Living

Cities from Seattle to St. Petersburg are banning single-use plastics like plastic straws, utensils and stirrers to limit the amount of plastic waste in the oceans.

State officials have reopened the Senate parking garage two years after repairs began and will shortly begin similar work on the House garage.

Crayola teaches students to practice sustainability and environmental stewardship in the classroom. The ColorCycle program invites K-12 schools to collect used plastic markers from any brand, including dry erase markers and highlighters, and mail them back to Crayola to be recycled.

It is almost time for one of my favorite Tallahassee fall events: Elder Care Services’ Oktoberfest. Celebrate the 20th anniversary of this annual event and enjoy unlimited beer, beer tastings, unlimited wine, unlimited German cuisine, games, entertainment and a souvenir stein.

The Capital City is host to this year’s biennial meeting of the North American Butterfly Association (NABA) being held Sunday, Sept. 16, through Wednesday, Sept. 19, with presentations, workshops and several field trips planned across the region.

On Aug. 16, 2017, Facebook introduced a new platform for users to give back on their birthdays. Here’s a look at the first year of Facebook fundraisers.

Perfect series for your reading list: “Red Rising,” written by Pierce Brown. The debut, “Red Rising,” introduces readers to the main character, Darrow, a member of the lowest-ranked caste in a color-coded society of the future. Darrow must sacrifice everything to infiltrate the Gold’s society and change the future of civilization.

Each year, 250,000 children under age 20 are diagnosed with cancer. Two-thirds of these patients will suffer chronic conditions from their treatment; and for one-quarter of these patients, the disease will prove fatal. Here are some ways you can honor their fight:

Football season is upon us. In Tallahassee, it’s the beginning of a new era for college football.

Hot dogs, a long weekend and the last few days of summer are reason enough to create a national holiday Although these things have become synonymous with Labor Day, its real meaning is far more personal for Americans.

Tallahassee will be among three pilot cities for a new statewide initiative by the Florida Medical Association’s Foundation for Healthy Floridians and the Aetna Foundation to combat the obesity epidemic gripping Florida. Only 36 percent of Floridians are at a healthy weight, and it’s reported that by 2030, over half of Florida’s population will be obese.

Most people associate bees with honey, but pollination is essential to the production of countless items you find in the produce section of your grocery store, from almonds, cherries and peaches to pears, melons and cucumbers.

Mission San Luis, one of Tallahassee’s oldest landmarks, is opening its doors for complimentary admission on Aug. 25. Be transported to the 1700s, where you’ll experience life in a community in which Apalachee Indians and Spanish settlers lived together.

“We don’t always get the happy endings we want; but that shouldn’t change what we try to make right.”

Joy Prescott, a fourth-grade math teacher at Pemayetv Emahakv Charter School in Glades County, was chosen from nearly 200,000 Florida public school teachers as the 2019 Florida Department of Education (FLDOE) Teacher of the Year.

Friday, Aug. 3, is National Watermelon Day. To pick the best watermelon for your celebration, look for a firm, symmetrical, heavy melon.

It’s that time of year again. Get your school supply shopping lists ready for the Back-to-School Sales Tax Holiday weekend Aug. 3-5. Shoppers won’t have to pay sales tax on thousands of items such as clothes, bags and supplies.

Those of us who love to “Eat Mor Chikin” were disappointed to learn Chick-fil-A is retiring its famous Cow Calendars. The annual calendars cost $8 and contained special coupons and giveaways.

U.S. Army researchers have developed algorithms to predict alertness based on sleep time and caffeine consumption. These algorithms “ … allow us to determine, at the individual level, when and how much the individual should take caffeine to achieve peak performance at the desired time, for the desired duration,” said author Jaques Reifman, director of the U.S. Department of Defense Biotechnology High Performance Computing Software Applications Institute.

On Sunday, June 25, a controlled burn in the city of Eastpoint in Franklin County roared out of control, destroying 36 homes, maybe more. In its aftermath, an estimated 200 displaced residents stayed with families, neighbors, camped out or lived out of their cars.

Neighboring counties just three hours south of Tallahassee will need an additional area code. “The 407” is running out of phone numbers, so the Public Service Commission (PSC) has approved a new area code for Central Florida – 689.

Knight Creative Communities Institute (KCCI) is ready to help Tallahassee’s 60,000+ students and other residents #ExperienceTLH, expanding a partnership with local colleges and universities.

Have you tried your hand at pickleball yet? Invented in 1965 by parents hoping to keep kids busy during the summertime, this popular racket sport combines badminton, tennis and pingpong into a fun game for all ages and skill levels. All you need is a whiffle ball, hard rackets, access to tennis nets and one to three other pickleball enthusiasts.

When I arrived on the Florida State University campus for my freshman year, I quickly learned there was a legend in our midst: senior and two-sport star athlete Charlie Ward. I was immediately impressed.

It’s confirmed: Florida’s beach towns are pretty awesome. WalletHub completed a study comparing 58 key indicators of livability across 205 coastal cities, and five Florida locales made the top 10 list of “2018’s Best Beach Towns to Live in.”

A new USDA study shows that for every dollar Americans spend on food, only 7.8 cents goes to farmers, their lowest share since 1993. Another important metric: For the first time, over half of all consumer food dollars are spent at restaurants.

On the Fourth of July, those colorful bursts of dazzling lights in the sky evoke excitement, wonder and patriotism. But, they can also cause serious injury if not handled correctly. This July Fourth, follow these firework safety tips:

Jasmine (8 years old) and Bronx (6 years old) are an adorable, bonded pair who are looking for their forever home. These two sweeties are very well behaved, walk well on a leash, ride like champs in the car and are housebroken.

Ikea’s future-living lab, Space10, and Anton & Irene developed a playful and extensive research survey called One Shared House 2030 to gather information on the future of co-living.

Scrolling through filtered feeds of perfect Instagram posts can cause anxiety. For hyper-connected millennials, the struggle is real – trying to maintain the illusion of an “Insta-perfect” personal brand, fueled by comparisons to other highly curated feeds.