Airlines’ New Operating Mode: Flexible

In the wake of the coronavirus pandemic and government-imposed restrictions on travel, many airlines are relaxing their ticket-change policies and allowing travelers to rebook without a penalty anywhere from a few to 12 months out. The only domestic airline that doesn’t routinely charge fees for flight changes, Southwest Airlines, went a step beyond, extending the…

Nextdoor Pivots to Neighborliness

“I’m 84 years old, so staying confined to the house for protection,” wrote Marcia Savin, a children’s book author and teacher who lives alone in the Cobble Hill section of Brooklyn, on the neighborhood social networking app Nextdoor. It was Saturday, March 21. Her prescriptions were ready at a local pharmacy, she said, but she…

New York Nightlife Goes Online

Last Saturday night, when all of New York City’s bars and clubs were closed, DJ Physical Therapy set up a turntable, mixer and webcam in his walk-up apartment in the Ridgewood section of Queens. Wearing a Hawaiian T-shirt and track pants, and standing in his cramped bedroom stuffed with records and sneakers, he live-streamed a…

Jane Goodall Is Self-Isolating, Too

Jane Goodall is in isolation these days along with everyone else, since a fund-raising tour was canceled because of the coronavirus pandemic. She is staying at her family home in England, not in Tanzania, her primary home when not on the road. Dr. Goodall changed the way the world views chimpanzees with research that began…

There’s No Need for Recipes Now

Good morning. I roasted some black sea bass, the fillets painted with a mixture of mayonnaise and sesame oil, oyster sauce, a dash of lime juice, another of honey. I served the fish over rice with a stir-fry of cabbage and pickled chiles. It was fantastically delicious and required no recipe because I was cooking…