Opinion

For those of us who are now in our seventh decade, and those of decades more, there are certain times in history that may influence us in often-profound ways. It stands to reason, then, that any news story which gobbled up precious air time...

Back in 1980, I spent a couple hours with an American icon, a man whose music struck chords across a wide swath of the nation and at times insinuated itself into the political discussion. He came from a small, rural part of Arkansas, born...

We should go, shouldn’t we? Shouldn’t we go? Life happens when you are busy making other plans. And isn’t that always the way. My mother-in-law, who had been suffering with Parkinson’s and dementia at my sister-in-law’s house in Oregon, had taken a bad fall...

I will remember this month, this May of 2024, as one of journalistic chaos and don’t you wanna know why? Let me tell you why; and in the telling offer up a plea of “guilty with prejudice” to the charge of Unwarranted Opinion. If one...

I like cemeteries. That is not a ghoulish statement, or at least not meant to be. A cemetery is a walk through history, both recent and long ago, where the changing culture of a town, city or region is written on the headstones of...

Driving into the Correctional Training Facility at Soledad and you are reminded of how a secure institution can be. Acres of barren land, no trees, double high-wire fences, guard towers. And that’s how it should be, we know that. But head over to the...

He became quite the character of sorts, a fixture on the rather rough and tumble Nestles Road in Soledad, surrounded by rough ground and abandoned buildings. If you happened to pass by during the latter part of an afternoon, you might see him sitting...

Crossing Nevada is similar to my memory of crossing Texas. It goes on forever. And just when you think it has to end, it carries on. Acres of mining, solar panels and corrections. Electricity poles line the freeway for miles, as if there were...

There are so many “Help! My dog is missing” posts on Facebook these days, it makes you wonder if all the local dog owners just leave their gates open and hope that their pooch makes it home in time for dinner of an evening....

Well, no matter how many times I tell you that I’m not going to mention our elected representatives again, they just can’t seem to help themselves. I listen to the news and find out they are doing something really stupid again. Have you been...