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For a stress-free getaway, follow this expert’s pre-travel tips

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:12:24 GMT

Friends often comment on the amount of travel I do. Especially how I can rack up the miles without being stressed out, exhausted and even overwhelmed at times. Truth be told, in my decades of pretty steady travel, I’ve had my moments. Haven’t we all?But in my years of zipping around both locally and globally, I’ve learned a few strategies to help make the travel itself a bit less stressful, a bit more seamless and more awesome than angsty.Here are some basics that help me be able to focus on fun, discovery and relaxation rather than logistics. Most are basic, but for those who may be new to travel or haven’t zipped off too often, they’re good to adopt. And sometimes even us long- timers need refreshers. Try these to make your road or air trip even better.All the apps: At home and on your own wi-fi, take time well before any trip to download all the apps that can make a trip better. I tell everyone: Download every major airline app now (even if you’ve not planned a trip as of y...

Child support hits speed bump over college costs

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:12:24 GMT

Q. My wife and I are finalizing our divorce agreement in mediation and are stuck on child support.  My wife stayed home and raised our son from the time of his birth.  I encouraged her to return to work once he was in school – but she didn’t want to.  When Jack was 10, my wife received a sizeable inheritance and from that point on used that as an excuse not to return to work – we no longer needed the money.Fast forward to now, she is keeping her inheritance and I am keeping both of our homes and my retirement worth almost as much as her inheritance.  Jack just started Emerson College.  We did not save money for college because my wife said she would use her inheritance.  She changed her position and instead of paying for college she wanted us to each contribute half the cost of UMass Amherst with Jack paying the rest.  I would prefer to just pay for all of Jack’s college education.I had hoped paying for college would mean I don’t have to pay child support.  My wife wants full guidel...

Fall virus season looms – which vaccines should you get?

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:12:24 GMT

A new COVID variant is circulating. Flu season is about to begin. Respiratory syncytial virus (known as RSV) is becoming a greater cause of hospitalizations.But this fall, something is different. The country has new vaccines for COVID, influenza and RSV, the three fall respiratory viruses that hospitalize and kill hundreds of thousands annually.“Go get those vaccines and it will make a dramatic difference in your getting sick this winter,” Dr. Ashish Jha, former White House COVID response coordinator told NPR. “We are going to be dealing with respiratory viruses forever but we are getting better at building treatments and vaccines. No one loves getting shots but these shots are literally saving lives.”Here’s a guide to fall vaccines, how to time them right, and where they are available.Seasonal influenza (flu)Doctors recommend an annual flu shot before the start of the season.What’s new this year: Each year the influenza vaccine is reformulated, but it doesn’t always match perfectly...

Badmouthing ex is harmful to son

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:12:24 GMT

Q. I had an affair, and my ex and I broke up. He tells our son every chance he gets what a terrible person I am. My son is too young to understand and now refuses to see his dad. My ex is convinced I’m the one putting our son up to it. I don’t know how to get through to his father that the badmouthing is what’s behind the refusing to see him? How do I get his dad to stop? What’s good ex-etiquette?A. When I have confronted parents about badmouthing, I’ve been told everything from “It’s no big deal, it won’t stick with them” to justifications for their behavior because they think their children should understand what a terrible person their father or mother really is.Rarely does the badmouthing parent realize what they are doing to their children.Children don’t disregard what their parents say when they badmouth each other. And thinking their parent is a terrible person rarely contributes to a child’s peace and security. Some children feel they have to shield t...

Editorial: Boston voters have opportunity to change City Council

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:12:24 GMT

Boston has a chance to hit the reset button in Tuesday’s Boston City Council primary.Are residents happy with the status quo in which scandal-plagued councilors put career before constituents, or do Bostonians want an injection of experience, character and dedication to public service?In the race for District 5 race, Ricardo Arroyo, instead of stepping down when his ethics violation tarnished the council by association, is instead running for re-election. There have been calls for his resignation, but Arroyo lets those go to voicemail.The city has a problem with gun violence, lack of affordable housing and the opioid crisis at Mass and Cass. The progressive agenda has done little to nothing to fix these issues. What Boston needs are more voices of reason on the council, and for District 5, that is Jose Ruiz.This 29-year Boston Police officer knows about crime on our streets and how it hits our neighborhoods. Ruiz has an impressive resume of working to build stronger communitie...

Dog was fine, now has kidney failure

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:12:24 GMT

Dear Dr. John,I had three dogs, but I lost the oldest to a coyote a few months ago. I was devastated. Over the past few days, my nine-year-old Miniature Schnauzer started acting strange. He became quite lethargic, stopped eating, and started drinking a lot. I took him to my vet who ran blood tests and said that he was in kidney failure. His values were very high. What does that mean? They suggest I bring him in for fluids for four hours every day for the next five days. My dog was fine until a few days ago and I have no idea what might have caused this. Could it be diet, chewing the grass, or eating a white flower in front of my house? How does one know what kind of chances he might have for getting better or a longer life? What do you recommend? S.S.Dear S.S.,One does need to be wary in areas where coyotes roam and I’m sorry for your loss. Renal or kidney failure can be classified into three basic types: acute, subacute, and chronic. One needs to look at the specific blood values a...

TV Q&A: Are soaps exempt from Hollywood strikes?

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:12:24 GMT

You have questions. I have some answers.Q: My wife is a devoted “General Hospital” fan. With the writers and actors on strike, we assumed ABC would have to start reruns at some point but they haven’t. Did soap operas get some sort of waiver from the striking unions so they could stay in production? And, when not affected by strikes, what is the normal length of time between a soap’s taping of an episode and when it airs?A: Issues like this are not simple, so I will turn to Deadline.com, which offered an explanation as the actors strike loomed: “Soap actors are employed under the SAG-AFTRA National Code of Fair Practice for Network Television Broadcasting (aka Network Code). It is different than the film and TV collective bargaining agreement that SAG-AFTRA is currently negotiating with the AMPTP. Negotiated between SAG-AFTRA and the Big 4 broadcast networks as well as other producers, the National Code covers soaps as well as morning news shows, talk shows, variety, reality, g...

Schoen: The southern border remains Biden’s Achilles heel

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:12:24 GMT

Unfortunately for the Biden administration, immigration – a considerable Achilles Heel for the president – figures to be a significant issue in the 2024 presidential election. This is surely an unwelcome development for Biden’s reelection prospects, as the president continues to struggle with balancing voters’ demands for border security with the left’s calls for a more sympathetic immigration policy.To be clear, while the economy and inflation will surely be the top priorities when voters go to the polls next November, immigration will not be far behind. In fact, roughly one-quarter (24%) of registered voters say immigration is the most important issue facing the country, just slightly lower than those saying the economy (26%), and inflation (34%) – the top concern – according to a recent Harvard-Harris poll.Moreover, immigration is one of Biden’s biggest vulnerabilities. Only 31% of Americans – including 27% of Independents – approve of how Biden has handled immigration. Comparati...

Pooch pooper scoopers bag pretty big bucks

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:12:24 GMT

Fendi, the 3-year-old golden retriever who can’t get enough cuddles, stared at the expanse of Mullica Hill, New Jersey, lawn where she does her business.There in the grass, which she’s been using as her personal privy, walked an intruder — Emily LaBeaume, a professional poop scooper and co-owner of Big Business Scoopers of Pitman.Using a rake and a bucket with a long handle, LaBeaume was picking up what Fendi had been putting down.Fendi’s owner, Taylor Kemery, 31, a pediatric nurse practitioner pays LaBeaume’s company around $20 a week. “This is a great convenience,” she said. “I never enjoyed picking that stuff up. Ever.”If you can pony up bucks for someone to cut your lawn, deliver your groceries or assemble Ikea furniture, why not throw money at a practitioner who performs an unceasingly odious task?“Customers are either grossed out, physically unable, or don’t have the time,” said Tim Stone, 36, of Dallas, preside...

PBS spotlights ‘The Busing Battleground’ in Boston

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:12:24 GMT

On Sept. 12, 1974, Boston stepped into the nation’s spotlight when Black and white students were, for the first time, bused between neighborhoods as ordered by a federal desegregation court.As “The Busing Battleground,” a 2-part, 2-hour documentary airing Monday on “American Experience” on PBS (GBH) vividly recounts, the intense and violent reaction saw protestors heaving rocks and epithets and children unfortunate targets.Directed by screenwriter Sharon Grimberg and Cyndee Readdean, “Busing” illuminates how Boston’s school integration issues went back decades.It begins on national TV in August 1963 as President John F. Kennedy declared civil rights a moral issue and being Black meant you were never given an equal chance. For decades, the all-white Boston school committee never made an effort to upgrade segregated Black schools. That court order was a last resort.“It’s a very resonant coincidence that there was that school meeting and JFK on television at the very ...