It rarely happens to a reporter that a major story breaks in her own neighborhood. And well, it's not really a neighborhood, but the Tuscan archipelago, where a cruise ship crashed last month, is an area I know very well.

I spend summers there, and just last August I was boating a few yards from Le Scole, a rocky reef near Giglio island that is the scene of the disaster.

For the past three weeks, the half-submerged Costa Concordia has dominated the landscape of Giglio and looms ominously over the island's future as a haven for nature lovers and scuba divers.

For years, small churches have been meeting in New York City public schools. Some want cheap rental space, and others are part of a "church planting" movement. The idea is to "plant" congregations, often in unconventional settings, to attract the unaffiliated.

A federal court last year ruled that these school gatherings violate the separation of church and state. The congregations now have one week left to vacate.

There was no 11th-hour surprise in the Nevada caucuses Saturday night. The first state in the West to vote in the Republican presidential race chose Mitt Romney, who won with support from a broad base and left his rivals trailing behind.

No Thanks To You, Mr. President

Nevada has been Romney country since at least 2008. That year, he took about half the vote in the caucuses but lost the Republican nomination to John McCain.

This year, he has his sights set higher.

The number of Greeks who are out of work has doubled in the last two years, as Greece has suffered its worst debt crisis in recent memory and a crippling recession. But the economy is so bad that even Greeks with jobs haven't been paid for months. It's a widespread problem that's left thousands in a desperate limbo.

One is Dimitris Perakis, the foreign news editor at ALTER Channel, a small private television station in Athens. He's 37 and has worked at the station for 15 years — his entire career in journalism.

Imagine this: You're the Super Bowl host city, and you've gone to a lot of trouble to get the big game in your town. Now everyone's watching as the game comes to an end, and you can't get the scoreboard to work. Suddenly no one's sure who's ahead or how much time is left to play.

That nightmare scenario probably could not happen. But we have seen some highly improbable events lately that embarrassed the host states in the presidential nominating process.

Art songs, chansons, jazz, and sung poetry.  Music by Jacques Brel and Gabriel Yacoub from France, Robb Johnson from England, Melanie O'Reilly from Ireland, and others.

Europe's premier bluegrass band, Red Wine, is coming to the Bay Area from their home in Genoa, Italy.  Martino Coppo and Silvio Ferretti recently celebrated the band's 30th anniversary by adding a couple of 20-somethings to the group, and Red Wine sounds better than ever.

You'll hear music from six Red Wine releases, including their latest (a world-wide radio debut!), to get you ready for concerts in Mountain View, Berkeley, and Winters.

(Listen to the show anytime this week via KALW's Local Music Player.) 

With his big win in the Florida primary and an expected solid showing in Saturday's Nevada caucus, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney is regaining his front-runner status for the Republican presidential nomination.

Despite his time as governor, his previous presidential run and quite a few years in the spotlight, a question still remains: Who is Mitt Romney?

To some, Romney personifies the corporate raider; the cold, calculating chief executive. But people who have worked with Romney speak much differently of him.

And now the final preparations for Super Bowl Sunday. Chips and salsa? Check. Buffalo wings and beer? Got 'em. Recliner? Wait, what?

Sales of reclining chairs and sofas are as hot as New York Giants receiver Victor Cruz's touchdown dance. Or, for you New England Patriots fans, as popular as star tight end Rob Gronkowski's sprained ankle.

It might seem an odd connection, but retailers say the Super Bowl, America's most watched sporting event, sends football fans bursting into showrooms like a bruising running back.

Preview of the San Francisco Bluegrass and Old-Time Festival