November 21st, 2008 08:48 AM Stretching Your Vacation Dollars (Today's News-Herald) (ARA) - We all look forward to vacations -- the precious time to recharge our batteries and spend care-free days and fun-filled nights with family and friends. But visions of vacations may change this year with a recession looming, rising gas prices and basics like food and housing at a premium. November 21st, 2008 04:55 AM TRAGIC CARPETS (New York Post) Gov. Paterson was called on the carpet yesterday for spending nearly $40,000 in taxpayer funds on a handful of regal rugs for the Executive Mansion in the midst of the state's budget crisis. Two of the most expensive floor coverings - antique... November 21st, 2008 02:10 PM Pros, cons of kids missing school for vacation (San Francisco Chronicle) When my son, Rowan, was little, the idea that anything on his schedule would ever take priority over my expiring frequent-flier miles, or the opportunity to go on a vacation when the rest of the child-rearing hordes were in school, seemed to me like giving...