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Flustered by funeral flowers

Dear Annie: I’ve been friends with “Jessie” for several years, but lately, I’ve been feeling like the friendship is one-sided. I’m always the one reaching out, making plans and putting in the effort. Jessie has been responding to my texts with one-word answers, if at all. I value our friendship a lot, but I’m starting to question whether she feels the same way. How can I address this issue without seeming needy? Should I confront her or let it go and just hope it changes back to what it was like before? Any guidance would be appreciated. — Friendship on Uneven ...

Is removal of Trump’s name from Kennedy Center a metaphor?

In what could be a metaphor for things to come, workers removed President Trump’s name from the Kennedy Center in Washington. U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper ruled the rebranding of the Kennedy Center as the “Trump Kennedy Center” violated the law, writing, “Congress gave the Kennedy Center its name, and only Congress can change it.” Is America growing tired of Trump’s nonstop appearances? His disapproval ratings suggest overexposure could be a contributing factor. He goes on sometimes for more than an hour in his frequent Oval Office appearances and often repeats ...

Dear Annie: Drama at the gym

Dear Annie: I love the gym. It has really helped me gain confidence and strength. I have been going to the same gym in our small town for roughly 10 years. I know all the people there and enjoy my time there — until lately. There is a woman who just started going to the gym who is toxic. She really hurt a dear friend of mine, whose child was in the same class as her child, by spreading vicious rumors that she was having an affair with a tennis instructor. This was not true. She is the typical mean girl from middle school who we all choose to forget — the girl who never grew ...

Patient isn’t given adequate pain medicine after shoulder repair

DEAR DR. ROACH: I’m frustrated that my physicians aren’t giving me adequate pain relief. I had a shoulder repair with three severely torn tendons and a torn labrum, and the surgeon cut and moved my biceps tendon. I was given 20 mg of hydrocodone and APAP 5/325 mg for pain! Are the doctors legally prevented from giving me pain medication? — J.F. ANSWER: This makes me frustrated to hear. There aren’t legal barriers to giving a patient medication to reduce pain, but opiates such as hydrocodone should be given cautiously and with consideration for its potential for abuse. There are ...

Making Big Tech help PA’s seniors stay in their homes

Pennsylvania has a problem. Our outdated tax system is costing working people billions of dollars. They are watching their neighborhood schools close, their bus lines get cut, and their health care costs skyrocket while big corporations make billions — without paying their fair share to our state. That’s not right. There is a simple solution: lawmakers can boldly face corporate greed and require multinational corporations and billionaires to pay their fair share in taxes and use that money to fund schools, mass transit, healthcare, and more. Our bill, HB1678, would ...

How Pa. towns are protecting themselves from the noise, heat and utility costs of data centers

Pennsylvania has become a hot spot for data center proposals and public backlash about where to build them. I’m a law professor and executive director of Penn State’s Center for Energy Law and Policy. I’m also a native of Archbald, a borough of 7,500 residents in the Lackawanna Valley in northeastern Pennsylvania. My hometown has drawn national attention because of proposals for multiple data centers that would cover 14% of its area. Because of my professional and personal interest in data centers, I have been researching local responses to data center proposals across ...