Opinion

To the Editor: South Monterey County has seen tremendous growth over the past few years. There are new housing developments in every city. There is an increase in shopping opportunities and all of this is good.  But one area has not kept up with the growth....

As the once-owner of Salinas Valley Ford Truck Center in Salinas, I find myself grappling with a profound sense of loss and frustration. For more than three decades, our family business provided excellent service to the local community and government agencies. Then, in the blink of...

It was almost exactly one o’clock in the afternoon on the first day of April when the window blinds in the studio began to move and that was the first indication that the Valley winds have once again arrived for their annual blow. It...

I had eggs benedict with my daughter on my birthday on Park Row. That was a treat not for just the company, Jenny lives in Florida so we don’t see each other near enough, but also because of the food, which was delicious, and...

Us old gals try to be cheery; we really do. Friends since aged 15 and we are always trying to see the world with a half-full glass and getting the others to do the same. And so went the recent conversation about the turn...

Last evening I walked out to my mailbox to check and see if I had any mail. I didn’t, but something better was given to me. My neighbor was playing some music while he played with his children. It was really cool listening to...

I am a reader. I would not venture to estimate how many books I have read since I was a lad in Greenfield, but I dare say it is in the thousands. Since July 28, I have read five books, two on the long...

Regrets? I’ve had a few. Old blue eyes, Frank Sinatra, sure knew how to say it better than me, but then he got to live his life “My Way.” I have done a lot of things in my life. I got to thinking about...

I was born on the East Coast of England and many of my formative years were spent by, in and on the North Sea. To this day I still feel the call of the water. It’s so primal. Not just that water, all bodies...

It has been a most interesting year; what an understatement. I have never felt so fortunate and yet so frustrated. I’ve found skills this year I didn’t think I had. I have dug deep for patience I never believed I possessed. Four years ago,...