Leanne Italie, Author at Daily Hampshire Gazette

This photo shows Charles Graves dressed as Santa Claus in Austin, Texas on on Sept. 3, 2022. Graves is a rare Deaf Santa in his first year donning the red suit as a professional. (Michael J. Samaripa via AP)

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Santa’s back in town, feeling jollier

by Leanne Italie Associated PressNovember 28, 2022

NEW YORK — Don’t look for plastic partitions or faraway benches when visiting Santa Claus this year. The jolly old elf is back, pre-pandemic style, and he’s got some pressing issues on his mind.Santa booker HireSanta.com has logged a 30% increase in…

Gas lamps illuminate St. Louis’ Gaslight Square on April 2, 1962. “Gaslighting” is Merriam-Webster’s word of 2022.

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‘Gaslighting’ is Merriam-Webster’s word of the year

by Leanne Italie Associated PressNovember 28, 2022

Caitlin Koska, left, and Michael White appear with their 14-year-old rescue dog, Luna, at their wedding on May 1, 2021, in St. Joseph, Mich. The couple adopted their pet after her owner died through Tyson’s Place Animal Rescue, a specialized organization focused on helping the terminally ill and seniors headed to residential care. (Cat Carty Buswell via AP)

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Special rescues help ailing owners find pets’ next home

by Leanne Italie Associated PressJanuary 11, 2022

Corritta Lewis, center, and her wife Mea pose with their son Caleb, 2, in Oceanside, Calif. For some planning to stay home for Christmas, giving up the hassle and family drama of holiday travel isn't such a bad deal in the end.

No drama corona-Christmas has some secretly jumping for joy

by Leanne Italie Associated PressDecember 11, 2020

FILE - Tray Vann wears a mask made by his bride, after their marriage service in Anaheim, Calif., on May 26, 2020. Now that weddings have slowly cranked up under a patchwork of ever-shifting restrictions, horror stories from vendors are rolling in. Many are desperate to work after the coronavirus put an abrupt end to their incomes and feel compelled to put on their masks, grab their cameras and hope for the best.(AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File)

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Vendors report horrors at pandemic weddings

by Leanne Italie Associated PressAugust 4, 2020

FILE - Steam rises as a hair stylist works on a model prior to a show displaying the Tom Ford collection during Fashion Week on Feb. 6, 2019, in New York. People of color in the industry trace bias and discrimination in predominantly white salons to the sidelining of formal education focused on Black hair. Horror stories are not uncommon, from outright refusal of service to botched treatments and cuts by stylists who don't know what they're doing. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez, File)

Cosmetology students, hairstylists describe a race divide

by Leanne Italie Associated PressAugust 4, 2020

In this June 3, 2020, file photo, demonstrators gather at a rally to protest and demand an end to institutional racism and police brutality, in Portland, Maine. As a new generation steps up, activists and historians believe there’s important work for white people: Listening to black voices and following rather than leading, for one, and the deep introspection it takes to confront unconscious bias and the perks of privilege that come just from being white.

Dear white people: Being an ally isn’t always what you think

by Deepti Hajela Associated Press, and Leanne Italie Associated PressJune 16, 2020

U.S. Rep. Ayanna Pressley is seen in an image from a video, left, in which she announced having alopecia. The freshman Massachusetts Democrat is seen at right on Nov. 14, 2018, after posing with other members of the freshman class of Congress on Capitol Hill in Washington.

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Rep. Ayanna Pressley goes public with alopecia

by Leanne Italie Associated PressJanuary 16, 2020

FILE - This April 30, 2018 file photo shows a woman knitting in Silverdale Wash. A free, 8-million strong social network for knitters, crocheters and others in the fiber arts has banned any talk of President Donald Trump and his administration. The new policy on Ravelry.com was posted Sunday, June 23, 2019. The post says the site took the action because it can’t provide a space “inclusive of all and also allow support for open white supremacy.” (Larry Steagall/Kitsap Sun via AP, File)

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Knitters’ network bans Trump support on its website

by Leanne Italie Associated PressJune 24, 2019

In this Dec. 12, 2018, photo, "justice" is displayed in a Merriam-Webster dictionary in New York. Merriam-Webster has chosen "justice" as its 2018 word of the year, driven by the churning news cycle and President Trump's Twitter feed.

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Top of mind: ‘Justice’ is Merriam-Webster’s word of the year

by Leanne Italie Associated PressDecember 17, 2018