Lifestyles

Treating loss of taste, smell

DEAR DR. ROACH: My 82-year-old husband is unable to smell or taste. This has been the case since 2024, when he was hit by a car while out for a walk. He sustained a compression fracture to his spine. While he wasn’t knocked out, he did get thrown backward and sustained some trauma to his head. Since then, he’s had no sense of smell or taste. I see him drifting further and further into depression, and I believe it’s primarily because he no longer has the pleasure that is associated with taste. He has seen our general physician and an ear, nose and throat doctor. He’s been given ...

Bridge by Steve Becker

When you’re playing a seemingly hopeless contract, you can sometimes accomplish your mission by enlisting the aid of the enemy. For example, take this deal where South bid and made six spades. This overly ambitious undertaking was entirely South’s fault. His jump-shift to two spades on ...

Program key fobs yourself

DEAR HELOISE: A suggestion was made to have your car key fob reprogrammed by a mechanic to only unlock the driver’s door so that it’s safer when refueling at a gas station. A mechanic isn’t necessary. The doors are programmed through the car itself in the vehicle’s utility menu. Each make of car has different ways of resetting the unlocked doors or other doors’ functions. The owner’s manual can walk you through it, or you can watch a video online, as there are many short videos on reprogramming car functions. — James J.M., Retired United States Army Veteran DEAR ...

TV Wednesday 9/23/2026

Stay healthy this fall

YOUNGSTOWN — As families settle into fall routines, calendars can quickly fill with school, sports, work and other commitments. Mercy Health physicians are encouraging patients to make their health part of that seasonal reset by scheduling preventive screenings, annual wellness visits and ...

Mercy Health launches community health plan

Mercy Health-Youngstown has launched its Community Health Improvement Plan, a three-year roadmap designed to address the health priorities identified by residents, community organizations and public health leaders across the region. Developed through the months-long Community Health Needs Assessment process, the plan reflects feedback from community members and local stakeholders, combined with health data and community trends, to identify the issues having the greatest impact on health and well-being throughout the region. Community surveys, key informant interviews, focus groups ...