Archive By Section - Editorial
Every time a bell rings...
As the holiday season starts to wind down - except in Russia where they celebrate through Jan. 10 - I find myself feeling a little blue.
Some assembly required
Congratulations on purchasing your Wonder Fun Doll Dream House with Stables, Orchard and Shooting Range! These are your assembly instructions, so if you're a man, you're not reading this.
We need some heat in here
The recent massive snowstorm that moved from California across to New England certainly got the nation's attention. While some Americans dealt with snowfall measured in feet rather than inches, my part of the Northwest simply endured temperatures near zero, night after night. (Where I live, we think of ourselves as human weather stripping, nobly protecting states to the south from Canada.) Either way, we all had a moment, I'm sure, to reflect on the fact ...
The art of contradiction
I have come to the conclusion that we, as a society, are pretty hypocritical. I know this is a somewhat harsh statement to make, but the evidence continues to mount for its authenticity.
Win one for the Griper
Congress is at it again, battling unfairness wherever it pops up. This time, it's taking on college athletics, a world in which a conniving cartel spins backroom deals and then foists injustice on vulnerable football fans.
Now hear this
I wasn't quite sure I had heard correctly. My friend, a fellow geologist, and I were standing in the swimming lanes of a lap pool where we had stopped to give each other greetings of the season.
We can make it happen
Recently, I had the opportunity to speak with JoLynn DiGrazia of Westside Ministries, Major Debi Shrum of the Salvation Army and Pastors Samuel Galdamez, Steve Carlson and Tim Hawkinson of Turlock Covenant Church.
Happy Hanukkah everyone
I like Hanukkah. It's a very nice holiday, as Jewish holidays go; one of the few where the Jews actually won, as opposed to having the Temple destroyed, or fleeing the divided sea, or being spared from the evil Haman. Usually, it's enough if we survive. Often, we don't even do that.
In God Turlock trusts
If anyone still believes that nothing big ever happens in Turlock, then they haven't been to a city council meeting in a long, long time. Although Turlock can only be considered a small city or big town in population terms, it often has big city political issues.
The best record keepers
As a record-keeper, I'm pathetic. I often can't keep track of where my checkbook is, let alone the balance in the account. The chief problem determining the balance isn't my arithmetic skills, it's that I don't enter all the checks that I write for merchants in the ledger. No wonder the amount I show I have becomes a tad different from what the bank feels I have in my account.
A journey to the Christmas spirit
After living in the Valley for the past 11 years, I have finally made the journey to Bethlehem.
Education is key
Although the 1980s occurred three decades ago, it seems like just yesterday I was pondering the genius of the Rubik's Cube and wearing parachute pants. While the '80s were the dawn of the personal computing and cellular phone boom, they were also the years in which a new fear was introduced into Western civilization: HIV.
Hiding the past in plain sight
The other day the forecast near my home included winds up to 50 mph. That's a strong wind, to be sure, but not something I'd write home about. One forecaster I heard, however, presented the news in a shrill voice, as if we might have to stay in the basement all day. I considered calling his station and explaining that, when I was a small child, we walked to school in winds of 50 mph (and back) without a second thought.
Just another manic Friday
The frantic rush to start shopping for Christmas always catches me a bit unaware. It might be that I'm still sleeping off my turkey and tryptophan hangover on Black Friday each year, but even on the best of days I am in no hurry to battle crowds of sleep-deprived deal hounds.
Giving thanks
It is that time of year again; a time to count your blessings and give thanks. Many of you might read that and say "Give thanks? What for?" I understand why giving thanks may be a little bit harder this year.
Articles by Section - Editorial
We’ve lost our bearings regarding economic reality
What is wrong with us?
The troubling case of James Hooker
Americans have a fixation on sex scandals. A short list includes: Gary Hart, Bill Clinton, Tiger Woods, Charlie Sheen, Rob Lowe, Rev. Jimmy Swaggart and Ceres' own Gary Condit. So it comes as no surprise that James Hooker seized the nation's interest.
Raising awareness one step at a time
As we head full-steam into Relay for Life season, it's hard to miss the purple ribbons strung on lampposts down Main Street and the car wash, barbecue, and candy fundraisers Relay teams all across town are holding almost every other day. Every time I come across these Relay events I am reminded of the millions of people who battle cancer every day - and those who passed away due to the disease, leaving ...
Earth Day and farming
As the daughter of a farmer, I grew up with a love of the land and a deep respect for nature - you might say a native understanding that every day was Earth Day. My father worked the land. He took care of it and it took care of us, as well as many other people consuming what our farm produced. As California's secretary of agriculture, I welcome the attention that the annual observance of ...
Remove the crud and California is still 100% solid gold
Go ahead, trash California.
It’s time for real debate about need for high-speed rail
California high-speed rail is primarily about bringing two points together - downtown Los Angeles and downtown San Francisco.
Spring brings change to Journal
Spring has always been a time of change - in weather, the end of daylight savings, and the blooming orchards that line the Valley. This year spring has also brought changes here at the Journal.
On the road to racism
Lin-sanity may be ebbing, but a fundamental issue it raised is still on the rise.
Growth plans need to be fair for all Turlock
The ongoing debate about how to preserve farmland along with the economic base and food resources that agriculture creates for this county, as well as the nation, is healthy and necessary. However, I feel that the debate needs to occur within a much larger framework.
Improving on the staff of life
About 10,000 years ago Earth's climate lurched from bitter Ice Age conditions to the much balmier time in which we live today. We don't fully understand what caused that great climate shift, but we know it was near the time of that great temperature transition that people started to farm. And one of the crops people in some parts of the world learned to tend was wheat.
Fun to dream, while it lasted
If you are reading this column, then I did not win the lottery. I wrote this on Friday afternoon, when lotto fever was still high and we all had hopes of winning $640 million dollars. I have to admit that I was not immune to that fever myself. I bought several tickets for myself, and I'm part of an office pool of 12 people. I prepared this letter in the unlikely, but unfortunate ...
Standing up for our veterans
America is blessed with the strongest and most capable military in the world. Our service members execute challenging missions in the most complex environment on earth. They leave the military with skills that our economy needs to compete. It is our responsibility to take care of them when they return. Unfortunately, upon returning home, many of our veterans discover that even though they have the training to perform a wide variety of jobs, the system ...
A new wave of protest
I remember growing up in the 1980s and having my elders say things like, "Kids nowadays don't care about anything." After commenting on the apparent apathy of my peers, I would then be treated to a detailed recounting of epic protests against the Vietnam War, nuclear proliferation and segregation that took place in the 1960s and 70s. Maybe America just needed a 30-year hiatus to perfect its chanting and sign painting, because the ...
Half Dome ‘fix’ a hiker nightmare
Leave it to the federal government to screw up something that wasn't that hard to fix - if indeed it needed fixing.
Whatever happened to Turlock’s bridal district?
I remember it well. It was January 2008, and while there was a chill in the winter air outside, the atmosphere at Two Guy's Catering was electric.
Sections:
- NEWS |
- SPORTS |
- OPINION |
- ARTS/LEISURE |
- LIVING IN 209 |
- HOME SCENE |
- SPECIAL SECTIONS |
- CELEBRATIONS |
- MOVIES |
- OBITS |
- REGIONAL NEWS
Services:
Submit News:
Online:
Contents of this site are © Copyright 2011 The Turlock Journal, CA. All rights reserved.
