LOS ANGELES -- Saturday was the 105th anniversary of Altadena's Christmas Tree Lane lighting ceremony and festival, but you couldn't quite call the night a celebration. It felt more like a memorial in a holiday wonderland.

Along the near mile of the cedar-lined street, there were glorious lights, children singing and a soul-thumping procession ...Read more

Since I am in the holiday spirit (and, having just consumed a mug of hot toddy, a glass of eggnog and a nip of cheer, the holiday spirits are in me), I have decided to follow in that great tradition of boring everyone silly by writing a Christmas letter.

That is why I am pleased as punch (which I also drank) to present the following chronicle ...Read more

Liz Dunnebacke isn’t dying, but for a recent end-of-life care workshop in New Orleans, she pretended to be.

Dunnebacke lay still atop a folding table that was dressed as a bed, complaining that her legs hurt. Registered nurse Ana Kanellos, rolling up two small white towels, demonstrated how to elevate her ankles to ease the pain.

“ Mom�...Read more

When Whitney Catalano filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in 2022, she was self-employed, living in an apartment she couldn’t afford and carrying $60,000 in credit card and personal loan debt. For her, bankruptcy looked like freedom.

“I felt very overwhelmed by money,” she says. “I wanted to clear myself of this chapter and really restart ...Read more

MINNEAPOLIS -- Dressed in “Team Lisa” T-shirts, two friends posing as savvy business-minded “Sharks” ran through a tight presentation of why any potential investor in the audience would be smart to date their friend.

“When you invest in Lisa you invest in your own future,” they said, as part of their “Shark Tank”-themed ...Read more

The constant pop pop pop of the plastic ball was simply too much to take.

Kimberly Edwards, who lives near the tennis-turned-pickleball courts at Forest Hill Park in Carmel-by-the-Sea, could hear the resonant sound everywhere she turned — outside in her garden, even through her bedroom window.

“It is very annoying,” she told the City ...Read more

CHICAGO -- William McNiff has been a vocal critic of the recent immigration crackdown in Chicago on his TikTok profile. So when he heard about the Salvation Army’s Angel Tree program, which provides gifts for children and families in need, he wondered if he could do something similar for children of immigrant families affected by Operation ...Read more

It’s easy to feel like you don’t recognize your own country when cruelty and chaos ooze daily from the White House, leaving a murky film over so much of what we cherish.

It’s easy to feel like the hard-won progress toward making this place a more welcoming, more inclusive, more equitable home is being rapidly, gleefully rolled back.

It�...Read more

In the middle of summer, Georgia can heat it up with the best of them. So when you are a little pink petunia and get a Plant of Distinction Award, that is saying something. Such is the case with Supertunia Mini Vista Pink Cloud petunia.

This rings true for all of the Supertunia Mini Vista petunia varieties. But Pink Cloud is new, making its ...Read more

SAN JOSE, Calif. — For Angel Romero, every detail of her car is a reflection of her history. The shining purple paint job accents sleek gleaming chrome that flashes bright in the light of golden hour. Pinstripes adorn the hood and the roof of the car — which hovers mere inches from the road, floating on white-wall tires — and the trunk is ...Read more

Once you spot the telltale signs of writing generated by artificial intelligence, you can’t unsee them.

They appear in the chipper press releases that crash my inbox, opening with “I hope this note finds you well!” The perfectly crafted text from your friend who typically has awful grammar. The barrage of self-promoting LinkedIn ...Read more

Dear Anna,

I’m 28 and have been seeing a guy around my age for a few months. We clicked fast in conversation — texting every day and even saying good night, sharing long voice notes, that kind of early-stage excitement — but because of work and conflicting schedules, we’ve only managed a handful of actual dates.

Last week was my ...Read more

Today, let’s look at two different questions from two different clients. As always, if one person asks, I can only assume it is applicable to a larger audience.

And, interestingly enough, you’ll see that these questions are applicable to any gender and any age.

Q: I wanted to have a conversation with (him) about his more long-term goals ...Read more

LOS ANGELES -- Inside a dim New Orleans-style bar in Hollywood, dozens of strangers mingle under the thump of pop music while nursing complimentary cocktails. Each person is sporting a name tag along with a personality sticker, or a few, that best captures their vibe. Neat freak. Plant parent. Night owl. Craft beer aficionado.

The scene reads ...Read more

There are days I feel like the last surviving gatekeeper to tradition. My mission is to keep the holidays from crashing into one another.

In my rich fantasy world, Labor Day is followed by Halloween, Halloween is followed by Thanksgiving and Thanksgiving is followed by Christmas. Never do they meet, mix or mingle. Welcome to dreamland.

The ...Read more

Q. My daughter comes home from her dad’s house telling me that her father lets her stay up until 10 o’clock at night and doesn’t cook dinner. She’s 6. She needs her sleep and nourishing food. I get so worked up; I don’t want her to go. And I don’t know exactly what to say to her when she tells me these things. What’s good ex-...Read more

Dear Kid Whisperer,

I can’t believe I am doing this, but I am actually writing to you to ask about dealing with my boyfriend’s behavior. I have been with him for 10 months and our relationship is not the best, and not the worst, but I really don’t like the way he treats my 9-year-old son. Some background: My son was a real handful in the ...Read more

CHICAGO — Claudia von Thrift — which is not her real name, but we’ll get to that — wants to make something clear. She is not one of those don’t-buy-anything-this-Christmas people. She is not looking to take an activist stance against conspicuous consumption. “I am as bougie as they come,” she said, reaching into her utensil drawer ...Read more

PHILADELPHIA — A wheel cranks on the machine at the Independence Visitor Center, slowing with every turn until: CLINK! A reward drops out the bottom waiting to be collected.

It’s a familiar, elongated penny. In its new form, Honest Abe’s head is swapped for an illustration of Rocky — naturally.

Philadelphia — along with other cities ...Read more

I may not be the chief cook in my house (that would be my wife, Sue, without whom I would have starved to death long ago), but I am the chief bottle washer.

And I don’t wash only bottles. I also clean glasses, mugs, cups, saucers, bowls, plates, pots, pans, tongs, whisks, spatulas, ladles, forks, knives, spoons and, most important, ice cream ...Read more