Nearly a century after the company exited the guitar business, a recent transplant to Massachusetts is reviving the Bay State brand. Sylvan Wells of Halifax is making custom-made Bay State Guitars and selling them at a Pembroke music shop and on his Web site.

For Illinois state government, 2010 means the end of a decade with a historic – and often sorry – legacy. GateHouse News Service asked readers, lawmakers, lobbyists and others in and out of state government to weigh in on what they considered the most important stories of this decade, and what they expect from the next 10 years.

This week, party it up on New Year’s Eve and then relax on the long weekend by watching parades, football games and more.

Many people look forward to ringing in the New Year with a few rounds of beer, friends and lighthearted laughs. But some adults hit their alcohol limit long before the countdown, confetti and midnight cheers as good times only seem to get better with each beer, shot or glass of wine.

The Nigerian would-be terrorist was charged by the Obama administration in a federal legal complaint – giving him all the benefits and protections of the U.S. legal system – instead of transferred into military custody where he would be an “unprivileged enemy belligerent” (Obama’s name for what we used to call “enemy combatants”). Whatever you want to call it, this terrorist is now afforded all the rights and protections that you, a tax-paying American citizen, would be granted.