PHILADELPHIA — On Saturday morning, I told my husband I was heading to the park. Be careful, he told me.

His concern wasn’t totally ungrounded. I was heading to Clara Muhammad Square in the 4700 block of Lancaster Avenue in West Philadelphia, the site of a shooting that took place only weeks ago. At what was meant to be a joyous occasion �...Read more

PHILADELPHIA — On Saturday morning, I told my husband I was heading to the park. Be careful, he told me.

His concern wasn’t totally ungrounded. I was heading to Clara Muhammad Square in the 4700 block of Lancaster Avenue in West Philadelphia, the site of a shooting that took place only weeks ago. At what was meant to be a joyous occasion �...Read more

LEXINGTON, Ky. -- In 1987, a fire consumed an old house on Grosvenor Avenue that like many in Lexington had been carved into a warren of student apartments.

The house was a shambles, but the destruction proved what many had suspected: Underneath the new doors and tiny rooms was a masterpiece residence designed by America’s first architect ...Read more

CHARLESTON, S.C. — When he recently walked into the dental clinic at the Medical University of South Carolina donning a bright-blue pullover with “In Our DNA SC” embroidered prominently on the front, Lee Moultrie said, two Black women stopped him to ask questions.

“It’s a walking billboard,” said Moultrie, a health care advocate who...Read more

A few weeks ago, I wrote a column that stressed you grow containers in a mono culture style and cluster them together to create a garden look, when designing mixed containers. This week we’ll take it up a notch and say keep it ‘"all in the family." To be taxonomically correct, I should say keep it in the genus, but you will easily see what I...Read more

PITTSBURGH — The City Mission in Washington, Pennsylvania, doesn't look like a mission, with its handsome dark-red buildings trimmed in white.

Across the street, inmates from the Washington County Jail hang out on a fenced-in balcony and look down at the hub of activity. Some of those inmates will make their way to the mission after their ...Read more

Every once in a while John Pavlovitz drives by the Starbucks where he was fired from his church.

He was a pastor at the time, and leadership at his North Carolina congregation didn’t appreciate his progressive views, particularly on sexuality. Pavlovitz was less concerned about keeping elders happy than he was about making the world safer for...Read more

PHILADELPHIA -- Every day on the well-worn steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphians and tourists alike take their turns pretending to be Rocky. But if you make the climb on the right afternoon, Mark Nicholson can make you feel like you really are the champ.

Off to the side, Nicholson sets up his speakers and displays a ...Read more

Dear Anna,

This isn’t about dating or sex so hopefully it’s OK! I’ve been having an issue with a friend who often agrees to plans but becomes unresponsive when it’s time to finalize the details. It’s left me feeling quite confused and a bit hurt. We’ll start discussing meeting up, and she seems enthusiastic, but then she suddenly ...Read more

DETROIT — Detroit's NFL Draft extravaganza may be over, but the materials that made it happen will still be put to good use.

Turf, fencing, set pieces and other materials used for the draft are being donated to local nonprofits, including Detroit Dog Rescue, a Detroit dog rescue.

The stage materials are being donated to help build the group'...Read more

Online dating is a tool, but like all tools, it has to be used correctly to get the results you want. You might have a fancy, expensive screwdriver, but it still won’t help you chop wood.

If dating apps and websites aren’t quite working for you, make sure you’re utilizing every item in your toolbox correctly.

Mistake #1: Messaging “...Read more

LOS ANGELES — In the sprawling metropolis of Los Angeles, home to nearly 4 million people, making friends is no easy feat. Especially if you're an adult. Research shows that people over 21 are more likely to face extra hurdles in forming friendships. The building blocks — time, proximity and scheduled opportunities to socialize — are ...Read more

LOS ANGELES -- Olvera Street, adorned with brightly colored papel picado (perforated paper) and teeming with lively puestos (food stalls), did not always look as vibrant as it does today. While the historic pedestrian street and El Pueblo de Los Angeles Historical Monument attract about 2 million tourists annually, many don't know how the area ...Read more

Dear Kid Whisperer,

I teach in a K-5 room for students with emotional and behavioral disorders (EBDs). I love my job and I run a tight ship. My students know that while they are in my room, their negative behaviors won’t work: They only get what they want with positive behaviors. However, a few of my students know that there are some ...Read more

This column is the latest in a series on parenting children in the final years of high school, "Emptying the Nest."

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I recently saw a headline in the New York Times that I thought was the answer to my prayers: "Anxious Parents are the Ones Who Need Help."

Yes, please, I thought, hoping to find acknowledgment of all the very real forces ...Read more

Q: My husband's sons live with us about 40% of the time and I have my three sons full time. My husband works in another city during the week, so it is sometimes only me and 5 boys. Now his ex says we need to have the kids 50/50 (and the kids want this as well), and even though my husband is out of town a lot, she still thinks it's his ...Read more

For the last century, flamingos in Florida were more likely to be spotted on T-shirts and cups in a souvenir shop than flapping around in the wild.

Then last summer, a flock of the rare and beautiful birds — a group is fittingly known as a “flamboyance” of flamingos — was blown to Florida on the fierce winds of Hurricane Idalia.

Eight ...Read more

Romance is in my blood. And I recently proved it by taking my wife for bloodwork.

On our anniversary.

It was the most romantic thing I have done for Sue since I took her to a landfill on our anniversary four years ago. I’m surprised she didn’t leave me there.

It’s a good thing she didn’t because I wanted this latest expression of love...Read more

LOS ANGELES — This month, Junipero Serra High School in Gardena, California, had a pep rally to celebrate the achievements of what might be its least conventional team: its cutting-edge space squad.

Seniors Isaiah Dunn, Christopher Holbert, Travis Leonard, Anderson Pecot and Henry Toler, junior Keith Davie and freshman Jonathan Cruz walked ...Read more

ATLANTA -- The entrepreneurs who arrived for the awards ceremony in a vast Cobb County ballroom wore tuxedos and gowns, suits and vibrant colors. One woman sported an eye patch with a sparkly skull and cross bones, like a glam pirate.

Some rolled in on wheelchairs, relied on canes, or covered their feeding tubes with their evening wear.

...Read more