Opinion

With the advent of 24-hour news coverage by numerous networks, we now have a multitude of current events coverage; coverage that invariably comes with opinion-fueled rhetoric offered up by everyone from professional pundits to amateur analysists and simpering sycophants to determined detractors. And with...

In 1986 I worked for California’s Employment Development Department, where I processed amnesty seekers under President Ronald Reagan’s landmark immigration reform law called Immigration and Control Act (IRCA). The Watsonville office reviewed documents proving that applicants had worked in the local farming economy for...

It is our family custom, after the passing of a loved one, that we gather together and celebrate the life of that person. Whether it be in church or not, this ceremony of sorts provides closure, for want of a better word. The breaking...

If you happen to be at the Soledad Pool (or, more correctly the Soledad-Mission Recreation District) at about 6 a.m., you will see Coach Tessa and her student athletes. Mostly I catch sight of them when I am racing in for water aerobics at...

What a week in the Salinas Valley! First, I want to mention the service for Francis Rubbo held last week at Eden Valley in Soledad. I bring this up first as it was a very sweet and solemn ceremony. As Commander of the American...

I’ve never got hung up on Fathers, Mothers, Sisters, Brothers … if we grew up together, then you are mine, and sometimes you are mine if we didn’t. Most of my family are bits and pieces from all over the place and I think...

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...

It was finally Show Time, and I was so excited. Not only was I doing a book signing with my oldest friend in my hometown on the East Coast of England, but the book was also based on our childhoods growing up in this...

I haven’t tried to hide the fact that I have no admiration for our present President. I could just sit here and write down all the ways he has let us down as a nation. However, I’m not going to do that today because...

Every October, pink ribbons remind us to raise awareness about breast cancer. Awareness matters — but action is what saves lives. Breast cancer is among the most common cancers diagnosed in women across the United States. The good news is that when caught early, it...