An 18-year-old from Newcastle is learning the hard way that the world is not perfect, even if the nuclear fusion reactor he built in his dad’s garage nearly is. more

My son got one of his first lessons in marital bliss this week. He just doesn’t know it yet. more

We’re less than a month away from what was supposed to be the start of the city’s annual spring cleanup as we knew it. Since the mid-’80s, the city has gone through neighborhoods on assigned days in the spring and hauled away what citizens can’t fit in the Dumpsters the rest of the year. The amount picked up last year totaled 170 tons. more

It is souring to think of paying $100 or more because we choose to irrigate a thirsty lawn on a Monday. It is also distasteful to contemplate total watering restrictions — meaning goodbye lawns, goodbye flowers and goodbye to that tomato plant you’ve been nurturing — because the town’s water supply hits crisis mode. more

For crying out loud, city of Gillette. Sign the agreement with the county that says you’ll pay 20 percent of the costs to operate Cam-plex. The disagreement has been going on for so long that it’s almost hard to remember what started it. Both sides feel put out and bullied, and both sides feel like they’ve bent over backward to appease the other side. more

On Russia’s adoption policyFrom the Dec. 30 San Francisco Chronicle:Russian President Vladimir Putin just signed a cruel and spiteful law that will bar Americans from adopting Russian children. … more

An effort by Wyoming Gov. Matt Mead to require oil and gas companies to perform water testing at their wells is reminiscent of an idea from former Gov. Dave Freudenthal. more

On Roe vs. WadeFrom the Jan. 22 Los Angeles Times:Forty years ago Jan. 22, the Supreme Court ruled that women had a constitutional right to an abortion. This one sweeping decision transformed … more

The guy might as well have been speaking a foreign language. He was rebuilding a car and elaborating on different tips and gadgets that make the experience cleaner and meaner. It was one of those shows that you run into on TV that either fascinate you or make you click the remote. But since I am not the keeper of the remote, I sat listening to the words that were unfamiliar to me roll off the guy’s tongue. more

Now that we’ve returned to weather more reminiscent of Campbell County, let us count the ways that we are happy to say goodbye to the last week of May: more