Health | VIEW ALL

More children’s hospitals turn to furry caregivers to help kids heal

CINCINNATI — The first time 5-year-old Calvin Owens went outside in more than a month, he met up with his canine friend Hadley on a hospital patio. Despite being tethered to equipment with wires and tubes, the little boy managed to stand up near his wheelchair long enough to toss her a ...

Sometimes ‘baby blues’ is actually something darker

Moments after Jenna Carberg gave birth to her daughter, doctors put the baby on her chest. “I felt a disconnect right away,” she recalled. At home, the Orlando, Florida, mom was exhausted and anxious and cried every day. She was eventually diagnosed with postpartum depression — a ...

Moving to music offers all kinds of benefits as you age

TUCSON, Ariz. — Carol Ross can’t stop smiling at dance practice as she shouts out the steps of a routine to members of her tap and jazz troupe for women age 50 and older. “I’ve been dancing my whole life, it’s the best,” said Ross, who founded the Rodeo City Wreckettes group 23 ...

Conflicting mamogram advice leads to confusion

WASHINGTON — Deciding when to get routine mammograms is confusing. Some health groups recommend women begin at age 40 or 45 while another recently opted for age 50. They also differ on whether yearly or every other year is best. The conflicting advice is at least partly because guidelines ...

Home and Garden | VIEW ALL

Debunking common garden hacks, quick fixes and myths

Now that the gardening season is in full swing, so is the bad advice. There is no shortage of social media "experts" doling out "genius gardening hacks," and well-intended friends who, frankly, don't know what they're talking about. Their tips might sound brilliant on the surface, but dig ...

Douglas County Master Gardeners invites public to annual native plant sale

Douglas County Master Gardeners will be hosting its annual native plant sale this weekend. The sale will be held from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, May 30, at the Open Pavilion at the Douglas County Fairgrounds, 2120 Harper St. There will be 100 varieties of plants that are locally grown. ...

How to mulch your garden beds without harming plants

When you look at your garden beds and borders, do you see any bare soil? If so, mulch is in order. Mulch is defined as a protective layer applied over soil to retain moisture, suppress weeds and moderate soil temperature around plants, as well as in uncultivated areas. But if used ...

Food | VIEW ALL

This quiche just might make you love leeks

I didn't understand leeks when I was growing up; in fact, I never ate them. It took living in France for me to fall for them. This Leek Quiche recipe, from my cookbook "V Is for Vegetables," was not only the first thing I learned in cooking school in Paris; it was also part of my final "exam." ...

Chicken and Waffles add a sweet-salty twist to Mother’s Day

If you are a brunch person, then you may have noticed a new dish in town, sitting comfortably in recent years alongside longtime favorites like Eggs Benedict and French Toast. It's Chicken and Waffles, current darling of the brunch crowd. If you are on the hunt for a Mother's Day dish that ...

Arts and Entertainment | VIEW ALL

Lifestyle Columns | VIEW ALL

Local History: Watson Park has long history as community venue

Whether you know it for its train or its swimming pool or its basketball court and playground equipment, the park running for two blocks between Kentucky and Tennessee streets has been through a lot. Often referred to as “Train Park” in reference to the No. 1073 locomotive on its grounds, ...

Local History: The many moves of Douglas County’s ‘No. 6’ school

Most of the rural schools in Douglas County are identified by a name as well as a number. An exception to this norm is “No. 6.” Goldie Piper Daniels, in her 1974 history of the educational buildings in our county, notes that the name “Crutchfield” was found attached to No. 6 on an ...

Local History: A Medal of Honor recipient who lived in Lawrence

On the east side of Iowa Street, between 19th and 23rd streets, stands the United States Army Reserve Training Center, which bears the name of Samuel J. Churchill. Churchill is one of two Medal of Honor recipients to have been Lawrence residents and to be buried here. Churchill was ...

Local History: After Quantrill’s Raid, a Lawrence church became a morgue

On the east side of the 700 block of Vermont Street, you can see a small bronze plaque on a brick building at about eye level. It tells of a First Methodist Church that once stood there, which was built in 1857 and was used as morgue following Quantrill’s Raid on Aug. 21, 1863. More than ...