Opinion

Local column by Joanne Banuelos

How was your Memorial Day? It is always a somber time for me. I always spend some time each day of the past week thinking about the men who are longer with us. When I think of that, I remember that it wasn’t just...

It’s that time of year again. At the end of a long, wet winter, we Californians are exhausted by the grey, the mud, the mess. We are tired of short days and rain and storms. Our bodies are depleted of vitamin D and our...

We are now nearly two weeks into Fall, the equal hours of day and night took place Sept. 23 and will daily see the hours of darkness increase while, alas, daylight will lessen. We now fall head long into the what is known as...

When I worked in the newspaper industry, the obituary page was allegedly the paper’s most popular page, which, in my younger years, I found a little curious. Now I am — ahem — a little less young, I totally get it. These days I...

This week is a favor from my readers. Today I’m going to tell you about a very good friend, who I now call family, that has become something special to me and to my brood. You may remember that some time ago I mentioned that...

It’s that time of year; nearly the end of the year, another 12 months in the vault of my life. As I flick back through my diary of the past months, I am amazed by how much was jammed into most hours of each...

To the Editor: With the passing of another Fourth of July “holiday,” other pet owners, veterans and myself can breathe another sigh of relief. Well, except that the Fourth of July “holiday” now seems to last a good month, as the selfish and irresponsible among...

Excuse me if I am a little maudlin this week. Lots of things happening and most of them are about where I am in life. Have you ever sat down to reflect on your position and what went right or wrong? I’m not a particularly...

I am sure you who read this column have no doubt noticed recently I’ve been a day late and a dollar short, to torture a metaphor. A couple weeks ago I mentioned Maddie and Tae, a singing duo advertised at the Fairgrounds, and as...