob Gabordi, reiterating words from a column he wrote with the newspaper's publisher, Patrick Dorsey, which ran Sunday. "But we were."—Julian Pecquet, Tallahassee Democrat

Putting environmentalism on the urban map

By 2009, when all the available sites on its 92 acres will be developed, Battery Park City will have eight green residential buildings and a green Goldman Sachs headquarters. All these projects are expected to be certified gold — with three potentially rated platinum — under the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design ratings system.—Robin Pogrebin, The New York Times

Bigger houses, longer commutes

Julie Kroloff makes the trip from Dutchess County to her office in Midtown Manhattan in just under two hours. If traffic is heavy, Ms. Kroloff's 54-mile commute can take two and a half hours or more.

in Burlington, N.J., south of Trenton, Ronny Byrd, will reach his New York destination in two hours.

In Poughkeepsie, N.Y., Atul Ramayani, a computer analyst, boards Metro-North's increasingly crowded 7:10 express bound for Grand Central Terminal. In all, Mr. Ramayani's commute takes close to two hours, including the 20-minute drive to the station and a 10-minute walk from Grand Central before he clocks in for the day.

It is a trend that Mark S. Jaffe, the president of the Greater New York Chamber of Commerce, calls worrisome. "If people have to travel so far, how can they still be alert and productive on the job?" he said. "Very few people want to commute long distances, but the lack of affordable housing closer in forces them to do that."

—Elsa Brenner, The New York Times

Is that a tinge of green on New York's Yellow Cabs?

Evgeny Friedman, who manages three taxi fleets in the city, including the one for which Israfil Islam drives, said saving gas was part of the hybrids' appeal. "As a fleet manager, I live under the theory: happy driver, happy public, happy fleet manager," Mr. Friedman said. "If the drivers are happy, I'm ecstatic."

Mr. Friedman's fleets, with about 650 cars in all, include 22 hybrid Escapes. The remainder of New York's hybrid taxis are two Lexus RX 400h's, two Toyota Highlanders and one Toyota Prius, according to the taxi commission.—Austin Considine, The New York Times

Living it up in downtown Austin

"As urban Austin continues to become more exciting, it fuels its own increased demand," said Larry Warshaw, a co-developer of several loft and condo projects in the downtown area. "The strongest driver for downtown is downtown itself. The more residential that comes, the more residents who want to come."by Shonda Novak, Austin American-Statesman