Save the Baguettes!

A feel-good but somewhat disturbing story in today's New York Times that should be read in its entirety. The story concerns a french couple that moved to northern New Hampshire town and opened a bakery that quickly became a vital part of the town's social fabric. One problem -- the State Department deemed its financial impact "marginal" and denied a visa renewal for one of them (the other is a US citizen now). That's the disturbing part -- that someone in State's bureaucracy made a decision based purely on financial data provided in the application, not on the actual impact (tangible and intangible) on the town. The feel-good part is that a letter-writing campaign and contacts with one of the state's senators led to a new interview at the Embassy in Paris and a reversal of the decision.