Articles

Rose Madeline Mula writes: As if my wrinkles aren't enough of a giveaway, all kinds of other factors are blabbing my age to the world at large. My choice of music is another dead giveaway. The lyrics of my favorite songs tell sweet, romantic stories. No political statements, no anti-establishment rants, and not a single obscenity. Furthermore, the singers can actually sing — no screeching., whispering, or special-effect enhancements, I can understand the lyrics, and the melodies are melodic. more »

By now, the demise of the American small town is a common tale. But even as most of them continue to lose residents, a few are adding them at a rapid clip. In several Western and Southern states, small towns are growing quickly as fast-growing metro areas swallow up more outlying towns, according to a Stateline analysis of census estimates. Between 2015 and 2016, the growth was particularly strong in small towns in Utah, Colorado, Washington, Oregon, Florida, Idaho, Delaware, Texas, Arizona, North Carolina and South Carolina, where small towns grew around 1 percent or more. more »

An art exhibition focusing on the train that carries up to half a million Central American migrants across Mexico toward the United States every year opens at University of California's C Berkeley’s Center for Latin American Studies (CLAS). The exhibit, by the Artist Collective Against Discrimination, is titled Riding the Beast, named for the notorious train that carries desperate Central American and Mexican migrants as it rumbles across Mexico. more »

Last December, Ohio’s Board of Pharmacy began reporting sales of gabapentin prescriptions in its regular monitoring of controlled substances. The drug, which is not an opioid nor designated a controlled substance by federal authorities, is used to treat nerve pain. But the board found that it was the most prescribed medication on its list that month, surpassing oxycodone by more than 9 million doses. In February, the Ohio Substance Abuse Monitoring Network issued an alert regarding increasing misuse across the state. more »