Guest Column | How Farmworkers Outlawed ‘El Cortito’ 50 Years Ago
For decades in the Salinas Valley, the short-handle hoe, known as “El Cortito,” was used for weeding and thinning rows of crops that kept farmworkers stooped over for long hours each day. Workers were only able to stand and stretch when they reached the...
Worthy to Print Column | Making Memories
If you find the time to read my weekly scribbling, you know that I have a love affair with Gonzales. I really love this town and all the inhabitants. The other day I was musing over my coffee when I got to thinking about why...
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...
Worthy to Print Column | Moving to Gonzales
“Honey, when did we move to Gonzales?” I asked my marriage mate as she (Rainy) flittered around the corner doing things that women do when their husbands feel like they have the busier schedule. Of course, I knew that all I had to do...
Funny Papers Again Column | If I Were King
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...
Window on the World Column | Precious Lives
Downtown Soledad on a Saturday can be a bustling little place. People’s comings and goings to the hardware store, the barber or the pharmacy. Getting an ice cream or some Mexican food for the family. Normal life is slowly returning. I had a mission...
Window on the World Column | For the Love of All Animals
The first time I caught sight of her she was in bad shape. I’m no expert on this particular species, but I know suffering when I see it. I offered her unkind owner good money for her to come and live with me. Line...
Letter to the Editor | Support King City’s Future, Vote ‘Yes’ on Measure T
To the Editor:
As business owners and residents in King City, we are dedicated to helping this community reach its greatest potential. We began a fitness academy here and have made many friends along the way. It is undeniable to say that we consider King...
Window on the World Column | Rites of Passage
My baby girl is getting married this weekend and I just can’t believe it. Eight months or so of furious planning and here we are. Your mind flashes back to the first time you laid eyes on her in this world, that sweet, cooing...
Worthy to Print Column | Growing Up in a War Zone
Veterans Day is the 11th day of November. If you see a veteran or love the way we live, just say “Thank you!” Just remember, it’s because of veterans that we can live in a free country. The following is a continuing story of...




















