Doris O'Brien is a retired college Speech teacher and banker. She has published two books of humor (Up or Down With Women's Liberation and Humor Me a Little) and for many years contributed light verse to the Pepper 'n Salt column of the Wall Street Journal. She is an avid writer of letters to the editors.
Doris celebrated her 50th wedding anniversary in the same year she welcomed her first grandchild. She now lives in Pasadena with a great view of the San Gabriel mountains — and the annual Tournament of Roses Parade.
She can be reached by e-mail: witsendob at (@) gmail.com
Crosswalks and Pedestrian Safety: What You Need to Know From Recent Research
In recent months, news organizations have covered crosswalk construction or changes to existing crosswalks, including new, decorative pavers in Slidell, Louisiana, proposed infrastructure changes aimed at improving pedestrian safety in Phoenix, and decorative, themed crosswalks, such as rainbow crosswalks painted in towns across the country for Pride month. Such stories call attention to the dangers of pedestrians and vehicles sharing roadways -- and the rising rate of pedestrian deaths nationwide. The Governors Highway Safety Association estimates at least 7,508 pedestrians were killed as a result of crashes on U.S. roadways in 2022. more »
Women's Health and Aging Studies Available Online; Inform Yourself and Others Concerned About Your Health
A person's health is influenced throughout their lifespan by many factors. Some of the most important factors include sex, gender, racial ethnicity, culture, environment, and socioeconomic status. Researchers are discovering the critical roles that sex (being male or female) and gender identity (including social and cultural factors) play in health, wellness, and disease progression. The discoveries being made through the study of women's health and sex differences are key to advancements in personalized medicine for both sexes. more »
Ferida Wolff's Backyard Discovers A Museum Tree
Ferida Wolff Writes: "Sometimes trees reach their life span and start losing their leaves, eventually remaining as just a trunk with bare branches. Most of the time they will be chopped by the township and no one will know that they had once been providing beauty and shade and nesting places for local birds. So it was quite the surprise when I came upon the trunk of a dead tree that was artfully transformed!" more »
Berkeley Talks: Jessica Morse On How We Can Live With Fire
“And so, I dedicated then my time and energy, as well as many of you have, too, trying to solve and answer that question... I joined the Newsom administration. The governor on day one, he declared an emergency on these fires so that we could start investing in the prevention work." Jessica Morse, the deputy secretary for forest and wildland resilience at the California Natural Resources Agency, discusses the current wildfire crisis in California and how we got here, strategies the state is implementing and lessons they’ve learned in order to decrease catastrophic wildfires and create more resilient forests. more »
