By Theresa Curry Correspondent

By DeAnne M. Bradley Link Think Ross and T.J. Maxx, without the denim from 1999. That's Plato's Closet in Virginia Beach. It's the trendy penny pincher's paradise. With the recent economic crunch, we've been on the prowl for great consignment shops.

COLUMBIA NEWS SERVICE
Turk and J.D. are two straight male doctors who are, without a doubt, in a bromance, a relationship defined as "the complicated love and affection shared by two straight males," according to www.urbandictionary.com.

Finding signs of spring in Smithfield is as easy as browsing its shops. We launched ourselves mid-morning in a westerly direction, passing rural signs advertising boiled peanuts and nurseries and one church marquee's admonition that "Every time you speak, your mind is on parade." Loved that.

  By David Segal The Washington Post NEW YORK NOBODY HAD SEEN ONE in decades. Then, five years ago, they started showing up in homes and hotels across the country, prompting a flood of calls to pest control professionals. And nothing, it seems, can stop them.

Americans' jeans aren't the only things expanding. Check out the exploding diet sections at bookstores and libraries. Since one-size-fits-all really only works for scarves, we cracked a few volumes, and we offer summaries here. See if any fit your lifestyle.   "Mindless Eating: Why We Eat More Than We Think" by Brian Wansink, 304 pp., Bantam Books, $12

Chris Porter is helping his young students develop the commitment and stamina it takes to run a long-distance endurance race. The King's Grant Elementary physical education teacher started an after-school running club so its participants can accumulate 25.2 miles before completing the marathon-length program with a 1-mile race March 15 on the Boardwalk.

  By Theresa Curry Correspondent

He’s a vegetarian who eats fish,   a teacher of nutrition, an educator of children with special needs. As Nick Tompanis  sees it, they’re all related, as he continues on his daily journey toward balance and health. At his yearly check-ups, the doctor tells him he’s the healthiest 60-year-old around, he said.

WHEN celebrity chef Bobby Flay wields his spatula during a food show at Scope on March 1, Norfolk chef Frank Lang, will be right there on the stage with him.