Given that Medicare can seem like a confusing web of options, it’s no wonder that many consumers rely on licensed professionals for help. In fact, according to a recent study, nearly 20 percent of Medicare seniors worked with a licensed professional last year.

Mayor Marilyn Ezzy Ashcraft, center, facing camera, hosted a first-ever event for Alameda: a walking town hall meeting last Sunday in Jean Sweeney Park.

I recently read two books that heightened my awareness of a theme that is important to me. The two books, Uneducated and A Woman is Not a Man, told stories of women who came from backgrounds that encouraged them to not move on in their lives.

Student leaders at Alameda Science and Techonology Institute (ASTI) held a schoolwide assembly last month to help their peers learn that mental health issues are normal, that talking about them is helpful and that resources are available to discuss them.

Many people think enrolling in Medicare is a once-in-a-lifetime event that’s timed with retirement. But such a set-it-and-forget-it attitude about health care coverage options can be a costly mistake.

Cancer is like a weed. It can take more than 10 years for the first symptoms to sprout up. With early detection, patients have many more options to take advantage of advances in treatments. 

Local clinic looks to reduce insurance costs by $100,000

It continues to surprise me how many parents do not teach their children to participate in responsibilities around the house. We set a model for how our children will behave. As they mature, we also educate them about roles we play in our families. 

Alameda resident Julie Lyons lives an active lifestyle. She runs her own acupuncture business, main-tains an active workout schedule and stays up to date with friends and family. Lyons enjoys a lifestyle similar to any other Alamedan, but she also has multiple sclerosis (MS). 

Healthy body starts with healthy mind