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Voting Rights ruling will promote corrupt electoral maps

Columns

The Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. cautiously praised the hard-won Voting Rights Act of 1965 as a “great step forward” toward removing obstacles that kept Black Americans from voting. It was. But this week, in striking down a voter redistricting map in Louisiana, the U.S. Supreme Court has taken that embattled law and the movement that marched and campaigned for it on a disastrous step backward. Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker expressed the sentiments of many Americans, particularly Democrats, saying of the high court ruling, “It is an attack on a crown jewel of our democracy.” As ...

Exercise is best to help preserve function in the shoulders

Columns

DEAR DR. ROACH: My husband, 79, has to get both of his shoulders replaced (a reverse total shoulder replacement) due to osteoarthritis. He had the first shoulder done two months ago. It is a very painful procedure and consists of a long and painful recovery. Physical therapy is helping. Now I’m concerned with every painful twinge in my shoulders. What, if anything, can people do to keep their shoulders healthy and keep themselves from needing surgery? He put off seeing his doctor for more than a year, even as his pain worsened. — S.Q. ANSWER: There are several different types of ...

Dear Annie: My child’s success in sports shouldn’t be a threat

Columns

Dear Annie: I have a friend I have known for years, and our sons have grown up playing lacrosse together. On the surface, we are both supportive sports moms who cheer from the sidelines, pack the snacks and talk about practices, tournaments and college hopes. But underneath it all, I have started to feel something painful that I can no longer ignore. Whenever my son has a strong game, gets recognition from a coach or reaches some milestone, my friend never seems genuinely happy for him. She may smile and say the right words, but there is always something strained behind it. Sometimes ...

Kingfish politics are bad for everyday Americans

Our View

No matter how we may try to sanitize the past, the fact remains that history is an ugly place filled with sporadic wondrous people doing great deeds. They are, however, the exception and not the rule. We are left to grapple with this in the wake of last week’s Supreme Court ruling, which will, in effect, return swaths of the country to a time of voting rights prior to the Civil Rights era in the 1960s. We all want to believe that we — as an American people, and as an American country — are better than to use racism in the year of our Lord 2026. Unfortunately, there is a ...

The evolving role of nurses — and why they deserve our thanks

Letters to the editor

Teresa Conyers Williamsport As we celebrate National Nurses Week (May 6–12), I’m filled with deep pride and gratitude for the nurses who care for our community every day. Nursing has always been the backbone of health care. It’s built on long days, sleepless nights, and countless hours on foot, often in moments when patients and families are facing some of the most difficult experiences of their lives. While nursing can be incredibly rewarding, it is also demanding, and it requires both resilience and heart. That’s why it’s so important that we continue to support and ...

The political rift widens

Columns

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 ...