Our Columns

Given the national despair over election ugliness and the ever-worsening pandemic, I’ve tried to steer clear of both topics recently.

A few months ago, I wrote two columns regaling my readers with stories about how my older son, Rory, managed to terrorize me repeatedly by re-enacting scenes from horror movies he’d been allowed to watch at his father’s.

What is it with men, anyway? No, don’t even try to answer that.

Alas, April, the mild-mannered month that typically heralds the coming of spring — and sparkles like its designated diamond birthstone with a pile of precious celebrations — is now on lock-down. These fun events that highlight fertility and rebirth, freedom, the national pastime, pranks and humor, and literary and planetary pursuits will all have to be rejiggered this year.

It’s time to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day on March 17 with some scrumptious breakfast dishes and drinks inspired by the Emerald Isle.

More and more of us are turning to plant-based diets, whether for health reasons or environmentally-conscious ones. So the hunt is on for protein sources that don’t bleed, yet are satisfying, hearty, tasty and versatile. I broke down last week, and tried a batch of “cheat meat.”

While most coronaviruses cause common cold, three have become more dangerous, crossing species to people: the first was SARS CoV in 2003 and the latest to “make the jump” — SARS-CoV-2, the virus which causes “Coronavirus Disease 2019” or COVID-19. According to former FDA Commissioner Dr. Scott Gottlieb, there was a large, late-season spike in U.S. “flu-like” illness, raising the unsettling possibility that the novel corona virus may have been here earlier than initially thought.

FRONTLINE CANCER: Oncology is going through an immense transformation, like the Internet in the early 1990s, and academia-industry partnerships are playing an increasingly critical role in this revolution.

FRONTLINE CANCER: Some of you may recall what I hope was a heartwarming holiday column about one family, a doctor and their unified hope for a new beginning (in the Dec. 26, 2018 La Jolla Light, “Frontline Cancer : The season for family, health, hope and new beginnings” at lajollalight.com/scott-lippman/cm-ljl-frontline-cancer-jan3-2019-20190102-story.html) I’d like to update you on their journey and share an amazing story of an uncommon partnership in rare disease that has accelerated strategic alliances and rare cancer research, specifically SDH-deficient Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumor (GIST) research, all in the last three years.

The La Jolla Recreation Center may be closed due to coronavirus-related restrictions, but a new family of residents is keeping a watchful eye on the place at night.

Spectators who approach the animals can disrupt their normal behavior and possibly separate mothers and pups, and the animals may charge or bite people if they feel threatened, experts say.

NATURAL LA JOLLA: Last week, I spotted a little furry creature poking out of its burrow in the middle of a manicured lawn — it was a pocket gopher!