Guest Column | King Cityās Efforts to Address Youth Violence
A major priority of the City of King is to end youth violence. In 2016, a community task force developed the Cityās Comprehensive Plan to End Youth violence. The plan was implemented in 2017 and shootings decreased from 64 during the period of 2015...
Window on the World Column | Mapping Home
What you donāt always appreciate is how much you love your home when you are away and, especially, your critters. On about the third week of our trip, we started to really think about heading home. We were missing it. But we had a...
Funny Papers Again Column | Stop, No Stop: A Two-Wheel Dilemma
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...
Guest Column | Letās Move District 18 into the Future with Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren
The vast majority of American politicians are in the business of kicking the can down the road, with one notable exception: Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren.
I know ākicking the can down the roadā is an old clichĆ© used to reference the arms race, federal budget, childcare,...
Funny Papers Again Column | Summer Solstice and the Last Word on Local Fun in the Sun
This is my last Funny Papers Again column for the Valley newspapers, so if you have been a fan over the past couple of years then, well, just read slowly, I guess. More on this at the end of this column.
Last Wednesday was the...
Letter to the Editor | A Call for Unity Beyond Election Day
To the Editor:
After failing to write a letter to the Rustler in time for this yearās election, I realize this one is far more important. It will be published the day after Tuesday, Nov. 5thās vote, at a time when the character of our...
Funny Papers Again Column | Thoughts and Words From Sources Known and Unknown
The good and bad aspects of choosing a title line (see above) for a column is once up there, the writer is bound to it throughout the piece. If the writer adheres to the subject of the title throughout all is well, but if...
Funny Papers Again Column | Random Musings From the Past to the Present
A friend on an errand was heading up to Greenfield the other day and asked if Iād like to tag along, and because the town had been on my mind of late, I readily took her up on the offer. I was feeling a...
Funny Papers Again Column | āFor a Better World, What Would You Change?ā
If I were a cleverer wordsmith, I am sure I could come up with the right phrase, or adage, to convey how a bad thing can turn into a good thing; how a misstep may lead to a better path. It is possible Iāll...
Worthy to Print Column | Gas vs. Electricity
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...




















