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Holiday Light Traditions Brighten Gloomy Month

As we go deeper into December, the nights get longer and the days darker. It’s no wonder so many holiday traditions involve lights, from the Hanukkah menorah to strings of Christmas tree lights to Kwanzaa candles. In the early 20th century, everyday lights could look festive, too. Incandescent light bulbs were invented in 1879. While they took some time to replace familiar light sources like candles and oil lamps, designers quickly realized their potential. Amplifying the light and protecting the flame were no longer the highest priorities for lighting design. In fact, electric ...

Lunch With Books Brings The Klezmer For Chanukah!

WHEELING — The Ohio County Public Library’s next Lunch With Books program will feature a celebration of Hanukkah with music. The program will take place at noon on Tuesday, Dec. 5, at the library in downtown Wheeling. KleZlectic will perform klezmer music in a concert for Chanukah! Pittsburgh based KleZlectic features clarinetist Janice Coppola; multi-instrumentalist Jeff Berman; pianist Laura Riesberg Daniels; bassist and trombonist Mark Perna; and tuba player Roger Day. Klezmer music is an instrumental tradition that originated with the Ashkenazi Jews in central and Eastern ...

Smart Home Devices To Help Seniors Age In Place

Dear Savvy Senior, I’ve been talking to my mobility challenged mother, who lives alone, about automating her house with some smart home products to make it more convenient. She’s very interested but we’d like to get your opinion as to which types of smart devices are most helpful for seniors aging in place. ­­ — Searching Daughter Dear Searching, If your mother is game, smart home products – such as smart lights, video doorbells and voice-activated speakers – can be very useful for aging in place. These devices can add safety and convenience to a home by providing ...

Retired Justice Sandra Day O’Connor Dies At Age 93

WASHINGTON (AP) — Retired Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, an unwavering voice of moderate conservatism and the first woman to serve on the nation’s highest court, died Friday. She was 93. O’Connor died in Phoenix, of complications related to advanced dementia and a respiratory illness, the Supreme Court said in a news release. Chief Justice John Roberts mourned her death. “A daughter of the American Southwest, Sandra Day O’Connor blazed an historic trail as our Nation’s first female Justice,” Roberts said in statement issued by the court. “She met that ...

House Votes To Expel New York Rep. George Santos

WASHINGTON (AP) — The House voted on Friday to expel Republican Rep. George Santos of New York after a blistering ethics report on his conduct heightened lawmakers’ concerns about the scandal-plagued freshman. Santos became just the sixth member in the chamber’s history to be ousted by colleagues, and the third since the Civil War. The vote to expel was 311-114, easily clearing the two-thirds majority required. House Republican leaders opposed removing Santos, whose departure leaves them with a razor-thin majority, but in the end 105 GOP lawmakers sided with nearly all Democrats ...

Don’t Trash Constitution

The right to privacy is a fundamental human right. It is also a constitutional right since it is expressly protected by the Fourth Amendment. The Fourth Amendment requirement of a search warrant prior to surveillance is intended to prevent mass spying, and it is also intended to keep the government in the lane of law enforcement based on evidence, not fear of stereotypes. These two goals are accomplished by prohibiting warrantless searches and preconditioning the application for warrants upon the existence and presentation of probable cause of crime. Stated differently, the ...