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Skywatch: The parade of stars

Published Fri, 07 Feb 2025 12:59:10 GMT

Everyone knows that the sun is the brightest star in the sky, but do you know what the second-brightest is? If you said Polaris, you’re wrong, but don’t feel bad because that’s what many people think. Polaris is actually 40th. The second-brightest star seen from Earth is Sirius, a star in the winter constellation Canis Major, the Big Dog. Even though Polaris, otherwise known as the North Star, is only the 40th-brightest star, it’s a very important one.The best way to find Polaris is to use the Big Dipper. The Dipper is very high in the northern sky this time of year, nearly upside down. Draw a line in your mind’s eye between the stars Merek and Dubhe on the side of the pot section opposite the Big Dipper’s handle. Continue that imaginary line downward from Dubhe, and it will come very close to pointing at Polaris. If you make a fist at arm’s length, three fist-widths will get you to Polaris. Try it. It really works!(Mike Lynch)Polaris is wha...

Stillwater High School senior had same paraprofessional for 13 years

Published Fri, 07 Feb 2025 12:59:10 GMT

Emily Kargel met Cindy Williams-McClung on her first day of kindergarten at Lake Elmo Elementary School in the fall of 2010.Emily loved horses and art projects and music; she had long hair. Williams-McClung, the educational paraprofessional assigned to help Emily navigate school, loved horses and art projects and music; she had long hair.The two were destined to become best friends, as Williams-McClung tells it.Thirteen years later, the pair are still together. On Friday, they’ll don cap and gown as Emily graduates from Stillwater Area High School.They are believed to be the only student/paraprofessional duo who have been together for all 13 school years in the Stillwater district.As soon as you meet them, it’s clear the two share a special bond. “We’re girlfriends, besties,” Williams-McClung said. “I’m one of her posse.”‘Believe in them, then they believe in you’During teacher Jason Rohde’s Clay & Pottery class on Wednesday morning, the two worked together to make a...

Letters: Expensive biking visions? How about just bright paint and prompt repairs?

Published Fri, 07 Feb 2025 12:59:10 GMT

Instead of grandiosity, two simple actionsAs a longtime St. Paul bike rider, I am guessing that a majority of bikers would agree that the grandiose and expensive visions we read about are less important to us than two simple actions, no different from the simple actions needed to maintain our streetsfor motor vehicles.1. Prompt surface repair fall and spring.We don’t like potholes and rough pavement any better than motorists. If you want to win people over to biking, and not have them weaving back and forth to find a smooth pathway, just maintain the surface! (Of course, prompt repair of potholes in the driving lanes is also necessary to keep drivers from swerving over into the bike lanes.)2. Bright clear marking renewed annually.That line means a lot to us, and if it’s brightly visible, it’s more likely to keep motorists alert to our safety. An example of negligence by the city is the complete absence of the lane markers on both sides of Cleveland Avenue for several blocks north of...

Pamela Paul: The decade that cannot be deleted

Published Fri, 07 Feb 2025 12:59:10 GMT

It would seem impossible to forget or minimize the Cultural Revolution in China, which lasted from 1966 to 1976, resulted in an estimated 1.6 million to 2 million deaths and scarred a generation and its descendants. The movement, which under Mao Zedong’s leadership sought to purge Chinese society of all remaining non-Communist elements, upended nearly every hallowed institution and custom. Teachers and schools long held in esteem were denounced. Books were burned and banned, museums ransacked, private art collections destroyed. Intellectuals were tortured.But in China, a country where information is often suppressed and history is constantly rewritten — witness recent government censorship of COVID-19 research and the obscuring of Hong Kong’s British colonial past in new school textbooks — the memory of the Cultural Revolution risks being forgotten, sanitized and abused, to the detriment of the nation’s future.The Chinese government has never been particularly eager to preserve the ...

This week’s literary picks: Read Asian Pacific authors who have lived in Minnesota

Published Fri, 07 Feb 2025 12:59:10 GMT

It’s Asian Pacific American Heritage Month and the hard-working staff at the St. Paul Public Library compiled an interesting list of books by Asian Pacific authors who are from or have lived in Minnesota. Bring this along the next time you head for your favorite library.“Chinese-ness: The Meanings of Identity and the Nature of Belonging” by Wing Young Huie, winner of a 2019 Minnesota Book Award.“Thousand Star Hotel,” Bao Phi, confronts the silence around racism, police brutality, and invisibility of the Asian American urban poor.“Unbearable Splendor,” Sun Yung Shin, explores identity through poetic essays.“A Stranger’s Journey: Race, Identity, and Narrative Craft in Writing,” David Mura.“Life of Miracles Along the Yangtze and Mississippi,” Wang Ping, traces her journey from China to America through the stories of people who carried her along her travels.“The Late Homecomer: A Hmong Family Memoir,”  K...

Noah Feldman: Biden has no power to unilaterally raise the debt ceiling

Published Fri, 07 Feb 2025 12:59:10 GMT

If Congress fails to raise the debt limit, can President Joe Biden somehow borrow more money to save the United States from default? The short answer is no. But that hasn’t stopped a group of Senate Democrats from urging Biden to act unilaterally by invoking the Fourteenth Amendment.The stand-off between the president and Congress over the debt ceiling has revived interest in a little-known provision of the Fourteenth Amendment that says the “validity of the public debt of the United States, authorized by law … shall not be questioned.” That statement, on its face, does require the government to pay its debts. But it doesn’t allow the president to ignore the law passed by Congress that caps borrowing.The U.S. Constitution puts Congress squarely in charge of both borrowing and spending. The validity of the public debts clause doesn’t magically allow the president to violate this most basic element of the separation of powers.This isn’t the fi...

Ask Amy: Cohabiting couple struggles to unpack their “stuff”

Published Fri, 07 Feb 2025 12:59:10 GMT

Dear Amy: I’m a middle-aged man. My fiancée recently moved in with me.My family had hoarding issues for generations. Long before Marie Kondo and hoarding intervention TV came along, I was in therapy and successfully dealing with this.I’ve disposed of multiple dumpster loads of my ancestors’ stuff, in order to have room to live in my inherited home.My possessions bring me joy.I’m a design professional with a lot of experience working with clients in their homes.I understand that hoarding is an obsessive compulsive disorder, but I also see compulsive decluttering as a big problem. I’ve been inside homes that were virtually empty due to this.While visiting a friend who was downsizing I realized how anxious stuff, boxes and clutter made my fiancée. We had to end the visit early because she was so anxious!When she is stressed, she “purges” objects and sometimes buys others, only to return or donate them. Some things I treasure have “disappeared.”I make space...

Bridge: May 21, 2023

Published Fri, 07 Feb 2025 12:59:10 GMT

Some of us were in the club lounge discussing the role of memory at bridge: short-term memory to recall the cards that are played; long-term memory for the experience on which to base judgment.“I don’t see how some players remember every deal after a session,” a newer players remarked.“They’re like a major-league pitcher,” Cy the Cynic offered, “who can remember every pitch he threw after a game. It’s just what he does.”“Maybe you can remember the deals,” a senior member sighed. “At my age, memory is what reminds me of something I’ve forgottenthat I was supposed to remember.”When you have a problem in declarer play, just remembering what has happened in the bidding (and the play so far) may not be enough; helpful information may be available, but declarer must interpret the evidence.In today’s deal, North opened one heart, after which there was no stopping South short of 6NT. West led the deuce...

Word Game: May 21, 2023

Published Fri, 07 Feb 2025 12:59:10 GMT

TODAY’S WORD — PEACEFULLY (PEACEFULLY: PEES-fuh-lee: In a quiet, tranquil manner.)Average mark 43 wordsTime limit 60 minutesCan you find 57 or more words in PEACEFULLY?TODAY’S WORD — PEACEFULLY pace pale pall payee peace peaceful peal peel pelf place play playful plea puce pule pull pulley eyecup eyeful alee alley ally cafe calf call cape capful cell clay clap clef clue cull cully face fall feel fell felly flap flay flea flee fleecy flue fuel full fully lace lacy lapel leaf leafy leap yell yule yelpTo purchase the Word Game book, visit WordGameBooks.com. Order it now for just $5 while supplies last!RULES OF THE GAME:1. Words must be of four or more letters.2. Words that acquire four letters by the addition of “s,” such as “bats” or “dies,” are not allowed.3. Additional words made by adding a “d” or an “s” may not be used. For example, if “bake” is used, “baked” or “bakes” are not allowed, but “bake” and “baking” are admissible.4. Proper nouns, slang words, or...

Horoscopes May 21, 2023: Lisa Edelstein, move on to what beckons you

Published Fri, 07 Feb 2025 12:59:10 GMT

CELEBRITIES BORN ON THIS DAY: Fairuza Balk, 49; Lisa Edelstein, 57; Nick Cassavetes, 64; Judge Reinhold, 66.Happy Birthday: Stick to basics, verify facts, and offer honesty and integrity. Refuse to participate in anything that doesn’t feel right or safe to you. Approach this year as a turning point where you let go of what’s no longer applicable in your life, and move on to what beckons you. It’s time to branch out and do the things that put a smile on your face. Your numbers are 3, 11, 20, 27, 36, 41, 45.ARIES (March 21-April 19): Take on a narrative that will help you attract the help you require to get what you want. How you juggle your time and interact with others will give those around you faith in your ability to work toward a common goal. Protect your health. 4 starsTAURUS (April 20-May 20): Don’t give away too much information. Someone will try to take over or take credit for your idea. Put your energy into development and differentiate yourself from...