Opinion

To the Editor: Some of our public media and elected officials are bashing our Fourth of July celebrations; they are claiming our patriotism is racist. These poor souls seem to love denigrating America and yet, at the same time, also love the freedom that allows...

To the Editor: On Oct. 18, I joined millions of people across the country who stood, marched and held signs to show our love for democracy. My sign simply read “NO KINGS.” Others made me laugh — like “Aging Hippies Against Trump” — but one sign has...

We worked together at the Salinas newspaper. When I say, “worked together,” she was on the computer side of things and I worked in advertising and management; plus, it was a huge building. In other words, she fixed what I broke. We didn’t know each other really,...

Election Day 2024 is in 19 days and I have already marked my ballot, sealed it in the postage paid envelope and have it setting here atop my little work table. Today, I will deposit it in the ballot box located at the south...

Saturday afternoon around 4:30 I was 410 words into my column for this week when my cell phone rang. The choice to interrupt a train of thought while writing usually falls to the “let it ring and go to voicemail” protocol, but in this...

It all started about three weeks ago with a stiffening of the neck that while a minor bother for a few days to within a few hours the pain became severe enough that I could not swivel my head side-to-side more than a few...

People are digging out maps and figuring out where this place is — Ukraine. Who are these people? They live so far away from us; aren’t we glad we are not them! They seem like a fiercely loyal people — they love their animals...

Friends of mine in England had so been looking forward to their promised Christmas at the tail end of these long and tiresome months. After a long, brutal year of Covid-cancellations, they had been guaranteed a slice of merriment and celebration over Christmas. A...

I stopped by a section of land the other day and let my mind’s eye roll back over the years to a time when that corner piece was a half a block down the alley from where my family lived for the last nine...

Whatever you may think about having a day dedicated to our thankfulness, you have to admit that California, with all the problems we all face this year, will have plenty of places to say “thank you” for the huge number of volunteers that want...