Opinion

To the Editor: Suicide is one of the most challenging societal issues of our time, claiming more lives than war, murder and natural disasters combined. Per the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), suicide rates increased approximately 36% between 2000 and 2021. Suicide was...

Every fine time is far more enjoyable if first one experiences some minor hardships along the way. As I write I am sitting on a second-floor balcony at the Hotel Lake Maggiori in Locarno, Ticino, Switzerland. It is 10 minutes after four in the...

I made an honest effort at reciting words I learned years ago only to find that I had left out three sections, just a few words, but those omissions were as integral and important as any others. I am talking about the preamble to...

I’m a brat. There, I said it. I think my mother was the last person who said it to me many years ago and she wasn’t wrong. I have lived and traveled freely all my life. I have cruised back and forth at will...

Just because February is the shortest month of the year, the calendar reveals it is not without some very interesting and varied days of note. Let us look at them. From Day One we observe National Freedom Day, a day I also knew little about,...

My first car was a Renault 5 Gordini — black with red seats, never mind some rusty bits around the edges. My friend had a silver one with racing stripes; we were twinning. Sporty girls with our first rides. Babes. I had somehow paid...

“Come on, Honey, I promise you will like it. You know how you love swimming.” Her tones were soft and inviting. I had been listening to her try and get me out of the house by going to the city swimming pool. It seems that the...

As a former California State Assemblymember and Monterey County Supervisor, I am deeply concerned about the pressing issue of rising prescription drug prices and healthcare accessibility. Our state’s progress depends on the advancement and well-being of all its communities, especially those at risk. With...

It had been a while since my wife Luisa and I went on a day trip to one of the many towns or cities within California. Last week we decided to cruise south on Highway 101 over to San Luis Obispo, only this time...

I was thinking about John Dillinger the other day while watching a 1934 William Powell-Myrna Loy film by the name of “Manhattan Melodrama.” It also starred Clark Gable, but for some of us cinephiles the Powell-Loy combination is one of the best pairings in...