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Columns

  • Onions on pizza or blood pressure control?

    "Hello, Supreme Pizza, Carmen speaking, how can I help you Dr. Applebaum?"

    How do you know my name?

    "Caller ID, my friend, would you like the usual, vegetarian with extra onions delivered to 23 High Side Lane?"

    That would be great.

    "Ok, Dr., it will be there in 20 minutes and we'll charge it to your credit card on file, OK?"

    Sure, thank you, goodbye.

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  • Sunshine is for more than just flowers

    Sun - shine [suhn-shahyn] n.

    1. the shining of the sun; direct light of the sun

    2. brightness or radiance; cheerfulness or happiness

    3. the effect of the sun in lighting and heating a place

    4. a place where the direct rays of the sun fall

    Say you have gone to a government or school board meeting to hear and maybe even participate in a discussion about why a certain action is being taken.

    Then, to your surprise, a vote is taken without that discussion taking place.

    What happened?

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  • From the ridiculous to the stupid

    It always seems as if something breaks down or needs replacing whenever large bills are due.

    If it's time to pay the homeowner's insurance premium, then one of our vehicles needs new tires. If it's time for property tax bills, then the hot water heater goes out. That's just the way life is.

    Somehow, though, while there might not always be money for the things we want, there always seems to be enough for the things we need.

    But for those people who have more money than they know what to do with, companies are now making more and more "must have" items.

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  • February closes with a flurry of legislative action

    As my colleagues and I returned from the 2009 session's five day hiatus, we quickly resumed our work attending meetings, hearing testimony, studying proposed legislation and approving bills in the House chambers as only 12 days remain in this year's legislative session.

    Legislative committee meetings were full of debate and action this week.

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  • A reporter's take on the rumor mill

    Rumors. They can be thorns in the side of reporters. Rumors abound in the newsroom. Folks call us quite often to tell us the latest one. We welcome them all. Some turn out to be true and become news stories. Others are not and are promptly forgotten.

    A case in point - a submerged vehicle in City Lake.

    I'd heard this one several times, always just after lunch for some reason. A reader would call and say they either saw a car go in the lake or that someone told them a car was in the lake.

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  • Time for a little house cleaning

    As spring approaches, many consider it the perfect time for house cleaning. Because of that, I figure it's time to clear a few items out of our closet that appear to be causing some problems.

    Item No. 1

    We wasted taxpayer money last week. At least, that's what Judge/Executive Eddie Rogers tells us.

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  • Finally took the 'Twilight' plunge

    It's really just a love story, and that's something we can all - adults and teens alike - enjoy reading.

    It just so happens, however, that the love story is laced in between a lengthy series of good versus bad vampire battles, sagas of werewolves who fight with those vampires and fall in love with humans and some very bad vampires from far away who want to do lots and lots of harm to the good vampires.

    I, like so many others, have gotten swept up in the "Twilight" fanfare.

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  • Let's hope bald really is beautiful

    At age 56, I'm quite happy to still have the majority of my hair. Much of it is starting to turn gray, but I can live with that.

    I still have dreams of growing my hair really long and becoming a rock star. I'll just have to accept the fact that American Idol won't accept contestants my age. Maybe I could replace Simon. I can do what he does with at least a bit more diplomacy and I already have more hair. I certainly wouldn't mind being paid the salary he receives.

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  • Some odd news for hard times

    Let's face it. The news is pretty bleak right now. Recession is almost always the headline of the day. So, with all of downbeat stuff going on, it's reassuring to know that there are still some people out there doing things that bring much-needed chuckles to us news hounds.

    We all know the joke about the Maytag repairman with nothing to do. Apparently, that is not just a sales pitch.

    Nevada appliance storeowner Darin Jerome French has been charged with 36 counts of wire fraud for submitting false repair claims.

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  • Jake and Julie and me

    Marley’s got nothing on my cats. For those of you who have seen the movie “Marley & Me” or read the book of the same name by John Grogan, you know that Marley isn’t a good dog. He chews on just about everything, doesn’t mind his owners’ reasonable requests and generally destroys everything in his path.

    Sounds a lot like my two cats, Jake and Julie.

    I’m not complaining, but seriously, how many times am I going to have to replace my blinds?

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