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SOM: Save Our Malls

It's an oddity if you haven't 'cut back' in the last few months. You can't open a newspaper without another analysis of how something is affected by the economy. Zoos. Camps. And, today's article on MSN, malls.

It's an absolute disaster," said Howard Davidowitz, the chairman of Davidowitz & Associates, a national retail consulting and investment banking firm. "What a mall represents is discretionary spending, and discretionary spending is in a depression."

 The article talks about the bankruptcies of multiple large stores, and also about multiple stores that have announced closures. Macys is one of the companies that will be closing stores nationwide.

Where do you shop? Have you found anywhere that continues to thrive, in spite of the recession?

In 2006, then-editor Steve Smith of The Spokesman-Review had the idea of starting a publication for an often forgotten audience: teenagers. The Vox Box was a continuation of the Vox, an all-student staffed newspaper published by The Spokesman-Review. High school student journalists who staffed the Vox made all content decisions as they learn about the trade of journalism. This blog's mission was to give students an opportunity to publish their voices. The Vox Box and the Vox wrapped up in June 2009, but you can follow former staffers' new blog at http://voxxiez.blogspot.com.