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Sweet little hobby Create a buzz, and help distressed bees, with your own hive JANET CARSON SPECIAL TO THE DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE While some people fear bees and many worry about getting stung, these little insects more than redeem themselves as the primary pollinators of plants worldwide. Today is National Honeybee Appreciation Day — well deserved because it’s estimated that more than 80 percent of flowering plants and almost a third of human food crops need bees as pollinators. Reports have been claiming the loss of bee populations is due to mites, pesticides and human activities. Many species of pollinators, including bees,...

In the summer of 2002, a week of heavy rains in Central Texas caused Canyon Lake -- the reservoir of the Canyon Dam -- to flood over its spillway and down the Guadalupe River Valley in a planned diversion to save the dam from catastrophic failure. The flood, which continued for six weeks, stripped the valley of mesquite, oak trees, and soil; destroyed a bridge; and plucked meter-wide boulders from the ground. And, in a remarkable demonstration of the power of raging waters, the flood excavated a 2.2-kilometer-long, 7-meter-deep canyon in the bedrock.

Five performing acts will be inducted into the the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame tomorrow at a ceremony at New York’s Waldorf Astoria hotel (Fuse TV, 8:30 p.m.). One rocked insanely hard: punk pioneers the Stooges. Two rocked more subtly, but left their mark: British Invasion band the Hollies and arty Genesis. Jimmy Cliff didn’t rock at all: He sang reggae, but the Hall of Fame has never had a problem stretching its boundaries. Which explains its otherwise mind-boggling embrace of ABBA. Meanwhile, musicians and bands who meet the Hall of Fame’s eligibility criteria (at least 25 years elapsed...

Okay, okay... I know this is late for The Birthday, but I just received it.  I checked snopes and they don't seem to have it yet.  The e-mail came from a woman whose brother went to high school with Bum at French High School (Beaumont, Tx), so I'm thinking he really wrote it.  It sure sounds like him, anyway.  Does anyone know him personally so we can verify? HAPPY BIRTHDAY, TEXAS -- FROM BUM PHILLIPS  Being Texan by Bum PhillipsDear Friends,   Last year, I wrote a small piece about what it means to me to be a Texan. My...