Santa arrived at the Lyle Activity Center to a street lined with expectant children ready to see the Jolly Old Man in the big red suit, who br…

DEAR DOCTOR K: For 20 years, I’ve substituted artificial sweeteners for sugar in my coffee, and switched to diet soft drinks to avoid obesity and the diseases that overweight people are prone to, like Type 2 diabetes. Now I hear that new research says that’s a bad idea. What is going on? DEAR READER: Here’s what’s not confusing: More than a modest amount of sugar each day is not good for you. Nothing’s changed there.

This week volunteers at Adopt A Dog have selected Sugar as the program’s adoptable pet of the week. They describe her as follows:

One of the most frequent questions parents have about their children’s diets is whether they should serve dessert after meals.