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6 ways to help businesses in your community thrive Small business owners faced the challenges of the past couple of years head-on. Nearly all re-evaluated their operations to accommodate new ways of doing business amid changing safety standards and local protocols, and many plan to make these changes permanent. Choose to Shop Local and Small Small businesses are ingrained in many local communities. When you choose to purchase from a small business, you’re directly supporting neighbors, friends and the people in your community. This support isn’t taken for granted by entrepreneurs; small business owners noted the importance of community support amid the pandemic. Also consider leaving a generous tip when you receive exceptional service – it can make a big difference for small business staff. Gift Local Keep the impact that your support could have on local community businesses in mind when shopping for gifts, whether they’re for loved ones near or far. For locals, a gift card to a nearby eatery or business such as a spa, salon or recreation center makes for a welcome gift that keeps your money local. When gifting those who live farther away, you can still benefit small businesses in your community by purchasing…

George Freeth (1883-1919) created the foundation of California beach culture by pioneering its two major activities: surfing and lifeguarding. His Native Hawaiian heritage and upbringing made him more progressive than most in the Progressive Era. At a time when women were not encouraged to compete seriously in sporting events, George Freeth taught them how to swim, row, dive, and surf. He entered them in state and regional tournaments even though their accomplishments were not officially recognized because the Amateur Athletic Union didn’t sanction women’s events until 1914. Freeth’s sense of beach culture always included women. He trained them hard and promoted their achievements. Although Freeth taught writer Jack London how to surf at Waikīkī in the summer of 1907, his work with women in many ways represents a counter-narrative to London’s hypermasculine stories of mastery and dominance in the surf. With some exceptions, Freeth’s egalitarian sense of wave riding — traditionally practiced by both sexes in Hawai‘I — was not the path that California surfers chose to follow in the decades after Freeth’s death. But it could have been. Freeth started coaching women soon after arriving in Venice in 1907. On Labor Day, 1908, two young swimmers known as the…

As temperatures drop, the risk of illness – including cold and flu – rises. It can be easy to mistake the flu for a common cold since many of the symptoms are the same, but muscle aches, cough, fever, headaches and sore throat are some of the more common signs you may be suffering from the flu, which tends to come on quicker than a cold. In fact, a random, double-opt-in OnePoll survey of 2,005 Americans commissioned by Mucinex found sore throat pain to be one of the top three most debilitating symptoms along with fever and migraine. While there’s no way to ensure you and your family members won’t get sick, there are steps you can take to reduce the chances. Get a Flu Shot The flu spreads differently than colds and can be transmitted before symptoms even arise. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends all people older than 6 months of age get the influenza vaccine, or flu shot, annually to help protect against the strains of flu expected to be the most common during the current flu season. The injection, which does not contain a live virus, goes into the arm muscle to generate antibodies…