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Here’s what Civil Beat staff and readers were reading this week:

• — The former resident seems remarkably like the character in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s classic novel; both pursued their dreams to their inevitable destruction, the author argues. — Politico

• — The literary genre isn’t meant to predict the future, but implausible ideas that fire inventors’ imaginations often, amazingly, come true. — Smithsonian Magazine

• — James Fallows takes a look at America’s sprawling cities and how the downtown areas of smaller cities have worked to reverse the trend. “When people can live downtown, they can walk and shop and eat and drink downtown, and a virtuous cycle of life and revitalization has a chance.” — The Atlantic

• — The Upshot, the New York Times’ new explanatory site launched this week. The piece compares income levels from different countries over the past few decades. — The New York Times

• — This series by the Colorado Springs Gazette was recently awarded the Pulitzer Prize for National Reporting. The newspaper documents a side effect of the military pull-out from Iraq and Afghanistan — an increasing number of soldiers, including wounded combat veterans, are being kicked out of the service for misconduct, often with no benefits, as the Army downsizes after a decade of war. — The Colorado Springs Gazette

• — The president came into office promising to make fighting climate change a priority. Now, he finally seems to be getting serious about it. — Rolling Stone

• — You’ll likely remember the bizarre story out of Arizona where a defendant in an arson case took poison and died on the courtroom floor moments after the guilty verdict was read. This is a fascinating recounting of the story behind the story by veteran journalist and author Michael Kiefer. — The Arizona Republic

Kick back and enjoy those great stories. But make sure you keep up on local events too. The Hawaii Legislature is about to enter it’s last week of the 2014 session and the race to be Hawaii’s next U.S. senator is heating up.

Here are some of Civil Beat’s top stories of the week in case you missed them:

• Neal Milner: State-of-the-Art Political Campaign Intimacy

• Denby Fawcett: A Hula Show Devoted to Early Hawaiians’ Love of News

• Hawaii’s Hotel-to-Condo Conversions Spark Activism Among Filipinos

• Why Do Hawaii’s Private Schools Pay Teachers Less Than Public Schools?

• Campaign Cash Advantage: Schatz’s Edge Over Hanabusa Is Paying Off