Open Road

It will soon be possible to drive through the New Gloucester toll plaza on the Maine Turnpike without slowing down. The Turnpike Authority is starting a $5 million project to replace the middle lanes of the plaza by next spring with open-road tolling. That allows drivers with EZ Pass transponders to drive through at up to 65 miles per hour. The toll plaza in Hampton, N.H., already has the system in place. Drivers who do not have transponders will still be able to slow down and pay cash.

Kristen Stewart understands the lure of the open road. So do her "On The Road" co-stars, Garrett Hedlund and Sam Riley. The three young actors play the central love triangle in Walter Salles' adaptation of Jack Kerouac's Beat Generation novel, an experience that has helped them appreciate why the book is considered a classic. The tale of wannabe writer (and Kerouac surrogate) Sal Paradise and his friend Dean Moriarty crisscrossing the United States in search of freedom and the elusive "it" was published in 1957.

Blues J.J. Cale Roll on Rounder ESSENTIAL "Leaving in the Morning" They say the truly great musicians constantly grow and evolve. But when you're a masterful songwriter, guitarist, and multi-instrumentalist like J.J. Cale, why grow when what you've been doing works so beautifully? Over a 50-plus-year career, Cale has had his biggest successes with others, such as Eric Clapton and Lynyrd Skynyrd, covering his deceptively simple and authentically American songs.

It will soon be possible to drive through the New Gloucester toll plaza on the Maine Turnpike without slowing down. The Turnpike Authority is starting a $5 million project to replace the middle lanes of the plaza by next spring with open-road tolling. That allows drivers with EZ Pass transponders to drive through at up to 65 miles per hour. The toll plaza in Hampton, N.H., already has the system in place. Drivers who do not have transponders will still be able to slow down and pay cash.

Kristen Stewart understands the lure of the open road. So do her "On The Road" co-stars, Garrett Hedlund and Sam Riley. The three young actors play the central love triangle in Walter Salles' adaptation of Jack Kerouac's Beat Generation novel, an experience that has helped them appreciate why the book is considered a classic. The tale of wannabe writer (and Kerouac surrogate) Sal Paradise and his friend Dean Moriarty crisscrossing the United States in search of freedom and the elusive "it" was published in 1957.

In childhood and parenthood alike, road trips mean quality time in the back seat, punctuated by theme and national parks, car games, and extended bouts of complaining. But in the giddy interim, starting the moment the car keys get handed over in high school, the road trip becomes a symbol of freedom. "There's something liberating about not knowing where you are going, or when you're going to come back," says 18-year-old Michelle Marshalian, a sophomore at UCLA whose road trip itinerary this summer spans Mexico, New Orleans, and New York.

LONGVIEW, Alberta — If we had been using a GPS, we probably never would have found it. But relying on a old-fashioned paper road map, we drove northward on the Cowboy Trail. What we saw along the way was the real thing: cattle country, with a spur-of-the-moment stop at a ranch. On our last morning in Waterton Lakes National Park we met a couple from Calgary, Duncan Thomson and Trish Hines, who, like us, were spellbound by the Canadian side of Montana’s Glacier National Park.

NADI, Fiji - One of the last rigidly preserved vestiges of indigenous Fijian culture, Navala Village is the only place left on Fiji where everyone still lives more or less as their ancestors did - plus the occasional Coca-Cola and satellite television on special occasions. Years ago, a village chief mandated that no new houses be built unless they were in the traditional thatched-roof bure hut style. No concrete or sheet metal allowed, only bamboo-woven walls and wooden pole supports.

A.J. Burnett looked as if he was finally going to snap a lengthy road losing streak. It appeared Nick Swisher had hit his first homer in a month. Neither happened Friday night, and the New York Yankees long West Coast road trip started with a dud. New York relievers Boone Logan and Luis Ayala failed to hold a one-run lead, and Franklin Gutierrez made a sterling catch at the wall to rob Swisher of a homer in the Seattle Mariners 4-3 win over the Yankees. Seattle scored twice in the sixth inning off the combo of Logan and Ayala, as the Mariners...

Gloria Steinem has joined a new revolution — the e-book revolution. Three of the feminist icon's books became available in digital form Tuesday. "Moving Beyond Words," "Revolution from Within" and "Outrageous Acts and Everyday Rebellions" are being released electronically by digital publisher Open Road Integrated Media. Steinem says in a statement released by Open Road "e-books may be to this millennium" what German printer and publisher Johannes Gutenberg was to the last.

A.J. Burnett looked as if he was finally going to snap a lengthy road losing streak. It appeared Nick Swisher had hit his first homer in a month. Neither happened Friday night, and the New York Yankees long West Coast road trip started with a dud. New York relievers Boone Logan and Luis Ayala failed to hold a one-run lead, and Franklin Gutierrez made a sterling catch at the wall to rob Swisher of a homer in the Seattle Mariners 4-3 win over the Yankees. Seattle scored twice in the sixth inning off the combo of Logan and Ayala, as the Mariners scored all four runs on infield...

LONGVIEW, Alberta — If we had been using a GPS, we probably never would have found it. But relying on a old-fashioned paper road map, we drove northward on the Cowboy Trail. What we saw along the way was the real thing: cattle country, with a spur-of-the-moment stop at a ranch. On our last morning in Waterton Lakes National Park we met a couple from Calgary, Duncan Thomson and Trish Hines, who, like us, were spellbound by the Canadian side of Montana’s Glacier National Park.

NADI, Fiji - One of the last rigidly preserved vestiges of indigenous Fijian culture, Navala Village is the only place left on Fiji where everyone still lives more or less as their ancestors did - plus the occasional Coca-Cola and satellite television on special occasions. Years ago, a village chief mandated that no new houses be built unless they were in the traditional thatched-roof bure hut style. No concrete or sheet metal allowed, only bamboo-woven walls and wooden pole supports.

Blues J.J. Cale Roll on Rounder ESSENTIAL "Leaving in the Morning" They say the truly great musicians constantly grow and evolve. But when you're a masterful songwriter, guitarist, and multi-instrumentalist like J.J. Cale, why grow when what you've been doing works so beautifully? Over a 50-plus-year career, Cale has had his biggest successes with others, such as Eric Clapton and Lynyrd Skynyrd, covering his deceptively simple and authentically American songs.

In childhood and parenthood alike, road trips mean quality time in the back seat, punctuated by theme and national parks, car games, and extended bouts of complaining. But in the giddy interim, starting the moment the car keys get handed over in high school, the road trip becomes a symbol of freedom. "There's something liberating about not knowing where you are going, or when you're going to come back," says 18-year-old Michelle Marshalian, a sophomore at UCLA whose road trip itinerary this summer spans Mexico, New Orleans, and New York.

The inimitable engine roar of Harleys has become a sound of summer beloved by many, revered as an emblem of the open road and an everyman's freedom. But it is also increasingly despised. Critics say quality of life is under assault by motorcycles that blot out sidewalk cafe conversations and interrupt backyard reading. Laws designed to restrain motorcycle sounds have popped up across the nation, Boston included. Now, the cultural fight has arrived in New Hampshire, a state with one of the historically highest per-capita rates of motorcycle registration and a "live free or die"...

Three decades ago, James Q. Wilson and George L. Kelling collaborated to examine whether increasing police foot patrols would lower the crime rate in rough neighborhoods. As they co-wrote an influential Atlantic Monthly article that would become a touchstone for the community policing movement, Dr. Wilson seized on the image of a shattered pane of glass, a potent symbol of urban decay. Broken-down cars and buildings could breed neighborhoods rife with neglect, but police visibility might keep disorder at bay. "Police ought to protect communities...