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This weekend treat yourself to brunch at one of the top cafes in Los Angeles. These cafes have each been awarded 4.5 stars (out of 5) and offer delicious food. We've put this list together for you and why you should eat there.

**This is a work of nonfiction based on actual events that I have experienced firsthand; used with permission. I was saddened when I awakened to the news that Emilio Delgado, a longtime cast member of Sesame Street, had died at the age of 81. Delgado played fix-it shop owner Luis Rodriguez on the show for 45 years.

It's rare to experience two power outages within two weeks, but that's exactly what recently in Holyoke. Caused by a period of high demand secondary to extremely cold weather, Holyoke Gas and Electric issued the following statement:

"We must plunge into experience and then reflect on the meaning of it. All reflection and no plunging drives us mad; all plunging and no reflection, and we are brutes." - Goethe.

There’s nothing like fresh herbs from the garden to make your meals taste better and give them that added flavorful oomph. But you don’t have to wait for warmer weather to have fresh herbs all year round. You don’t need soil, and you don’t need lots of space. All you really need to grow herbs hydroponically is water, a few glass containers, and light.

There is a Christmas axiom made evident every holiday season: The closer we get to Christmas Day, the fewer Christmas trees we will find for sale. This doesn’t bode well for the procrastinators and time-challenged among us.

A few days ago, a Holyoke neighbor took advantage of the spring-like weather and brought her two dogs on a hike to Mt. Tom, mostly around the Bray Lake area. When she arrived home, she noticed one dog acting strangely. The usually lively and affectionate hound seemed off-balance. Her legs swayed. She wouldn’t sit or lay down. She dribbled urine. And her eyes would close as if tired.

The Baker-Polito administration has purchased 2.1 million OTC rapid-antigen COVID-19 test kits that will be delivered to 102 Massachusetts towns this week. Holyoke, as well as Amherst, Northampton, Huntington, South Hadley, Springfield, and Ware, are among the 102 municipalities the administration has targeted as being among those Massachusetts towns with the highest percentage of families living at or below the poverty level. These towns account for almost 3.7 million Massachusetts residents.