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Dreamstime/Dreamstime/TNS

For federal student loan borrowers: Things to know, and watch out for scammers

Health / Lifestyles /

More than 28 million federal student loan borrowers are scheduled to restart payments or begin making them for the first time in October. The return of monthly federal loan payments arrives after a pause of three-plus years during the COVID-19 pandemic.

To learn more about the payment requirements, read our full story about the questions raised...Read more

Sue Zezima/Jerry Zezima/TNS

Jerry Zezima: A second helping of a winning recipe

Health / Lifestyles /

Even though I can barely make scrambled eggs, which become scrambled when I try to make fried eggs, I am more than just a flash in the pan.

That’s why I am celebrating the 25th anniversary of my supreme culinary triumph, a dish called Zezima’s Zesty Ziti Zinger, which not only was first runner-up in the pasta sauce division of the 1998 ...Read more

Jason Armond/Los Angeles Times/TNS

How fasting, tai chi and a rooftop garden help this art restorer reach peak concentration

Health / Lifestyles /

LOS ANGELES -- Forget elaborate coffee orders; when art restorer Henri Laborde needs to wake up in the morning, he'll take a bracing bodysurf in the churning, ice-cold waves of the Pacific Ocean.

"You get out of [the ocean] and you feel like someone took one of those pressure washers, and just kind of washed you inside. You feel cleansed, you ...Read more

John Smierciak/Chicago Tribune/TNS

'New way of looking at nature': These naturalists explore queer ecology with geese, owls and more

Health / Lifestyles /

CHICAGO -- As Raquel García-Álvarez guides hikers on a trail surrounding the Sand Ridge Nature Center, her remarks on flora and fauna are interrupted by geese honking. She explains, as curious onlookers admire the birds skirting the water, that there’s more to them than meets the eye.

Geese are known to display “homosocial behavior,” ...Read more

Irfan Khan/Los Angeles Times/TNS

Jews need the rare etrog fruit for Sukkot. That's where a Presbyterian family comes in

Health / Lifestyles /

EXETER, Calif. — The citron is an unusual fruit.

It's an ancient citrus varietal, one that's lumpy, wrinkly and somewhat oblong.

You won't find it in most grocery stores. It's not a La Croix flavor. It isn't showing up on many cooking shows.

But it is special.

For thousands of years, the citron has been a part of the Jewish holiday of ...Read more

Gustavo Arellano/Los Angeles Times/TNS

Gustavo Arellano: For nearly a century, this camp has hosted city children. Tropical Storm Hilary destroyed it

Health / Lifestyles /

Camp River Glen's parking lot was swallowed by the Santa Ana River. The top of a tractor poked out of mud.

Gigantic water tanks were crumbled up like tissue paper. Leaves, branches, trunks and downed electrical wires were everywhere.

A month ago, preteens and teens from working-class families across Southern California were hiking, sailing and...Read more

Dragan Andrii/Dreamstime/TNS

Heidi Stevens: In an age of perfection, why failure may be the best thing that can happen to our kids

Health / Lifestyles /

Michelle Icard has written a kind and important book about failing.

“For kids to learn from their failures, they must trust adults enough to stop hiding them from us,” Icard writes. “And for that to happen, adults must stop judging kids for messing up in the first place.”

Because when handled with care, failure can be a road map to a ...Read more

Myung J. Chun/Los Angeles Times/TNS

Steve Lopez: Is age really just a number? Not when it comes to Biden and Trump

Health / Lifestyles /

In less than three weeks, I'll hit 70, which seems like a good time to launch a run for president of the United States.

Donald Trump, 77, hit the big 7-0 before becoming president in 2016. President Joe Biden is 3½ years ahead of Trump, and they're likely to face off for a second time in 2024. If I were to jump in as an independent, maybe I ...Read more

Norman Winter/TNS/TNS

On Gardening: Catalina Pink Classic City Award Winner

Health / Lifestyles /

The University of Georgia just announced their Classic City Award winners from their plant trial program, and I was beyond thrilled to see that Catalina Pink torenia, or wishbone flower, was one of the selections.

Guess what? It was a winner at The Garden Guy’s home trial too.

I’ve been writing these columns for about 26 years and I don�...Read more

Genaro Molina/Los Angeles Times/TNS

Steve Lopez: Work, school, caregiving. Multiple generations honor a family member while going about their lives

Health / Lifestyles /

When Mariella Rojas goes into her mother's bedroom each morning, she doesn't know whether 81-year-old Rosa Angelica Saldana will recognize her.

"Sometimes she'll say, 'Mariella,' and she'll caress my hand," the pre-K teacher says. "Or sometimes she's just staring at me and looks spaced out."

Her mother, once vibrant and industrious, lived on ...Read more

Genaro Molina/Los Angeles Times/TNS

LA homeless encampment is gone. So is the fence. The problem now? Geese

Health / Lifestyles /

LOS ANGELES — First, the tents had everyone up in arms.

Two years ago, more than 170 tents or makeshift structures encircled Echo Park Lake, a beloved Los Angeles landmark that had became a sprawling homeless encampment.

Then, everyone was in fisticuffs over the fence.

After city workers in 2021 cleared the encampment — with protesters ...Read more

Francine Orr/Los Angeles Times/TNS

'Kids are having to use their deadname': Students say gender policies make schools feel unsafe

Health / Lifestyles /

Many students consider them "forced outing" policies. And they are already creating fallout.

The recent spate of regulations passed by school boards in conservative pockets of California requiring schools to notify parents if a student does something to indicate gender nonconformity is seeping into campus culture in ways some students describe ...Read more

Marcus Ingram/Getty Images North America/TNS

HBCUs brace for flood of applications after Supreme Court affirmative action decision

Health / Lifestyles /

WASHINGTON — College presidents and admission experts are expecting a significant increase in applications at historically Black colleges and universities following this summer's Supreme Court decision outlawing race-based affirmative action policies.

At a time of heightened social divisions with race relations at the forefront, school ...Read more

Al Seib/Los Angeles Times/TNS

Chromebooks get a boost from Google. Will longer lifespan help users?

Health / Lifestyles /

LOS ANGELES — Google's Chromebook has become ubiquitous in classrooms across the United States, often considered the go-to option for digital learning given its relative affordability and web-based programs — a combination that proved even more valuable for distance learning during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Since Chromebooks' ...Read more

DREAMSTIME/TNS

The Kid Whisperer: How to create a more functional lunchroom

Health / Lifestyles /

Dear Kid Whisperer,

My question is about lunch. I am an elementary school principal. I used to enjoy being at lunch, but I no longer do. I feel like I used to be able to wander around the lunchroom and talk to kids and help them open up packaging and help them to clean up messes. I was happy to warm up prepackaged meals that required ...Read more

Dreamstime/Dreamstime/TNS

Lori Borgman: Basic manners are seldom overrated

Health / Lifestyles /

We are past due for a review of basic manners and civic responsibility.

Such reviews used to happen every nine weeks when schools sent report cards home. At the bottom of the report card was a box titled "Citizenship."

Teachers placed check marks indicating "satisfactory" or "needs improvement" for categories like: courtesy, self-control, ...Read more

Jerry Zezima/TNS/TNS

Jerry Zezima: Funeral for a fish

Health / Lifestyles /

Camilla Zezima sleeps with the fishes. Those eternal nappers include the first two Camillas and the countless other fish that have been part of our family, if only briefly, over the years.

Camilla III, as she (or he) was dubbed, lasted 12 months and was predeceased by the original Camilla, a female who went belly-up after only 48 hours, and her...Read more

Valerio Rosati/Dreamstime/TNS

Move over, highways. Now you can sponsor an ocean sanctuary

Health / Lifestyles /

In a novel conservation strategy, the small South Pacific island state of Niue is offering individuals and institutions the opportunity to sponsor its marine sanctuary, home to pristine coral reefs, sharks, whales and hundreds of fish species.

For a one-time fee of $148, you can sponsor a square kilometer of the Niue Moana Mahu Marine Protected...Read more

DREAMSTIME/TNS

Use social media to become an influencer in your field. Here's how to do it

Health / Lifestyles /

You can spend hours watching dermatologists pop pimples, furniture restorers fix aging cabinets or crane operators move heavy materials from hundreds of feet in the air — all from the comfort of your own home.

Many types of professionals have chosen to spotlight their careers on social media, whether it's to garner interest in their work, ...Read more

Patrick Hruby/Los Angeles Times/TNS

Immigration scams are rampant. Here's how to avoid getting taken

Health / Lifestyles /

LOS ANGELES -- For several years, Oswaldo Rafael Cabrera touted his services as an immigration attorney in advertisements, social media posts and interviews with Spanish-language news outlets.

Unfortunately for his many clients, Cabrera was not a lawyer. He wasn't legally qualified to offer any kind of help on immigration matters despite the ...Read more