Prompted by some notes from staff members, here are some points: ** When we are reporting a crime for which there has been an arrest but no conviction, we should not refer to the "suspect" as having done the dirty deed. For example, if we are describing a robbery, we should not say "The suspect pulled out a pistol and demanded money." We can say "The robber [who might not be the suspect] pulled out a pistol and demanded money." ** We should not use the term "female" or "male" as nouns. However, we should use "female" and "male" as adjectives, rather than "woman" and "man." For example: Teresa Chambers is the first female police chief in Durham or John Jones is the first male teacher the boys had ever had. (Besides, wouldn't a "woman expert," for example, be an expert in a woman?) ** Some usage experts (Fowler and Bernstein are the most notable) do not accept the use of "gender" to mean "sex." They say that "gender" is a grammatical term to denote a group of words that is based on sex. In English, pronouns are of a certain gender, but people are of a certain sex. However, some experts and dictionaries accept "sex" as one meaning of "gender." Our dictionary, Webster's New World-Third College Edition, considers "gender" a colloquial term for sex. Random House's new dictionary accepts "gender" for "sex" and makes a point of saying that the use of "gender" for "sex" is more than 600 years old. (Take that, Fowler and Bernstein!) So, I reckon you can use "gender" to mean "sex," but be prepared to defend yourself. And if I were you, I'd use "sex" when I meant "sex." ** And finally, a lesson in sewage from an alert copy editor: Sewage is wastewater. A sewer is a pipe to carry wastewater. If a sewer leaks, sewage will spill. Therefore, sewage treatment, not sewer treatment; and sewer system (a network of pipes carry sewage to treatment plant), not sewage system. Also, treated sewage is discharged from plants into streams/rivers; sewer discharge is incorrect. ***** That's all for now. Please send me your peeves and questions, and I'll try to find an answer.