Letter From The Publishers
Unleashing Feminine Power The Women’s March on Washington, D.C., in January, has prompted an explosion in activities by women’s organizations working to empower women to be the best they can be and take control of their future. This month we highlight the innate skills and learned strengths of women everywhere as they work to succeed…
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Local Articles & Spotlights
Couples Communication Reaps Many Rewards
by Seth Kopald Couples seem to push each other’s buttons and often say hurtful things. Perhaps the closer people are, the more they feel safe to let their guards down.…
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Step into Your Personal Power
by Mary Mazur Those in complete alignment with all aspects of themselves and the spiritual, mental, emotional and physical parts are existing in perfect harmony wake up feeling refreshed, relaxed,…
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Feeding the Organs for Winter Maintenance
Western medicine excels at treatment options for a variety of ailments, but often falls short of providing optimal prevention strategies. It’s true that recent changes in traditional Western healthcare philosophy…
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A Marriage of Creativity & Spirituality
Mara Evenstar is the co-owner of Evenstar’s Chalice, director of Conscious Rites, board member of the Intentional Living Collective and co-founder of Sophia Unfolds: These organizations were all created to…
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New Workshops at Castle Remedies
Castle Remedies and manager Mary Tillinghast have launched a new winter season of homeopathic classes. She says, “In these workshops, we will briefly touch on the history and theory behind…
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Huron River Watershed Council Needs Local Representation
by Martin Miron Sixty-seven local governments in the Huron River Watershed Council (HRWC) have the power to determine the location of houses, farms and businesses throughout the watershed. These land…
Read MoreNews Briefs
Andrea Kennedy, reiki master practitioner, instructor and owner of Mainstream Reiki, now offers the PEMF Inframat Pro First Edition Chakra Mat, the newest technology in healing mat therapy, as an add-on for $20 in addition to the regular reiki appointment fee. The mat consists of 16 pounds of seven different natural gemstones and offers five…
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Jeremy Smiley, owner of the Fuller Life Water Company, says, “Tap water contaminates chlorine, fluoride, and silicone phosphate are at all-time highs and that does not include agricultural runoff, industrial waste and unused pharmaceuticals entering the water supply. One solution is reliably pure bottled water delivered to a home or business. Fuller Life Water has…
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The Ann Arbor School of Massage, Herbal & Natural Medicine offers a full student and professional clinic in a peaceful setting, offering bodywork sessions for integrated therapeutic massage, reflexology, Polarity Therapy and energy balancing. Additionally, the wellness center maintains an Herbal Pharmacy and Dispensary, with medicinal and therapeutic herbal formulas. Check out and come to…
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Slow Food, Huron Valley’s 11th annual Local Food Summit will be held February 16 in Towsley Auditorium at Washtenaw Community College. The Summit, brings together farmers, consumers, consumers, academics and retailers committed to creating a vibrant, sustainable and just local food community. In addition to education and networking, participants will enjoy a local meal curated…
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Materials Unlimited, a full-service retail antiques store and restoration facility housed in a three-floor, 15,000-square-foot 1920s Art Deco building in downtown Ypsilanti, showcases all varieties and styles of antique lighting, hardware, home decor, leaded glass windows, doors and furniture. The staff is adept at helping customers choose the proper style and function for the period…
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SculptureWalk, a year-long community arts project in which juried sculptures are installed at 12 locations in historic downtown Chelsea, is celebrating its 10th year. Artist are invited to submit entries for the 2019 season. Through a juried selection, winning artists receive a $750 award and a yearlong, highly visible platform to display their work. Sculptures…
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Celebrating its 40th year, the Washtenaw Community Concert Band’s Celebration of the Community concert at 7:30 p.m., February 28, will include the William Tell Overture and musical highlights from West Side Story and Oklahoma. A local high school band student winner of a concerto competition will perform and win a $1,500 prize. Refreshments are provided.…
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Sounds & Sights on Thursday Nights, one of Michigan’s premier summer concert series, is accepting applications to be considered for this summer’s entertainment lineup. Auditions will be held from 5 to 8 p.m., March 4, in downtown Chelsea. This year’s schedule begins June 6 and continues every Thursday through August 15. Each week, 11 different…
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The trustees of Legacy Land Conservancy, Michigan’s oldest local land trust, have appointed Diana Kern to lead the organization as executive director. Kern brings more than a dozen years of experience in nonprofit executive leadership, fund development, relationship management, budget management, board support and staff development to her new role at Legacy. She recently served…
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K.West Skin Body Soul is a high-vibrational luxury spa in Ann Arbor offering advanced skin and body therapies rooted in ayurvedic and Chinese traditions. They feature non-invasive, non-thermal DNA skin rejuvenation for complete support and renewal of all skin conditions including acne and aging. Offerings include: 12-session nutritional and life coaching programs integrated with skin…
Read MoreHealth Briefs
Ashwagandha, a traditional ayurvedic herb, can significantly improve symptoms of subclinical hypothyroidism, a condition that affects many women, a new double-blind clinical study shows. Researchers from India’s Sudbhawana Hospital tested 50 patients that had high circulating thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) levels. For eight weeks, half were given 600 milligrams a day of ashwagandha; the other half…
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Munching on almonds and walnuts significantly increases blood vessel dilation and reduces artery plaque, say West Virginia University scientists. In a two-day study, 27 overweight volunteers ate 77 grams of almonds (about 2.5 handfuls) along with their lunch one day; on another day, they ate 60 grams of walnuts (about two handfuls) with lunch. Measurements…
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Bitter melon (Momordica charantia), a spiky, cucumbershaped fruit, has traditionally been used in Asian countries to lower blood sugar. Now, researchers at Universiti Sains Malaysia report that it can significantly improve symptoms and reduce the pain of knee osteoarthritis. Half of 75 patients were given a placebo and the other half 1,500 milligrams three times…
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Harmful bacteria from the genus Mycobacterium have been shown to linger in showerheads and lead to lung infections through inhalation of steam. University of Colorado researchers analyzed 656 biofilms coating the inside of showerheads sent to them by volunteers throughout the U.S. and Europe, and found twice as much mycobacterium in showerheads from households receiving…
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After years of worldwide decline, malaria is on a worrisome upswing, but researchers from Durham University, in the UK, have found a quick, non-invasive, low-cost detection method: dogs. Trained to sniff out malaria parasites in socks that West African children wore for one night, the canines correctly identified 70 percent among the infected and 90…
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Practicing gratitude is a healthy habit, yet people often hesitate to write heartfelt thank-you notes to people that have touched their lives. Researchers at the University of Chicago and the University of Texas, in Austin, report that writers underestimate how much people receiving those notes are surprised, happy and appreciative. The researchers also found that…
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When zinc, a trace mineral, is combined with tea, coffee, chocolate and other foods that contain specific antioxidant compounds, it boosts protection against the oxidative stress linked to aging and diseases such as dementia, cancer and heart disease, report researchers from Auburn University,in Alabama, and the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg, in Germany Zinc activates a plant…
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Tulsi (Ocimum sanctum), an Indian herb also known as holy basil, has been proven effective in studies in reducing stress, lowering blood sugar and healing wounds. Now, research from India’s Rishiraj College of Dental Sciences has found that tulsi essential oil, used as a disinfectant, significantly reduced infection levels following root canals of primary molars…
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Children and teens that spend more than seven hours a day on screens have twice the risk of being diagnosed with anxiety or depression compared to those that spend one hour a day similarly engaged, concluded a San Diego State University study of more than 40,000 youngsters. Tatyana Vyc/Shutterstock.com
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In a double-blind study of 40 Type-2 diabetes patients, Iranian researchers gave half of them 200 milligrams of an extract of walnut leaf (Juglans regia) for eight weeks and the other half a placebo. Although the walnut leaf extract had no significant effect on their blood glucose levels or insulin resistance, it significantly lowered systolic…
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Translating Thoughts Into Speech Scientists are trying to translate speech-paralyzed patients’ thoughts into speech using brain implants. The technique will potentially provide a brain/computer interface (BCI) to enable people with a spinal cord injury, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, stroke or other paralyzing conditions to “talk” again. Experts think a system that decodes whether a person is…
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Wild Horses Ride Out the Storm North Carolina’s freeroaming wild horse herds on the Outer Banks have “ridden out” their share of storms. When Hurricane Florence struck the area in 2018, the Corolla Wild Horse Fund of Currituck County, where the herd lives, announced on Facebook, “The horses have lived on this barrier island for…
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Promising Progress Against Disease A cold-loving fungus known as white-nose syndrome (Pseudogymnoascus destructans) originating in Eurasia, where bats evolved to develop immunity to it, began infecting 15 species of hibernating bats in North America in 2006. As the fungus grows over bats’ noses and wings, it disrupts their winter sleep, causing them to expend too…
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Shad Return After 174-Year Absence Following the removal two years ago of an obsolete dam in Manville, New Jersey, American shad are successfully spawning in the lower section of the Millstone River. The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) recently observed juvenile fish there for the first time since 1845. American shad (Alosa sapidissima)…
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Sharp Decline Threatens Ecosystem Insects around the world are in a crisis, and a new study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences suggests that the problem is even more widespread than scientists first believed. In a pristine rain forest in Puerto Rico, the number of invertebrates—including moths, butterflies, spiders and grasshoppers—dropped…
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Presumed Extinct Dog Species Rediscovered After thinking the New Guinea highland wild dog had gone extinct in its native habitat, researchers have now confirmed the existence of a healthy, viable population, hidden on the island in one of the most remote and inhospitable regions on Earth. According to DNA analysis, these are the most ancient…
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Exmoor Ponies Beat the Odds The Exmoor pony, which inhabits an area bordered by Devon and Somerset counties in England, is currently listed as endangered by the Rare Breeds Survival Trust. It’s believed that these ponies derive from the original prehistoric horse that made the trek from Alaska to Great Britain some 130,000 years ago.…
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Dogs Help Restore Burnt Forests in Chile Forest fires in Chile ravaged vast swathes of land in 2017, burning sturdy older trees in the El Maule region. Since then, three border collies belonging to Francisca Torres, a member of the environmental nonprofit Pewos, have been wandering through the charred remains with special satchels that spray…
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Nature Finds a Way Frogs and toads are returning in parts of Panama after a deadly fungal disease devastated amphibians in Central America from 2004 to 2007. New research shows that evolution may have saved the day. In El Cope, at least four species disappeared, including the redstriped Rio San Juan robber frog. Four other…
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Baltimore Rolls Out Sensor-Equipped Bins Baltimore is spending $15 million to deploy 4,000 sensor equipped trash receptacles that signal when they need emptying to increase collection efficiency. “The cans come with Wi-Fi; we will utilize this capability to allow the can to transmit information, including how full it is, so we can offer as-needed servicing of the cans,”…
Read MoreEco Tips
Many Ways to Pare Down Paper Use If one in five households switched to electronic bills, statements and payments, the collective impact would save 151 million pounds of paper annually, eliminating 8.6 million full garbage bags and 2 million tons of greenhouse gas emissions, according to the PayItGreen Alliance. While computers continue to offer significant…
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Ways to Improve Indoor Air Quality For much of the country, winter means spending more time indoors—and exposed to potential toxins. Indoor air quality is critically important to children, the elderly and people with respiratory problems that may be especially sensitive to pollutants, according to WebMD.com. Recognizing and avoiding some of the most common sources…
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Guide to Sustainable Merry-Making There is symmetry between living in an ecoconscious manner and the spirit of Christmas. Striving for peace on Earth and good will to all can also be expressed in reducing the holiday’s impact on the planet. Alternatives to a cut or artificial plastic Christmas tree abound. Purchase a potted tree to…
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New Life for Old Friends Spread the wonders and joys of reading to others while conserving woodlands and other resources and keeping books out of landfills by donating them. Many outlets welcome books that may have been collecting dust at home, but can enrich the lives of others of all ages, both locally and worldwide.…
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Groups Work to Make U.S. Go Strawless About 500 million plastic straws are discarded daily in America, reports the U.S. National Park Service. Plastic that reaches waterways is ingested by marine life and our food chain. Individuals and municipalities are taking action to support options, including going strawless. The Last Plastic Straw (TheLastPlasticStraw.org), a project…
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Save Wild Horses Campaign Update The Trump Administration’s Fiscal Year 2019 budget again calls on Congress to lift long-standing prohibitions on the destruction and slaughter of wild horses and burros. The budget seeks to cut approximately $14 million of the Interior Department’s Bureau of Land Management Wild Horse and Burro Program by selling as many as 90,000 federally protected…
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