Opinion

I often start this monthly column with a true story about my experiences as a parent. Writing about my own parenting challenges is like giving myself free therapy. I relive memories of difficult situations, work through my emotions in a safe environment (my office,...

25 years ago on May 23, 1996 Nobody knows Watsonville High School like Mas Hashimoto. Born at home just two blocks from the campus, he’s spent two-thirds of his life there; first as a student, then as a teacher of history and geography. He knows...

Trust is not built on words alone—it is forged through action, teamwork, and empathy. This holds true in times of prosperity, but is even more critical during hardship and crisis. Few experiences unite people like the shared journey from loss to pain, to recovery,...

We are again just weeks away from another presidential election. An election that won't be decided by a plurality of the popular vote, but by what even our Supreme Court has referred to as the “anachronism of the Electoral College.” A perpetual majority of voters...

When I was a child, Summer. Lasted. For. Ever. I remember long days that usually began with picking beans and then weeds in the hot sun, followed by endless hours of playing (and bickering) with my siblings in the hot sun. By the end...

A recent visit to a very moving, emotionally taxing Japanese-American Exclusion Memorial on Bainbridge Island in Washington State's Puget Sound generated some disturbing thoughts about the concept of freedom. The exhibition memorialized one of the darker episodes in our country's history. After the attack on...