Opinion

When faced with an empty page and a brain to match with a deadline looming large on the near horizon, I usually just take a look back over the past week or two and draw upon a few random thoughts or experiences hoping it...

It is one week into the new year and I have been clearing out old notes on scratch paper and photos and videos from my cell phone, some of which will appear in this column while the rest either ends up in the waste...

The Hunchback tolling the bells of the ancient cathedral of Notre Dame is an image of timeless appeal. Salinas citizens will want to catch the current local iteration of Victor Hugo’s tale, “The Hunchback of Notre Dame,” on The Western Stage at Hartnell College. This...

When a recent local issue arose that struck a chord with my muse, I decided to send off a letter to the editor and opine about that issue, as I am a strong believer in the open forum offered by print media and have...

“Don’t bite the hand that feeds you” is an old adage most of us have heard with full understanding of its meaning. It only makes sense, providing one has any sense, to refrain from damaging that which makes survival possible. Now, after reading the...

I landed at London Heathrow Airport, as I have done many times these past 37 years. I checked into my fave airport hotel — the Hilton Garden Airport Hotel at Terminal 2 and relaxed for the rest of the day, culminating in a delicious...

We don’t have kings in the United States of America; yet how many of us have at one time or other wished we had ultimate authoritarian power? Remember, even the Cowardly Lion wanted to be “Not queen, not duke, not prince” but “King of...

Well, here it is the Sunday one week before we vote for our favorites. Have you filled out your ballot? The entire world seems to love our method of choosing our own leaders. We may not always get it right, but it sure beats...

Thirty-three years. I started to just put the numbers on the page, but no matter whether you spell it out or use the numbers, it is a long time. Or, we could be more specific, a long time to be married. Fortunately, I happen...

As a last look at this year’s storms, I mention that social media users have leveled harsh criticism toward the many people who either blatantly disregarded signs or misjudged flood conditions that required rescue operations; some of these incidents resulted in death. To such...