Opinion

When I first moved to this little farm town, we had no proper grocery store, just corner markets. Actually, we boasted no larger stores at all! We had to travel to Greenfield to shop at Nob Hill or buy everything in Salinas before we...

“No doubt the universe will unfold as it should,” I tell my husband (sort of citing my favorite poem “Desiderata”). This was after we returned home from our neighbor’s place up the hill. Most times you go to neighboring homes and receive tomatoes or...

In last week’s column I mentioned having a “senior moment” when admitting I had lost the device that contained not only a column partially written, but all of my previous columns, which goes back quite a few weeks now. A few weeks back I...

Most historians cite the Battle of Bear Valley in 1924, a confrontation between the U.S. Army and Apache warriors, as the last battle fought on American soil. Our nation was born in The Revolutionary War and withstood wars of varying lengths: The War of...

For many of us, the new year represents a fresh start, and that is a concept that holds a lot of power. Hitting our internal “reset” button on Jan. 1 gives us the mental clarity and internal incentive to put our best foot forward...

You know what I don’t like, let me tell ya what I don’t like. I don’t like all these little shortcuts that have infested the King’s English in past few years. I have had to be aware of how to use words as I...

Big day today! It’s my favorite mother-in-law’s birthday. Nelda has reached a milestone and my favorite bride has, along with some favorite friends, taken her over to the Peninsula to slam down a couple of milkshakes to celebrate the fact that she can still...

To the Editor: West Coast natural gas prices have been rising this winter, and PG&E wants our customers to know their energy bills are likely to rise as a result. PG&E does not control the market prices we pay for natural gas, and we don’t mark...

“I didn’t know her,” the preacher said. “But if I had known her, I’m sure I would have liked her.” I raised one querying eyebrow at my husband. We are at his aunt’s funeral in Watsonville. (Is it a funeral service if the person...

If you are a shopper of any kind, chances are you probably stash plastic bags under the sink or keep them nicely folded around the house for future use. But as convenient as they are, lightweight, single-use plastic bags represent an environmental concern. In Salinas...