LOS ANGELES – Nearly every evening after dinner, Mary and Melissa Anderson walked together along the rural road stretching out from their home.

The one-mile journey amid groves of walnut trees became a safe space for mother and daughter. The walk was always the same, to the nearest stop sign and back, but the conversations ranged wide and ...Read more

ATLANTA — Jolie Gallagher and her husband were not looking to expand their pack when they spotted the black dog on an animal welfare organization's Instagram page in March.

The friendly Australian Shepherd mix, later renamed Cricket, was found as a stray and brought to the shelter.

Because of her age, 8 years old, Cricket would most likely ...Read more

Patty Bausch isn’t a Medicaid expert, lawyer or medical professional. But she still thinks Connecticut legislators need her input when they consider bills affecting people like her — the roughly 18,000 residents who live in the state’s nursing homes.

With help and encouragement from Connecticut’s Long Term Care Ombudsman Program, Bausch...Read more

So far in their young lives, the Heinrich brothers of Manchester, Connecticut, have shared two powerful moments.

The second milestone happened Saturday at Manchester High School’s graduation ceremony, which Paxton Heinrich might have missed if not for his brother, Campfield.

As a board of education member (the youngest member elected in the ...Read more

John Daciolas distinctly remembers the night he lost his high school class ring.

He was walking to his dorm at St. Norbert College in De Pere, Wisconsin, with a group of friends after grabbing some food.

“It was snowing outside. There was probably if I were to guess, 3 to 5 inches of snow on the ground,” Daciolas said. “One of the girls ...Read more

It’s summertime, and the comics are busy.

Back in the long before time, comics publishers would increase the frequency of some titles in the summer, and issue oversize “annuals” — sometimes new stories, but more often reprints. The belief was that kids, who were then the primary market, had more time in the summer — and more ...Read more

MINNEAPOLIS – Nina Badzin has given friendship a lot of thought.

The Minneapolis woman has written an online advice column on the topic for years, dishing out guidance on how to develop deeper relationships or dealing with a passive-aggressive friend.

However, as pandemic stress and online-only interactions have tested so many of our bonds ...Read more

"Does Your Nose Know What My Nose Knows?" was the name of a creative article written by an author during my time as the executive director of the American Rose Society. The reference was to the fragrance found in roses.

I would like to pass this question on to you and the butterfly bush, or buddleia. My wife, Jan, and I are blissfully on the ...Read more

LOS ANGELES – Some parents of Black Los Angeles school students opted to keep their children in distance learning after schools reopened in April because they wanted to shield them from inequitable and sometimes harsh treatment on campus, according to a report from a local advocacy group.

Among Black parents surveyed, 82% cited COVID-19 as ...Read more

MINNEAPOLIS – Senate Republicans want to put government in charge of state-owned historical sites instead of the Minnesota Historical Society, a nonprofit that has overseen more than two dozen significant homes, forts and battlefields for the past 50 years.

The quiet push, tucked in a proposed budget bill to fund state government, would ...Read more

John Daciolas distinctly remembers the night he lost his high school class ring.

He was walking to his dorm at St. Norbert College in De Pere, Wisconsin, with a group of friends after grabbing some food.

“It was snowing outside. There was probably if I were to guess, 3 to 5 inches of snow on the ground,” Daciolas said. “One of the girls ...Read more

I remember my mother calling me in from play, usually to do chores. I’d ignore the first couple of calls, because they challenged my desire to live life on my terms. Then I’d give in and show up at home.

“Didn’t you hear me?" she would always ask.

I did hear her — but I wasn’t really listening to her.

I heard the noise of her call...Read more

FRESNO, Calif. – On a spring day when the mustard greens were still tender, Sherril Wells stopped harvesting, raised her arms and danced to Curtis Mayfield's "Superfly" playing over her SUV's speakers.

Her friend Liza Apper had told her that joy and grief could exist together. She thought this must have been what Apper meant: a flash of being...Read more

LOS ANGELES – If you have any questions about how the plants and animals of Southern California's deserts are faring as the Earth gets hotter and drier, Jim Cornett is a good bet to have the answers. Roadrunners, palm trees, snakes, Joshua trees — Cornett has studied them all and written more than 40 books.

But the 72-year-old ecologist, ...Read more

It’s interesting. Clients aren’t shy to share with me when they’re not happy or not having “luck” in the dating process (breakups, ghosting, etc.). Yet when they are happy (relationships, marriage, etc.), I often don’t find out until years later… if at all!

Along those lines, I received this email recently from a former client:

�...Read more

Longer days and warmer weather are on the way. For most people, summertime is a good time of year. It can also be very helpful for people with seasonal affective disorder (SAD).

But many others may feel pressured by the extra time in the day and feel guilty for not enjoying themselves. For many depressed people, going to bed is sadly the best ...Read more

At 16, Don Miyada was wrenched from his family's farm near Laguna Beach and sent to a prison camp in Arizona.

Two years later, he was drafted into the U.S. Army, ready to give his life for the country that stole his home.

Now, Miyada and the 30,000 or so other Japanese Americans who served in World War II are being honored with a postage stamp...Read more

Q. When my ex and I were together we had some pretty heated arguments. So, my question is, if we weren’t respectful when we were together, how do you expect us to be respectful now that we have broken up? He badmouths me constantly. Co-parenting is next to impossible so, I suggested co-parenting counseling. I doubt we can sit through it, ...Read more

The white hieroglyphs running down the mustang’s big, brown neck, and the necks of all the horses like him, tell some of the story — if you can decipher the code.

The big “U” with the peculiar crossbars is easy. That’s for the U.S. government. The tiny equal sign with a flattened “V” beneath it translates to 0-7, the year of the ...Read more