Letters: People are people
Just read an article by John Bowers in the Tribune — “It takes an act of nature.” First part I could identify with. As young kids growing up, we take on images of our family and friends. Church and teachers. I grew up outside of Chicago. Left there in 1959. We had ethnic districts, like […]
Book Talk: Margolin, ‘A Matter of Life and Death’
This is the fourth book in the Robin Lockwood series, but — like the other three — it can easily be read as a stand-alone novel. Usually, I recommend reading series in order, but Margolin is different from many other “series” authors. You can pick up any one of his books and enjoy it without […]
Opinion: Drones fly on Fourth of July
I think that everyone knows that the grasslands surrounding our city are bone dry. And one of our most highly treasured days of national recognition is July 4, the day that we celebrate our independence from the British monarchy. Moreover, this particular Fourth of July will be extra special because it is our semiquincentennial, the […]
Letters: Been there
Who is in power when conflict (war) starts? Seems like the Democrats. Do they finish them? No. Draw lines and pull out. WWll was finished, or was it. Korea followed. Did not end at the Yalu River; could have, but no. We had to pull out because of Democratic sentiment in the U.S. Vietnam. Involved […]
Book Talk: J.A. Jance, ‘Shoot Don’t Shoot’
Shoot Don’t Shoot (1995, 403 pages in paperback format) is the third book in Ms. Jance’s Sheriff Joanna Brady series. In Desert Heat, her husband Andy, Sheriff of Cochise County, is murdered; In Tombstone Courage, she is elected the new sheriff in a matter of weeks. (Desert Heat was reviewed in this column on March […]
Letters: ‘Bizarro World,’ revisited
Two years ago, while Donald Trump was running for reelection, I wrote an opinion piece that compared Trump World to Bizarro World. I upset one or two people, Well, maybe a few more than that. Therefore, it seems like a good idea to revisit my thoughts and ponder the accuracy of my statements. I’ll start […]
Letters: Democrat Party — a response
First of all, my thanks go to Mr. Gaunt for his attempt to make light of comments from my previous letter. However, I often express my opinions, which are not based on fact; I have never said they were factual. Someone’s opinion can never be wrong, or offbeat, or not true as stated. They are […]
Commentary: California’s energy reality — we shut down refineries, now we pay the price
California families are paying some of the highest gasoline prices in America, and politicians continue acting like this happened by accident. It did not. This crisis was created through years of shutting down refineries, reducing in-state oil production, and making California more dependent on foreign crude oil imports from unstable regions of the world. Today, […]
Opinion: Bullet train’s new strategy
It’s been a year since I revisited my old standby topic for this column: California’s High Speed Rail Authority (CAHSRA). That’s because nothing much has happened. Oh sure, if you drive up and down the valley, you can probably see people working on various projects every day. They have jobs to do, and they are […]
Book Talk: Haylen Beck, ‘Lost You’
From the very first chapter, we know that this book will not have a happy ending. A woman stands on the edge of a roof, seven stories above the ground. She has a child in her arms. When asked about the child, she tells the officer, “He’s my son.” The officer tries to talk her […]