The June 20 ballot vote rejecting a new school building for Old Colony Regional Vocational Technical district has not affected the morale of the school community, according to Superintendent Aaron Polansky.             “They have demonstrated tremendous resilience and have remained focused on what matters most — our students and the quality of the education […] Read more »

            This week in Revolutionary War history, let’s check up on what was going on 250 years ago in the early United States. Last week, the British made landfall on Manhattan at Kips Bay, looking to split the island in two. Fierce fighting took place, and though Washington was very nearly shot off his horse, […] Read more »

            Many of us get dizzy occasionally. “Dizzy” means different things to different people. It may be weakness or lightheadedness at times. Most often, it is vertigo: a sense that the room is spinning or that you are spinning.             Historically, doctors have prescribed meclizine (brand name Antivert), a sedating antihistamine, to treat vertigo. While […] Read more »

            Of all the colors in the garden, purple may be the most majestic — and historically, the most powerful.             The color’s association with royalty and power dates back thousands of years to ancient Rome, Egypt and Persia, where purple was reserved for emperors, kings and the elite. Purple dyes were extraordinarily rare and […] Read more »

            An American ship carrying 38 men and 16 cannons faced a British privateer with 130 men and 43 guns off the coast of Spain in June 1780.             Captain Jonathan Haraden could have fled. Instead, he ordered his crew aboard the General Pickering to stand firm and fight.             Author Eric Jay Dolin used the […] Read more »

            On a sunny, cool Saturday morning at Hammond Cemetery in Mattapoisett, Dr. Barbara Shurtleff told more than 100 attendees that when she looks at the graves of her Hammond ancestors, “I don’t just see history, but family.”             Shurtleff is a descendant of one of the 20 Revolutionary War patriots honored at the September […] Read more »

            The Rochester Rainbow Coalition hosted a Community Education Presentation, “Understanding SOGIE (Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity and Expression),” at the Council on Aging Senior Center on Monday.             To a room packed with attendees, the South Coast LGBTQ+ Network’s executive director Andy Pollock, along with a local pediatrician and a mental health expert, talked through […] Read more »

            The game of Mahjong, which originated in China, is trending in the Tri-Town, as folks have found it a great way to exercise their brains and have fun. Interest in Mahjong is growing partly because the American version (“Mah Jongg”) is easier to learn and more people are playing the game on social media. […] Read more »

            This week in Revolutionary War history, let’s check in on what was going on 250 years ago in the early United States. Last week, Patriots held a field test for the world’s first attack submarine, the Turtle, all while the continuing presence of American troops in New York seemed more and more unmanageable. General […] Read more »

Ah, fall. Children go back to school, leaves turn color and it is time to think about your immunization against winter viruses.             What, if any shots should you get?             Influenza is not “just a bad cold.” Influenza lays you out with hacking cough, fever and muscle aches. While it rarely kills healthy young […] Read more »