There’s an important period in a relationship that’s often overlooked in online dating: the point between finding an interesting profile and actually meeting in person. While there is certainly an art to crafting an interesting opening message — although anything more exciting than “Hey” or “How’s it going?” will often suffice, ...Read more

LOS ANGELES -- The bell dinged and the University Charter High School students gathered their things and headed for the door. As students flooded from classrooms, a strange, new sound filled the long hallway: the din of hundreds of students talking.

To each other.

Before the Los Angeles Unified School District cellphone ban took effect in mid-...Read more

PITTSBURGH — Gregg Behr's family had four channels to choose from while he was growing up in the 1970s. Though there wasn't much to choose from, one program in particular would play an outsized role in his future.

One of the few channels was PBS, meaning the Pittsburgh native regularly watched Fred Rogers appear on his television screen when ...Read more

Dear Anna,

I’m a 35-year-old woman currently in a relationship with a wonderful man (44) who has a complicated family situation. He shares custody of his young daughter with his ex-partner, who has a history of emotional abuse and manipulation. She actively tries to drive a wedge between him and his daughter, fights every single parenting ...Read more

Q. I have been married to my husband for four years. My husband’s ex has an annoying habit of texting him on his birthday every year. They are flirty texts, not just “Happy birthday” and I find them way out of line. My husband and his ex have been divorced for more than 10 years and the kids are in college, so they have very few co-...Read more

Dear Kid Whisperer,

My question has to do with family plans. If our 9-year-old doesn’t want to do what the family is doing (going to visit grandparents, going out to eat, etc.) he complains and argues, or asks for constant explanations for any plans that are not exactly what he wants to do. My wife feels that he needs to have input on our ...Read more

I was one of the first to complete the family NCAA bracket this year. There’s not a chance I’ll win and I’m good with that.

Our son-in-law started the family bracket challenge, which includes his side of the family and our side, 15 years ago.

His side of the family loves sports. His dad even refereed for years.

When you love sports, you...Read more

You can make book on the fact that I’m not a guy to sweep things under the rug. But you may be floored to know that I brought the hammer down on our latest home improvement project.

That’s why I had to clean my office of enough books to bury Moby-Dick so new flooring could be installed with the help of yours truly and my trusty hammer.

...Read more

LOS ANGELES -- Four weeks after the Eaton fire claimed his home, bladesmith Nicholas Berkofsky was back at work in his East Los Angeles studio. His first project? A hand-forged pizza cutter to benefit his neighborhood pizzeria, Pizza Venice, which was destroyed in the fire that swept through Altadena.

As he walked back and forth between the ...Read more

OAKLAND, Calif. -- Beneath the towering concrete trunks of the Rockridge BART station in Oakland, Pleasanton resident Dr. Robert Holland dons chain mail and plated armor as he takes up his alter-ego, Prince of the Mists, a title he’s claimed through combat.

Holland is one of the longest-tenured members of the Society for Creative Anachronism,...Read more

Playing music for plants can help them to grow, and it turns out that the same might be true for humans.

In a new study published in the peer-reviewed science journal Chaos, researchers played classical music for third-trimester fetuses using headphones on the mothers' stomachs and measured the fetuses' heart rates.

They found that the ...Read more

Ethan Kross grew up under the loving, watchful gaze of his Polish grandparents, who lived a few blocks from his childhood home in Brooklyn. His grandmother greeted him after school with elaborate meals and generous helpings, which, Kross jokes now, kept his grandfather — a tailor — busy catching up with his grandson’s expanding waistline. ...Read more

ST. PAUL, Minn. — In Hastings, Minnesota, you’ll find a built-to-scale replica of the original Dakota County courthouse made from about 5,000 perfectly placed toothpicks. The artist? 85-year-old Jerry Hackett.

The courthouse, which took about three months to create, is the latest in a line of impressive sculptures from Hackett, who ...Read more

CHICAGO — People often arrive at juvenile court with their guard up. Danielle Moore and Denise Gonzalez-Avila can understand why.

As “family navigators” based out of the Cook County Juvenile Center, Moore, 26, and Gonzalez-Avila, 41, meet waves of parents and loved ones of minors charged with crimes in the difficult moments just before or...Read more

Thirty years ago, I started trialing verbenas as part of the Mississippi Medallion award program for outstanding plants. I’ve been an avid verbena promoter and gardener ever since. I can tell you the Superbena Whiteout verbena is the best white variety I have ever grown.

Superbena Whiteout verbena has been around for about seven years, which ...Read more

Starting an emergency fund is often highlighted as a crucial aspect of personal finance, but we don’t talk as much about when you should tap into that money.

For example, if someone faces an unexpected car repair bill, should they dip into their emergency fund or explore other financial avenues? It’s a dilemma that many individuals grapple ...Read more

CHICAGO -- At the sprawling South Shore Cultural Center, the early-morning sun casts a golden glow on the stables nestled just beyond the gated entrance. On this 20-degree Thursday, the waves of nearby Lake Michigan are frozen into tiny peaks, and 2 inches of snow covers the ground.

At about 7 a.m., Sgt. Rishi Desai, an 18-year veteran of the ...Read more

When I was visiting my parents for Thanksgiving last year, I thought it would be fun, both as a dating coach and as their daughter, to interview them about how they met and how their relationship progressed. This month marks their 45th wedding anniversary, so I would like to give tribute to them in this article.

The main two questions I wanted ...Read more

Q. I have two sons, 5 and 7. I do not allow my children more than a half hour a day on their iPad. My partner uses screen time as a way to appease his son, who is turning 8. Recently my bonus son lost his temper and yelled at me in front of my sons. I took away his iPad believing if I did nothing it might set a precedent. My partner came home ...Read more