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The political rift widens

Politicians and political parties, when unconstrained by constitutional guardrails or statutory limits, have long demonstrated a remarkable ability to manipulate electoral rules to their advantage. Gerrymandering is among the most enduring and consequential examples of this practice. The term itself dates back to 1812, when then-Massachusetts Gov. Elbridge Gerry signed legislation redrawing legislative districts to benefit his Democratic-Republican Party. A newspaper, the Boston Gazette, famously mocked one contorted district as resembling a salamander, giving rise to the term ...

Dear Annie: Neighbor’s dream home is being built at my expense

Dear Annie: My husband and I have lived in our modest home for many years in a quiet, beautiful neighborhood where the houses have always felt gracious and in scale with one another. We are not extravagant people, and our little house has never been the biggest or fanciest on the block, but it has always been our sanctuary. We worked hard for it, raised our family here and treasured the peace, charm and natural beauty around us. Recently, a very wealthy couple bought the property next door and began building an enormous house that feels completely out of proportion to the neighborhood. ...

How to help a person who’s experienced a tonic-clonic seizure

DEAR DR. ROACH: My husband suffered a grand mal seizure about six months ago. He was in the hospital for seven days. When he came out of the seizure, he was very combative and experienced memory loss. He still deals with short-term memory loss, and his neurologist says that it could take a year for him to get back to normal. My question is: Is there anything I can do to help him? — L.H. ANSWER: Seizures can happen for many reasons, and there are different types of seizures. When a person has the type of seizure that is often shown on TV or in movies, where they have uncontrollable ...

Applause, Applause

Each Saturday, The Express community newspaper highlights people, groups and activities our readers deem worthy of applause. Angelo and I would like to THANK everyone that came to the Bingo or donated money or supplies to support him in his fight against liver cancer. Special THANKS to Sue Brownson and her team for organizing this event. Also to Kay from The Village Tavern for providing the food. Also to Gary and Joanie Miller, Kelsey Miller, Anna Peddie and all the volunteers that helped make this day special. THANKS again! — Angelo and Karen Owners and staff of Fulmer’s ...

The most practical protest? Growing your own food

Spring is filled with dreams of locally grown food. Last weekend, my family volunteered for our local community garden, helping get beds ready and putting tomato and pepper plants in the ground. At home, we planted zinnias and sunflowers. My family also signed up for shares of Community Supported Agriculture from our local farmer. I love this time of year. Getting our hands in dirt reminds us where our food comes from and that we need to take care of the Earth. Our food is only as good as the soil we grow it in, and to have healthy soil, we must treat the Earth well in everything we ...

The real king schools the would-be king

I’ve always been both a small-r republican and an Anglophile, so I looked upon the British monarchy with at least a pinch of smug superiority. The Windsors are revered for nothing more than birth — not talent, nor accomplishments, nor virtue. It’s all a throwback to an earlier stage of human development, when people were not mature enough for representative democracy. I wasn’t feeling smug as I watched King Charles III address Congress the other day. Quite the opposite. Though I remain a small-r republican, I couldn’t help but be embarrassed at what we supposedly mature, ...