Opinion

It has been a long time since we had a pig in the family. You read that correctly. Back in 2011, when my daughter was young, she raised an award-winning pig for the Salinas Valley Fair through the high school 4-H Club. For rookies...

It would be an understatement to say that 2020 has been a difficult year. By all standards, our world seems to have been turned upside down. From the small things that we took for granted, to larger, more important things, like our relationships with...

To the Editor: SPCA Monterey County agrees that we need solutions to save stray animals (“We Need Solutions to Save Our Stray Animals,” Aug. 10). Those answers are low-cost spay/neuter, adoptions, foster care, microchipping and compassionate shelters, rescue groups and animal control agencies working...

Today is a day when my dad would greet everyone he met with the most common phrase in the farmers lexicon. “Hot enough for you?” Actually, he didn’t say that very often. When you wake up over in the San Joaquin Valley, summer is...

Did you get to see the blowout by the Eagles? My beautiful bride and I watched it until we started to think it was a lost cause and then we took a little nap. After the game, I took out the trash. It was...

What is humor? What makes us smile, what tickles our funny bones? Humor is a very serious subject for some, mostly those involved in therapy and counseling where humor has been found to be an indicator of one’s emotional and mental state. But for...

Considered the father of modern medicine, ancient Greek physician Hippocrates (known for his “first do no harm” ethical code called the Hippocratic Oath) still influences our practices more than 25 centuries after his time. The first to regard disease as a natural, not supernatural, phenomenon,...

When I began writing this week’s column I had it in my mind, and in my notes, to cover high school stage productions, local law armory and a couple other short pieces. But, as the old saying goes, “stuff happens” (paraphrased for publication) and...

To the Editor: I am writing because I feel so sad and anxious about the violence at the U.S. Capitol last Wednesday (Jan. 6). President Trump gave vocal encouragement and support to armed protesters who then stormed the Capitol; this was an act of sedition.  Watching...

Well, 2020 is over. Let’s pray 2021 will be a much better year. It’s unfortunate, but this shall not be a memorable New Year. Is there something about this year that tickles your fancy? I didn’t think so. As I sat back in my...