Guest Column | 5 Things for September from Monterey County Free Libraries
1. September is Library Card sign-up month. Your library is a place that welcomes all and provides programs and services all year round to help community members learn, grow, play or relax. Make sure you visit your library to get a library card! It...
Funny Papers Again Column | A Brief Call to Those Interested in Public Service Involvement
I have often mentioned either here in words or in conversation that coming up with one thousand words every week, words that one hopes are more than just personal drivel, can be a bit daunting when subjects donāt readily come to mind.
When I hit...
Worthy to Print Column | Happy New Year?
Well, 2020 is over. Letās pray 2021 will be a much better year. Itās unfortunate, but this shall not be a memorable New Year. Is there something about this year that tickles your fancy? I didnāt think so. As I sat back in my...
Funny Papers Again Column | The Gradual Waning of American Shock
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 ālet it ring and go to voicemailā protocol, but in this...
Adventure Abounds Column: A house divided
America may have a great multitude of blemishes on our record, but our existence stands as a testament that diverse groups united can accomplish greatness. Which is why itās so strange to watch the developing national news about how weāre coming apart with a...
Funny Papers Again Column | Bon Giorno! Day 1 in Switzerland
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...
Letter to the Editor | Going Forward: Remembering the Sacrifice of Officer Tippit
To the Editor:
About this time each year our national media will start reminiscing about the assassination of President John Fitzgerald Kennedy. And like others, I remember exactly where I was and what I was doing when I heard what happened on the streets of...
Guest Column | The American Dream: How We Lost Our Way on Immigration
In 1986 I worked for Californiaās Employment Development Department, where I processed amnesty seekers under President Ronald Reaganās 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...



















