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Early harvests and nighttime picking

CORTE FRANCA, Italy — Workers fan out before dawn to clip clusters of grapes destined to be transformed into Italy’s prized Franciacorta sparkling wine a full 10 days earlier than anticipated, as scorching temperatures brought the fruit to maturation earlier than ever. Climate change is ...

Welcoming grandchild No. 16 and recovering after a bit of a tumble

First of all, I will share the exciting news! Our 16th grandchild was born July 29. Jayden Jax was born to daughter Lovina and Daniel weighing 6 pounds, 5 ounces and measuring 19 inches long. He was born three weeks early due to Lovina having preeclampsia. He had a short stay in NICU but mother and baby are now both home and doing as well as can be expected. He joins sister Brooklyn, 11 months. She is not too happy to have to share her daddy and mommy with a brother. She’s still a baby herself so she needs extra love as she transitions into having a sibling. Daughter Verena kept her ...

DEAR ANNIE: Couple indecisive over interfaith marriage

DEAR ANNIE: I am Jewish and have been dating a wonderful Catholic man for almost two years. We love each other and have started talking seriously about marriage. Until recently, our different religions did not seem like a problem. We respected each other’s traditions, celebrated holidays with both families and never pressured one another to change. Now that marriage and children are becoming real possibilities, the differences feel much bigger. I want to raise my future children Jewish and give them the same traditions and sense of identity that shaped me. My boyfriend wants them ...

HINTS FROM HELOISE: Take action to avoid any loud noises

DEAR HELOISE: As I’ve gotten older, I’ve become more concerned about preserving my hearing. The only loud noise in my life is my blow dryer, so when I need to use it, I pop in a couple of foam earplugs to help block out the noise. — Jeannette B., in Newbury Park, California Jeannette, you’re smart to use earplugs to protect your hearing. Many of us are damaging our ears with loud noises at work or at concerts or by wearing various devices in or on our ears. The damage may not show up right away, but it’ll show up in time. — Heloise DEAR HELOISE: I was reading about ...

TO YOUR GOOD HEALTH: Errors in treatment of man with chest pain

DEAR DR. ROACH: I am 90 years old and was awakened early in the morning with an extreme heaviness in my chest. I have a concierge physician, and they told me that if I was able to drive, I should come right over to the office, where I had my blood pressure taken, as well as an electrocardiogram (EKG) and blood work done. I did this, and I was then told to go home and wait to find out if I’d had a heart attack. As I was leaving the office, the doctor gave me a nitroglycerin tablet to put under my tongue, and I passed out. (I had never fainted before in my life.) When I came to, I ...