Note to Dems: It’s not 2020 anymore

There’s been a lot of attention paid to President Joe Biden’s falling job approval rating. And it is indeed going down, down, down. But along with confidence in the president, the public is also losing faith in the Democratic Party’s ability to handle the issues that most concern voters today. It’s been a long fall for both Biden and his party since they narrowly won control in Washington one year ago this week.

Valley fever result of fungus found in soil

Dear Doctors: I read that something called valley fever is getting to be more common here in Arizona on account of climate change. I’ve never even heard of it. Can you please explain what it is?

Parent worried marriage won’t survive

DEAR HARRIETTE: My son is applying for college this year and will likely go away to school next fall. I have prepared for this day for years. I know my job as a parent is to get him ready to be an independent adult. He is ready – but I don’t know if I am. That’s in part because I don’t know how my marriage is going to survive after my son goes.

Baseball brings out best, worst

The World Series has come and gone again, evoking the usual mixed feelings. For one thing, I didn’t have a team this year, although I was pulling for Atlanta in honor of my friend Lauren, a serious Braves fan I pretty much talked into baseball when she was my student. As a sometime athlete and a serious reader with a taste for complex narratives, she was a natural.

Friend wants to meet on her own terms

DEAR HARRIETTE: My best friend lives in East Los Angeles, and I live in the Valley. Whenever we hang out, she usually suggests that we do things on her side of town because the Valley "doesn't have a nightlife scene." I don't mind taking the drive every once in a while, but most of the time she wants to drink. Because of the drive I have to make, I don't get to drink with her. I don't think that this is fair, but I don't want to make it into a big issue. How can we compromise? – Meet Halfway

DO JUST ONE THING

When we decorate around the house for the holidays, a lot of us use natural materials like pine cones, evergreen swags and branches with berries to add some festive cheer. To keep these natural materials, well, natural, do just one thing: Avoid painting or gilding them. Adding shimmer with spray paint, gold foil or even using ribbons can transform an arrangement from compostable and biodegradable to trash. Leaving natural items natural ensures that when the holidays are over, you can safely let them biodegrade.

Freddie Fu always knew what to do

He said, “Call anytime,” hours before he went into hospice. If only I could. If only the scores – hundreds, probably thousands – of friends of one of the most extraordinary figures in modern orthopedic medicine could call him anytime, or even once more.

Currently in Custer County there are more than 2,400 voters who are registered as independents – which means they have chosen not to be affiliated with any political party. Because we have always been independent on who and what we vote for, this writer is one of them.

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