JaCo prosecutor heeds victims’ voices
On the Missouri side of the metro, crime victims have a determined champion. Since taking office in 2011, Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker has worked hard and inventively to help victims of crime and address the violence besieging neighborhoods. Over the past month, the dogged prosecutor revealed her latest smart new initiatives. Last week, […]
Remembering Christ’s suffering & death
Last Sunday was Palm Sunday, opening Holy Week. The final week of Lent leading up to Easter is the holiest, most important on the Christian calendar, “the days in which we celebrate the completion of the mission for which our Lord, Jesus was sent into the world: His suffering, dying and rising from the dead […]
Vanquishing affliction with grace & resolve
When Stephen Hawking was 21 years old, he was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a progressive neurodegenerative disease. It affects the nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord, which lose their ability to control muscle movement, which leads inevitably to paralysis and death. Hawking, a British University of Cambridge graduate student was given, […]
They refused to be silenced
Women’s History Month is officially 30 years old in the United States. On March 12, 1987, Congress passed a joint resolution – Public Law 100-9 – designating March as Women’s History Month. It’s a modern invention inspired by International Women’s Day, first celebrated on March 8, 1911 in just four countries, Austria, Denmark, Germany and […]
A way forward for DACA
Federal lawmakers left Washington, D.C., last Thursday for a 10-day recess without extending or making permanent the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, set to expire March 5. It means the future is uncertain for some 690,000 young people currently protected from deportation. Congress has known for over five months that the program for […]
Editorial: Dead children
Nine-year-old Dominic Young Jr. skated and played video games for the last time Saturday afternoon, Jan. 20. Hours later, he was dead — not from a terminal disease or deadly traffic accident, but at the hands of ruthless, reckless strangers. The Grandview third grader was fatally shot on his way home from a day of […]
Editorial: Pass a stand-alone spending bill
The federal government’s open again. Unlike two weekends ago, visitors can once again tour the Harry S. Truman Presidential Library and Museum in Independence or the National Archives-Kansas City. When Congress failed to approve a stopgap spending measure on Jan. 19, the federal government officially shut down at 12:01 a.m. on Jan. 20. Three days […]
Legal cannabis isn’t risk-free
On Jan. 19, 18 days after it became legal to sell recreational cannabis in California, stores in Los Angeles started selling recreational marijuana to anyone over the age of 21 with an ID. As has been expected, much has been debated about the legalization of recreational cannabis in California – how far stores should be […]
New year, new goals, new triumphs
Now that the gifts have all been delivered and opened, our attention naturally shifts to New Year’s celebrations and our ever-present, persistent desire for self-improvement. Nearly half of us make New Year’s resolutions, studies suggest. But despite the strength of our intentions, willpower, like muscle, has biological limitations. It’s one of several reasons why fewer […]
Safely, in the holiday spirit
Sumptuously festooned Christmas trees bedeck homes, businesses and public spaces. Buildings everywhere are illuminated and bejeweled. Kitchens give off mouthwatering fragrances. Ubiquitous carols tempt listeners to accompany the festive melodies. Menorahs have been lighted daily, starting on the evening of Dec. 12 and ending on Dec. 20 in residences celebrating the Jewish festival of Hanukkah. […]