In an instant, I could be incarcerated by illness, deprived of momentum, of the ongoing enterprise that is my life.

In 2011, the 133-year-old Lorne Hotel, still an ongoing commercial enterprise and the oldest free-standing licensed hotel in British Columbia, was destroyed by fire.

While most C.I.A. businesses are shells, some legitimate ongoing enterprises have also maintained C.I.A. connections for decades.

Though the government said the crimes were part of the same "ongoing criminal enterprise," the defense contended that the prosecutors had "bootstrapped" the drug charges to the murder charges to "freshen up" the case.

García Ábrego was convicted on 22 counts including money laundering, drug trafficking, intent to distribute and running an ongoing criminal enterprise.

It wouldn't be an ongoing industrial enterprise, though it was a clever hiding place for the activity in which Billy had so recently played a part.

Only those communications made in the course of an ongoing common enterprise and intended to further the enterprise are protected.

"He's 'minimalist' in recognizing that the court is an ongoing enterprise with precedents and history and tradition," said Frederick Schauer, a professor at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard.

These restrictions were largely eliminated over time, alienating many older and traditionalist fans, but probably saving the Opry long-term as a viable ongoing enterprise.

"It's an ongoing enterprise with tremendous earnings growth, and it's operating in an environment of energy shortfalls," Mr. Schoenwald said.