Opinion

Nearly 1 in 5 Americans (an estimated 57 million people) live in rural communities throughout our vast country. And while access to healthcare services is critical to everyone, those living in rural areas face a variety of barriers that can adversely affect their overall...

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...

Something just crept up inside my tiny brain and said, “Oh, you have vacation coming up next month with a lot of moving parts. Maybe you should check on some of those pieces?” I do listen these days when the female intuition kicks in,...

I woke up this morning and I tripped over my camera gear. I’m sure God will forgive me for the words I muttered out loud. Lorraine doesn’t like clutter, but sometimes we leave things in the wrong place. I keep telling myself I’m going...

Downtown Soledad on a Saturday can be a bustling little place. People’s comings and goings to the hardware store, the barber or the pharmacy. Getting an ice cream or some Mexican food for the family. Normal life is slowly returning. I had a mission...

The definition of the word “volunteer,” according to the Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary, is a person who does a job without being paid for it. That’s pretty straightforward, but in my opinion it falls a bit short of the mark; if one takes the...

Wow! Has it been a week already? Do you find that it seems like time is rushing by while we wonder if we should wear a mask to go to buy groceries? What have we learned in these crazy times? I mean, we knew...

I don’t know the extremes to which one can go to be called a pacifist, so I don’t label myself one but do join the majority that eschews violence. I don’t like witnessing people fighting in anger, and I’m sure I’m not alone in...

As a rural healthcare system here in South Monterey County, it is clear that our long-term strength depends on the next generation who will one day walk our halls as doctors, nurses, technologists, engineers and healthcare leaders. With this in mind, this year, Mee Memorial...

I was the co-founder of South County Animal Rescue (SCAR) back in January of 2016. At the time we were filling a large hole in animal rescue services in our area, and, since then, we have done over seven years of incredible work. Sadly, there...