Opinion

During the course of my Senate campaign, I did my best to visit communities throughout this big, beautiful state and get to know the people who have brought such drive, talent, ingenuity, and perseverance to every field of endeavor. I made a particular point...

How do you kickstart a quality healthcare system in a small agricultural town during one of the worst economic slumps in American history? Philanthropy and volunteerism, that’s how. King City opened the area’s first full-fledged hospital in 1941, with 22 beds in a single-story building...

Considered the father of modern medicine, ancient Greek physician Hippocrates (known for his “first do no harm” ethical code called the Hippocratic Oath) still influences our practices more than 25 centuries after his time. The first to regard disease as a natural, not supernatural, phenomenon,...

Boy oh boy! How many times did I say that as a youth? I was third of four boys. It seemed that my Dad always favored the older two boys in almost every area as a youth. My oldest brother would get a new...

I know we have a few more weeks to go, but I have to write when I have a thought or the week is lost. I thought this might be a good chance to discuss the season and some of the things that make...

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...

We live in a valley formed by mountain ranges to the east and west with an ocean bay 50 miles to the north and a coastline 25 miles westward; a geographical formation that climatologists designate a semi-arid area. By comparison to many areas of...

We’ve been on the gravy train these past couple of weeks and this train has fallen off the tracks. Going home for the holidays is not for the faint of heart, as far as the stomach and waistline are concerned. I had planned to...

Have you bought any gas lately? I was driving my car yesterday in Salinas when I thought I may as well get gas at the Arco station, where you pull off 101 to Market Street. That station has the cheapest gas, but boy oh...

For members of previous generations, a “wakeup call” meant having a hotel employee ring their room at a certain time to rouse them from bed. Today the term is used when we’ve been doing something self destructive for some time (perhaps without realizing it)...