Funny Papers Again Column | School Daze… in Two-Part Harmony
It is not uncommon that readers will occasionally offer nice comments about Funny Papers Again, and because I’m only good at speaking to people when they are an audience and I’m working from a script written by someone else, I usually find myself tongue...
Window on the World Column | The Foxy Lover
He became quite the character of sorts, a fixture on the rather rough and tumble Nestles Road in Soledad, surrounded by rough ground and abandoned buildings. If you happened to pass by during the latter part of an afternoon, you might see him sitting...
Funny Papers Again Column | Yearly Orbit of the Sun; Four Days, Over and Done
I have notes scribbled on scraps of paper scattered about my work area, in pockets and various other places I will no doubt discover after this goes to print. But I have enough here for a short column to cap off another year in...
Worthy to Print Column | Saying Goodbye to an Old Friend
This has been a rough week. It might look different to most of you, but for me it’s just another reminder of the test of time. Many years ago I bought a car from Joanne Rodriguez. Joanne’s husband Alva had passed away and he,...
Letter to the Editor | Join the Resistance Locally
To the Editor:
Donald Trump was elected U.S. president by the narrowest margin in history, which he claims is a mandate.
His foreign relations policies are making enemies of former friends. His economic policies are devastating the economy. Likewise, his deportation policies are upending the agriculture,...
Guest Column | Telehealth Is the Best Medicine for Our Community
Telehealth is the use of electronic communications to provide and deliver health care services over large and small distances. Also called digital medicine, this modern advancement represents a major shift in both the administration of medicine and in the venues where it’s provided.
At Mee...
Funny Papers Again Column | We All Lose When Fear Rules the Day
OK, so I’m 21 years old and I’m driving this flatbed dooley along the horseshoe canal and two guys come running toward me frantically waving their arms, and because I know these young men, I stop the vehicle. Good opening sentence, huh? Let me...
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...
Window on the World Column | The Dog Noodles and Other Sad Stories
Something just crept up inside my tiny brain and said, “Oh, you have vacation coming up next month with a lot of moving parts. Maybe you should check on some of those pieces?” I do listen these days when the female intuition kicks in,...
Worthy to Print Column: Better to Give Than to Receive
Whatever you may think about having a day dedicated to our thankfulness, you have to admit that California, with all the problems we all face this year, will have plenty of places to say “thank you” for the huge number of volunteers that want...
Local News
Inmate convicted of stabbing correctional officer at Salinas Valley State Prison
SOLEDAD — A state prison inmate serving a life sentence was convicted last Tuesday of assault with a deadly weapon for stabbing a correctional...






















