Author: Tom Silva

With the safe landing in Florida of Atlantis, NASA’s ambitious 30-year space shuttle program has officially come to an end.  Immediately after landing, Chris Ferguson,  the Atlantis commander, lauded the shuttle program and the rest of the spacecraft fleet.  “The space shuttle has changed the way we view the world and it’s changed the way […]

According to a recent study, a 100-point scale, a 10-point increase in walkability increases property values by one to nine percent, depending on the property.  Chicago – with a Walk Score of 74 — was one of the nation’s most walkable cities.  The others are New York, Boston, San Francisco, Washington D.C., and Philadelphia.  The […]

Conventional wisdom tells us that no sitting president is ever re-elected when the unemployment rate tops seven percent and people have less disposable income.  Others wonder if President Barack Obama should have taken on housing reform before tackling healthcare because home ownership and the value of the residence is perceived by Americans as a measure […]

Disgraced former Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich was found guilty of 17 of 20 corruption counts against him,  the majority for attempting to sell newly elected President Barack Obama’s Senate seat to the highest bidder.  After leaving the federal courthouse in downtown Chicago, Blagojevich said “Patti and I are obviously very disappointed.  I frankly am stunned.” […]

Facebook is likely to file for an initial public offering (IPO) as early as October or November that could value the popular social networking site at more than a whopping $100 billion.   Goldman Sachs is the top candidate to manage the lucrative offering, which could come in the 1st quarter of 2012.  Facebook, whose chief […]

As gas prices seesaw up and down at the pump and Americans reluctantly pay more to fill their tanks as the economy slows, OPEC (the Organization of Petroleum Exporting States) could not agree on whether or not to increase production and provide some relief. The two key factors are Saudi Arabia and Iran. At an […]

Social Security Commissioner Michael Astrue calls it “America’s silver tsunami.” The name Kathleen Casey-Kirschling likely doesn’t ring any bells with the majority of Americans.  She holds the singular honor of being the nation’s very first baby boomer, born one minute after midnight on January 1, 1946 in Philadelphia celebrating her 65th birthday on New Year’s […]

While Blockbuster may have at one time ruled the world of video rentals, in recent years it has been overtaken by Netflix.  The internet-based DVD movie and television rental-by-mail service, which came to so dominate the market, has forced Blockbuster into bankruptcy.  I wrote about this for the Huffington Post back in January, but I […]

American renters who pay more than 50 percent of their income on housing has peaked at the highest level in 50 years, according to a report from the Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies. Approximately 26 percent of renters – that’s more than 10 million people – are spending more than 50 percent of their […]

Now that the nearly 10-year-long manhunt for Osama bin Laden has ended, the question remains of what to do with the $50 million reward on the Al Qaeda leader? New York Representatives Anthony Weiner and Jerry Nadler have introduced a bill in Congress that would direct the money to groups that have helped those affected […]