Opinion

Over the last few years there has been so much talk about how the  Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences can make the Oscars, also known as the Academy Awards, relevant again.  The annual show, which is scheduled for its 92nd running next month,...

Last week my colleague Tarmo Hannula unveiled the first entry of a column I will be eagerly awaiting to read each month: Pajaro Valley, Past & Present. The column will be a deep dive into one of Watsonville’s many historic buildings – or an...

Jack Gordon for Superior Court Judge On March 3, voters will have the opportunity to select Jack Gordon, an exemplary candidate for Superior Court Judge, who has a long term history and breadth of public safety, legal and community service experience that sets him apart....

My good friend Marvin Byers has left this world. His unexpected passing, on Dec. 17, is a day now stamped into my memory. It is a day, that, if I were a city official, would be spelled out in brass and marble in the...

Mid-January is one of my favorite times of the year. The NFL playoffs are just getting started, and my San Francisco 49ers don’t stink this year, which is a plus. The weather is starting to heat up to the perfect temperature in which I...

Destruction of the Administrative State Perhaps you remember that the title above was Steve Bannon’s goal.  I wasn’t sure what that meant in the beginning, but it is clear now that Bannon (through Trump and his Republican supporters) is achieving his goal, and weakening our...

Major bush fires continue to burn in Australia garnering worldwide concern. Thus far 24 fatalities have been reported, including three volunteer firefighters, and experts are assuming that entire species of animals and plant life will be wiped out by the fires, according to various...

When I walked into work on Monday morning, a fellow reporter asked me if I’d tuned in to the Hollywood award show known as the Golden Globes, which was broadcasted the previous night. I had not—in fact, I didn’t even know it had aired.  I...

On New Year’s Eve my neighbor Jan invited me to join her and a bunch of our neighbors for a bonfire in her front yard to help close out 2019 and usher in a warm beginning to 2020. By 7 p.m. she had an...

The importance of the youth vote in 2020 Attention young people: Baby Boomers (born between 1946-1964) and Millenials (ages 18-35) both represent nearly one-third of the potential voting populace apiece. In 2016, people 65 years and older voted at a 71 percent rate. Millennials voted...