Guest Column | How Farmworkers Outlawed ‘El Cortito’ 50 Years Ago
For decades in the Salinas Valley, the short-handle hoe, known as “El Cortito,” was used for weeding and thinning rows of crops that kept farmworkers stooped over for long hours each day. Workers were only able to stand and stretch when they reached the...
Window on the World Column | Sister Sheryl
Our first meeting was an interesting one. I had been hired as her boss at the local paper. She took me to see one of her oldest friends and clients. I was told by the customer, in no uncertain terms, that if I took...
Funny Papers Again Column | A New, Bright Street and an Old, Dark Ballet
If I were to offer up a descriptive sentence regarding the city’s newly upgraded main thoroughfare, it would be peppered with adjectives leading to superlatives and culminating with comparatives; i.e. “Like the revitalization seen in Old Town in Salinas, the City of King is...
Guest Column | Monterey County Free Libraries’ 5 Things to Celebrate in March 2026
March is when spring officially begins with the Vernal Equinox on March 20 and we spring forward with our clocks on March 8.
1. At Monterey County Free Libraries, we highlight Women’s History Month in March and celebrate women authors with our Tuesday author posts...
Worthy to Print Column | Another Day in Paradise
How was your week? Mine was pretty great. Shoot, it should have been. After all, I was turning 80, and if you can’t have a good time on your 80th birthday, when are you going to have fun?
Like most good things that happen to...
Letter to the Editor | Privileged to Have Worked for Late King City Attorney
To the Editor:
I recently lost my employer of 52 years, Attorney Peter Anderson, when he unexpectedly passed away after heart surgery. He was one of the hardest working, kindest persons I have ever known.
He would always stop what he was doing to answer your...
Window on the World Column | Traveling With a Cold
I couldn’t help it, I had to cough. My throat became the most horrendous tickle fest. It was coming; everyone was looking at me. Noooo! Then, once I started, I couldn’t stop. The lady near me swung around in her chair with her latte...
Worthy to Print Column | Another Year Older
Well, I made it another year. Last Sunday was my birthday. Yeah, I made it another year. I am not a fan of celebrations about birthdays, at least at my age, but truly I love the day for the way folks say nice things...
Letters to the Editor | Published Nov. 20, 2019
Editor's Note: We welcome Letters to the Editor of local and general interest to our readers. Letters should be typed and include the writer’s first and last name, home address and phone number for verification. No anonymous letters will be printed. Letters may be edited...





















