The New Year started once again, as it always does, with two significant astronomical events.

Never underestimate the power of music. Even accordion music.

Happy New Year! Maybe I’m a few days late, but I come bearing 12 gifts of things you can do to build understanding in the new year!

A friend of mine was recently released from prison. It’s been a joy to watch him get out and jump back into society. I kind of got to relive the excitement of what it was like for me.

A good resolution for 2020 and beyond would be to consistently put on paper what’s in our heads. It helps us clarify and enhance thoughts in so many ways.

Tomorrow is New Year’s Day, 2020. It’s the moment we look around for some inspiring, motivating, or compelling insight to help launch our “new beginning.”

Recently, Ogden City voted to pursue HB 411, a commitment to carbon-neutral production of electricity for the city in 10 years. I’m encouraged by the vote but even more by the energy and dedication of the youth who lobbied for HB 411. We need to harness their energy to ensure the commitment …

Politicians’ rhetoric suggests that they are interested in fairness and efficiency in economic policies that are good for the society as a whole. However, they end up implementing economic policies that might please a selective group of voters or sectors. The book “Advice and Dissent” by Pro…

This is the giving season. This is the time when we consider the gifts we’ll give to others, especially to our children.

It’s the season’s universal conversation starter: “So, what do you want for Christmas?”

People seem increasingly obsessed with generational descriptors. Are you a boomer or a millennial? Are you Gen Z or Gen X?

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. There’s all the cooking and eating good food and so many opportunities for scientific exploration.

At a recent local grade school’s Veterans Day celebration, I watched grandkids hold up American flags with squiggly red lines on a white sheet of paper and their blue handprint for the field of stars while they enthusiastically sang “God Bless America!” I realized, yes, God has, indeed, bles…

In last week’s general election rejection of Weber County’s Proposition 3 (the question of studying alternative forms of county government), there were two implicit messages. One was the voters’ sound approval of the compatibility and teamwork of the three current county commissioners. The s…

Thanksgiving is one of my favorite times of the year. I love the chill in the air, the smell of pumpkin (pie, latte, cookies) and enjoy spending extra time with people I care about. I love knowing my family table will include people I am related to, as well as those who have become family by…

This column sounds like a public service announcement. It’s coming to you from a woman who just crawled out of Flu-ville, back to the land of the living (barely) with shaky legs, unsteady mind and bad memories — but standing upright. Not far from the bathroom.

The 50th anniversary of the first communication on what essentially would become the internet occurred this week, Oct. 29, 1969. The University of Utah was one of the four locations in that original network. It was enthusiastic, forward-thinking research and development that led to the inter…

I’m generally not a fan of the Nobel Prize. Mostly because I feel it perpetuates the myth of “genius” and discredits the hard work of a bunch of people all working together to accomplish something great.

My husband and I recently took an extraordinary journey to Southern Utah. True, that part of the state is already magical in a thousand ways. But it wasn’t the red rocks or blue skies or wildlife that made the excursion remarkable. It was the people we met along the way.

In 1980, Ronald Reagan was elected president at age 69. At that time, Reagan was the oldest person to be elected president. During the campaign, some made an issue of Reagan’s age. The concern over Reagan’s age was warranted. Before he left office, he was showing obvious signs of dementia an…

“Shall a study committee be appointed to consider and possibly recommend a change in Weber County’s form of government?”

When we hear the words, “It’s the most wonderful time of the year!” we know Andy Williams’ cheerful voice is singing about Christmas. Only he shouldn’t. Because the most wonderful time of the year is right now — fall time.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. I would rather do 12 months in prison than six months in jail and it’s not even close.

If you open a newspaper or turn on the television news, there is a good chance that you will hear someone use the word socialism. In some cases, Bernie Sanders describes himself as a democratic socialist. In other cases, the term is used simply to smear a person or program. If a Republican c…

Stereotypes. Our brains are hardwired to jump to conclusions about situations and people based on our prior experience, regardless of how genuinely applicable that experience is. It’s a survival trait that’s helped our species avoid danger by assuming that the rustling of leaves in the woods…

When Melissa Nelson’s child was bullied 5 years ago at her elementary school in Pocatello, Idaho, she reacted. Any good mom would. For most of us, indignation with anger, maybe even some fury, would be our driving force. We’d come out swinging, hollering and making demands to make sure justi…

Looks as if we get to welcome yet another interstellar visitor to our solar system this fall — the second one in two years, by my count.

The common good is generally defined as that which benefits society as a whole, as opposed to the personal good of individuals or selected sections of society.

So, what would you pack if all you could keep had to fit into a laundry basket?

In the wake of another series of shootings in the United States, my heart literally hurts. I continue to seek understanding — what is happening in our country? According to Mass Shooting Tracker, 93 people died from gun violence in August of this year.

So I was pulled over today on Highway 89. There were a few Highway Patrol cars catching people in a speed trap. For those who don’t know, this is where the speed limit has recently changed, in this case, from 75 mph on the freeway to 55 mph on the highway, making for easy pickings for office…

The headline of an Aug. 4, 2019 article in the Standard-Examiner declared, “The rate of women pursuing STEM in Utah colleges hasn’t changed.” While I will be the first to admit it has not changed enough or fast enough, there has been change. With some notable efforts, for example, Weber Stat…

The cups in the parking lot set me off.

It’s back-to-school time, and we are being inundated with a flood of news articles about whether or not a college degree is “worth it.” Do you need one to get a good job? Are there better options such as trade schools or online certifications? What about apprenticeships? It seems as if every…

It’s almost back-to-school time. For the most part, Utah’s corps of thinly compensated, but well-trained, professional and dedicated educators will soon welcome our youth, and for the next nine months, will spend approximately half their weekdays’ time with them. But what about the other hal…

The best part of a family reunion is spending time with your kids’ kids. We just finished a week-long reunion with all of our families — some local, some out of state. It’s what families do in August when they see back-to-school looming ahead.