Columns & Opinions

5-Year-old’s fondness for lead paint requires intervention

5-Year-old’s fondness for lead paint requires intervention

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5-Year-old’s fondness for lead paint requires intervention

Tuesday, February 25, 2020
Dear Doctor: My 5-year-old grandson craves lead paint and has used his toothbrush to get at old layers of lead paint in his family’s renovated 1880s home. His development has slowed, and people think he’s autistic. If it’s the lead, what can we do? Dear Reader: Your question covers several issues.
Husband always backs out of date nights

Husband always backs out of date nights

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Husband always backs out of date nights

Tuesday, February 25, 2020
DEAR HARRIETTE: Every time I get tickets for a special event and invite my husband to go with me, he reneges on the day of. Like clockwork, he finds some excuse for not being able to join me. I get these great, free tickets through my work.

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Advice for properly disposing of dog waste

Saturday, February 22, 2020
Dog waste can be a problem in communities if it isn’t properly disposed of; it can pollute waterways and raise the harmful bacteria level in public water. A good rule of thumb is this: Don’t just leave dog waste in the yard or in the woods and let nature take its course.

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Shouldn’t every vote count the same?

Saturday, February 22, 2020
If the last school bond election had only required a simple majority of the votes cast it would have passed. But the law says it had to receive 60 percent of the votes to be approved – and it fell well short of that.
Where were they during the past three years?

Where were they during the past three years?

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Where were they during the past three years?

Saturday, February 22, 2020
Attorney General William Barr is looking into the murky origins of the politically charged Justice Department investigations that have roiled American public life for the last three years.
Have you ever had the urge to call the toilet paper hotline?

Have you ever had the urge to call the toilet paper hotline?

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Have you ever had the urge to call the toilet paper hotline?

Saturday, February 22, 2020
Back in the days when American dads were building fallout shelters in their basements and backyards, I always wondered where we would put our garbage during a thermonuclear war. I wondered this because one of my chores was to put out the garbage on collection days.
California is a whole different bird

California is a whole different bird

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California is a whole different bird

Saturday, February 22, 2020
In Iowa, they pause for coffee at the Kum & Go convenience stores in crossroads scattered around the state. In New Hampshire, they engage voters in school gymnasiums and on town street corners. In California they appear on television. They've been doing it this way for a third of a century.
Woman is trapped by guilt in an accidental friendship

Woman is trapped by guilt in an accidental friendship

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Woman is trapped by guilt in an accidental friendship

Saturday, February 22, 2020
DEAR ABBY: Years ago, I was friendly with a man from work who was very close to his mom. She came along with us once for lunch and ended up really liking me. From that point on, whenever he and I would get together for lunch, she would tag along.
Guillain-barre syndrome rare, painful autoimmune disease

Guillain-barre syndrome rare, painful autoimmune disease

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Guillain-barre syndrome rare, painful autoimmune disease

Saturday, February 22, 2020
Dear Doctor: My brother-in-law thought he had the flu, but it turned out to be Guillain-Barre syndrome. He’s now in his fifth month of an intense recovery. What can you tell me about the disease?
Reader tries being gender identity sensitive

Reader tries being gender identity sensitive

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Reader tries being gender identity sensitive

Saturday, February 22, 2020
DEAR HARRIETTE: I am finding myself at a loss for how to be politically correct when it comes to talking about gender identity. My neighbor’s child — who was born female — says that she now identifies as “they.” I do my best to remember, but it doesn’t come natural to me yet.